Senior Buyer

HPRtalent; Newbury; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 55,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Career opportunities

CPD (CIPS)

Benefits

Job summary

HPRtalent is recruiting a Senior Buyer for raw ingredients and packaging in a fast-moving UK food manufacturing environment. You will own end-to-end procurement across ingredients, commodities and packaging, overseeing a circa £20m spend and leading strategic supplier negotiations.

You will develop category strategies, manage supplier performance and risk, work closely with planning, NPD, technical and commercial teams, and drive value creation beyond simple cost reduction.

Qualifications

• Degree educated with CIPS Level 3 or 4 and willingness to continue studies.
• Experience in FMCG procurement across ingredients, raw materials, commodities, and packaging.
• Strong negotiation capability and commercial acumen.

Responsibilities

• Develop robust category strategies across allocated spend areas.
• Lead supplier negotiations and contract negotiations with UK and international suppliers.
• Manage supplier performance, cost control, and risk to protect supply and margins.
• Collaborate with planning, technical, NPD, finance, and commercial teams to deliver value.

Skills

Category management

Strategic procurement

Supplier negotiations

Stakeholder engagement

FMCG exposure

Procurement governance

Cost analysis

Inventory management

Education

Degree educated

CIPS Level 3/4

Tools

ERP/Procurement systems

Job description

Senior Buyer - Raw Ingredients & Packaging Procurement

Salary: £40-55,000 + benefits + career opportunities + CPD (CIPS)

Food Manufacturing - Multi-Site - High-Impact FMCG Environment

The Opportunity

A highly respected and rapidly evolving UK food manufacturing business is seeking an exceptional Buyer to take ownership of strategically critical procurement categories across ingredients and packaging (approximately £20m portfolio) within a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment.

This is a significant opportunity for an experienced procurement professional who thrives within commercially complex, operationally demanding, and highly collaborative manufacturing businesses. The role offers genuine visibility, influence, and the opportunity to shape category strategy within a business that is investing heavily in operational capability, customer partnerships, innovation, and long-term growth.

The organisation operates within a dynamic food manufacturing environment supplying both retail and B2B channels, where procurement plays a central role in protecting margin, maintaining continuity of supply, driving innovation, and supporting wider commercial performance.

This is not a transactional buying role.

It requires a commercially astute, strategically minded procurement professional capable of operating across supplier markets, manufacturing operations, finance, planning, technical, NPD, and commercial teams to deliver measurable business impact.

The Opportunity

The Senior Buyer will hold end-to-end responsibility for a portfolio of strategically important procurement categories spanning raw materials, ingredients, commodities, and packaging.

The successful individual will be expected to:

Develop and execute category strategies aligned to wider business objectives

Manage supplier performance, cost control, and security of supply across critical spend areas

Operate confidently within volatile commodity and ingredient markets

Lead commercial negotiations with both UK and international suppliers

Identify opportunities for value creation beyond simple cost reduction

Support working capital and inventory optimisation initiatives

Drive supplier innovation into the wider business

Partner closely with operational stakeholders to support service, production, and customer requirements

Build robust procurement governance whilst maintaining pace and agility

Key Areas of Responsibility

Strategic Procurement & Category Management

Develop robust procurement category strategies across allocated areas of spend

Create short, medium, and long-term sourcing plans aligned to business growth and operational requirements

Continuously analyse supplier markets, commodity movements, inflationary pressures, and broader market dynamics

Identify opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership whilst protecting quality and service

Lead strategic sourcing activity including tendering, benchmarking, supplier rationalisation, and contract negotiations

Deliver procurement savings, value improvement initiatives, and margin enhancement opportunities

Build contingency planning and mitigation strategies for supply chain risk

Ensure continuity of supply across critical operational categories

Support procurement transformation and continuous improvement initiatives

Build strong strategic relationships with key suppliers and manufacturing partners

Lead supplier negotiations across pricing, contracts, service levels, rebates, payment terms, and performance expectations

Conduct supplier performance reviews and drive accountability through structured KPI management

Introduce joint business planning approaches with strategically important suppliers

Drive supplier-led innovation into the business across ingredients, packaging, product development, sustainability, and operational efficiency

Challenge underperformance and implement corrective action where required

Collaborate with suppliers on cost engineering and value optimisation initiatives

Operational & Cross-Functional Partnership

Work closely with manufacturing, planning, technical, finance, commercial, and NPD functions to support wider business objectives

Support service continuity and minimise operational disruption through proactive supplier and inventory management

Participate in business-critical operational and supply chain meetings

Contribute to working capital reduction initiatives including stock optimisation and reduction of obsolete materials

Ensure procurement decisions balance commercial objectives with operational realities

Support launch activity, customer requirements, and business growth initiatives

Monitor commodity and ingredient markets continuously

Forecast pricing movements and supplier market trends

Assess geopolitical, agricultural, economic, and supply chain risks impacting procurement categories

Provide commercial insight and market intelligence to internal stakeholders

Support budget planning and forecasting activity with accurate procurement analysis

Develop proactive risk mitigation strategies across categories

The Candidate

Degree educated and a minimum of CIPS Level 3 or 4 required with the desire to continue those studies

This role requires an experienced FMCG procurement professional with strong food manufacturing or FMCG exposure and a track record operating within commercially and operationally demanding environments.

The successful individual is likely to bring:

Progressive procurement and category management experience within FMCG manufacturing

Experience purchasing ingredients, raw materials, commodities, and packaging

Experience operating within food manufacturing or complex manufacturing supply chains

Strong negotiation capability across supplier relationships

Excellent commercial acumen and analytical capability

Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills

The ability to operate with pace, resilience, and accountability

A highly collaborative approach combined with the confidence to challenge constructively

Strong understanding of procurement governance, supplier management, and category strategy

The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational responsiveness

Personal Attributes

The organisation is seeking an individual who combines commercial credibility with strong relationship-building capability.

You will be:

Commercially sharp and analytically minded

Proactive and solutions focused

Comfortable operating within fast-moving manufacturing environments

Highly organised with strong attention to detail

Confident influencing cross-functional stakeholders

Capable of managing competing priorities effectively

Collaborative whilst able to challenge appropriately

Driven to continuously improve processes, performance, and outcomes

Resilient under pressure and calm within operationally demanding situations

Why This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to join a highly regarded food manufacturing business at an exciting stage of evolution and growth.

The procurement function is highly valued within the organisation and plays a critical role in supporting operational performance, customer delivery, innovation, and commercial success.

The successful individual will gain:

Significant exposure across the wider business

The opportunity to influence strategic procurement direction

Ownership of commercially important categories

A collaborative and fast-paced FMCG environment

The ability to make a visible and measurable impact

This opportunity would suit ambitious procurement professionals seeking a role with genuine breadth, influence, and progression potential within a complex FMCG manufacturing environment.