Senior Buyer

Pontoon; North Warwickshire; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading employment consultancy in the UK is looking for an experienced Senior Buyer to manage strategic, high-value procurement tenders within a national infrastructure program. The successful candidate will oversee end-to-end procurement processes, ensuring compliance and striving for value beyond cost savings. Ideal applicants will have a strong background in procurement strategy, stakeholder engagement, and project management within complex environments. This role offers a unique opportunity to drive strategic impact in the energy sector.

Qualifications

• Comprehensive experience in developing category strategies and executing large projects.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and communication skills across all levels.
• Excellent project management abilities in complex environments.

Responsibilities

• Lead strategic procurement tenders from market engagement to contract award.
• Project manage tenders, maintaining logs and reports to keep the team on track.
• Conduct market research and analyses to inform category management.

Skills

Procurement strategy development

Stakeholder engagement

Project management

Negotiation

Supply chain management

Market research

Job description

About the Role

We're seeking an experienced Senior Buyer to lead strategic, high-value procurement tenders within a critical national infrastructure programme. This is a unique opportunity to work on multi-billion‑pound contracts that deliver greener, more affordable energy solutions for the UK. You'll manage complex procurement processes end-to-end, from market engagement through to contract award, ensuring compliance and driving value beyond cost savings. This is not a transactional role – it's a chance to make a strategic impact in a highly governed environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Act as procurement sourcing lead for 1‑2 strategic tenders at a time, identifying the best sourcing strategies and leading events from market engagement through to contract award.
• Project manage strategic tenders, maintaining RAID logs, project plans, reporting, and RACIs to keep the sourcing team on track.
• Support value creation through volume leverage, supplier innovation, forecasting efficiency, and optioneering.
• Conduct market research and supply analysis to inform category management and stay ahead of emerging trends.
• Collate and analyse spend performance data, providing actionable insights and recommendations.
• Identify and mitigate procurement risks to ensure timely delivery.
• Ensure compliance with internal procurement frameworks and maintain strong governance.
• Build and maintain effective stakeholder relationships across technical and commercial teams.

Key Skills & Experience

• Comprehensive experience in developing robust category strategies and tendering large, strategic projects.
• Proven ability to identify and execute multiple opportunities across diverse spend categories.
• Strong stakeholder engagement and contract management skills, able to communicate effectively at all levels.
• Excellent project management skills and comfort with procurement compliance.
• Good influencing and negotiation skills to secure commercially sound contracts.
• Experience in supply chain management within complex environments.
• Track record of driving value beyond straightforward cost savings.
• Experience in major infrastructure procurement, regulated procurement, and/or energy markets.
• Familiarity with power systems engineering concepts.
• Knowledge of regulated procurement processes.

Please note: Due to the high volume of applications, only shortlisted candidates will be contacted. If you do not hear from us within 48 hours, your application has not been successful on this occasion. However, we may retain your details for future suitable opportunities.

Pontoon is an employment consultancy. We put expertise, energy, and enthusiasm into improving everyone's chance of being part of the workplace. We respect and appreciate people of all ethnicities, generations, religious beliefs, sexual orientations, gender identities, and more. We do this by showcasing their talents, skills, and unique experiences in an inclusive environment that helps them thrive. If you require reasonable adjustments at any stage, please let us know and we will be happy to support you.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.