Sourcing Specialist - Plastics & Polymers

Pineapple Contracts Inc.; East Malling; Hybrid; GBP 42,000 - 63,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

The Sunday Times Best Places to Work

Competitive salary

15 work from home days per year

Pension scheme

Healthcare Cash Plan

Perks & rewards platform

Gym discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

23 days' holiday + UK bank holidays

Birthday day off

Loyalty reward

Death in service

Learning & Development platform

Tree planting initiative

Sustainability-focused business

Team socials and events

Job summary

Pineapple is seeking a commercially driven Sourcing Specialist with strong plastics and polymer knowledge to shape our supplier base. This office-based or hybrid role focuses on strategic sourcing, supplier development, and cost/performance improvements across plastics manufacturing.

You’ll work with internal stakeholders and external partners to deliver measurable commercial outcomes. The role requires hands-on experience in plastics processing methods, supplier evaluation, and cross-functional

Qualifications

• Proven experience in strategic sourcing within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong knowledge of plastics manufacturing and processing methods.
• Experience negotiating with suppliers and delivering measurable improvements.
• Structured, analytical and commercially minded decision-making.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement sourcing strategies for plastics, polymers and related components.
• Identify, evaluate and develop suppliers considering capability, capacity, quality and cost.
• Lead supplier negotiations and drive cost-reduction initiatives.
• Collaborate with new product development, materials development, and purchasing teams on new products and tooling.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Plastics expertise

Supplier development

Negotiation skills

Stakeholder management

Cost reduction

Tools

Microsoft Office

Excel

Job description

Sourcing Specialist - Plastics & Polymer

LOCATION: Aylesford, Kent, Office based or Hybrid

WORKING HOURS: 8.00am - 4.30pm

CONTRACT: Full-time, Permanent

Join Our Team

We're looking for a commercially driven sourcing professional with strong technical knowledge of plastics manufacturing to help shape and develop our supplier base.
This is a specialist role sitting at the intersection of strategic sourcing, polymer-processing technology and supplier development. You'll work closely with internal stakeholders and external manufacturing partners to improve cost, quality, capacity, innovation and long-term supply performance.
We're particularly interested in people who understand how plastics components are manufactured and can translate that knowledge into better sourcing decisions, stronger supplier relationships and measurable commercial results.

What We’re Looking for

• You will develop and implement sourcing strategies for plastics, polymers and associated manufactured components.
• Identifying, evaluating and developing suppliers, including assessing technical capability, capacity, quality and commercial competitiveness.
• Leading supplier negotiations, cost-reduction initiatives, cost breakdown analysis and commercial agreements.
• Working with new product development, materials development, and purchasing teams on new products, materials, tooling and manufacturing processes.
• Supporting tooling investment decisions, supplier industrialisation and new product introduction.
• Assessing manufacturing methods such as injection moulding, rotational moulding, extrusion, blow moulding and thermoforming.
• Managing supplier performance, risk, continuity of supply and continuous improvement.
• Building a resilient, competitive supply base that supports our product development and business growth.
• Any other ad hoc duties as required by the business.

What success looks like

Success looks like developing a competitive, reliable supply base for plastics and manufactured components, delivering cost savings, strong supplier performance and supporting new product development and business growth.

Requirements

Ideally, you'll have:

• Proven experience in strategic sourcing, procurement or supplier development within a manufacturing environment.
• Strong practical knowledge of plastics or polymer manufacturing and the commercial implications of different processing methods.
• Experience negotiating with suppliers and delivering measurable cost, quality or performance improvements.
  The ability to assess manufacturing capability, challenge supplier quotations and work effectively with technical stakeholders.
• A structured, analytical and commercially minded approach to decision-making.
• Comfortable travelling to supplier sites in the UK and internationally.
• Strong IT skills, including Microsoft Office and Excel.
• A practical, solutions-focused approach and a genuine interest in turning concepts into manufacturable products.
• Injection moulding, rotational moulding, extrusion, blow moulding or thermoforming.
• Tooling procurement, mould costings, material selection or polymer component development.
• Supplier selection, new product introduction and manufacturing process optimisation.
• Experience working with UK and international manufacturing supply chains.

You don't need to have held this exact job title. We're interested in people who can demonstrate the right combination of technical plastics expertise, sourcing capability and commercial judgement. If you combine technical understanding of plastics manufacturing with strong commercial sourcing skills, we'd like to hear from you.

Benefits

Benefits and Perks

Here's what you can look forward to when you join us:

• We're proud to be recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work for three consecutive years) - and we work hard to make sure our people genuinely feel it
• Competitive salary and a discretionary annual bonus
• 15 work from home days per year or Hybrid working
• Pension scheme
• Healthcare Cash Plan - claim back medical, dental and optical costs
• Perks & rewards platform - access hundreds of deals and discounts
• Gym discounts through our perks platform
• Employee Assistance Programme - confidential support when you need it
• 23 days' holiday plus UK bank holidays, increasing to 26 with length of service
• An extra day off for your birthday
• Loyalty reward for increasing years of service
• Death in service
• Learning & Development platform with online courses, certifications and professional development tools to support your career growth
• Tree planted in your honour when you join - with trees already planted in the UK, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Madagascar
• Sustainability-focused business - committed to low-carbon operations, renewable energy and recycled materials
• Regular team socials and events, including summer and Christmas parties
• Christmas gift
• Monthly Pizza Friday
• Free fruit, snacks, hot drinks and cold beverages
• Refer a friend scheme - £250 reward
• EV car charging facilities
• High-quality, modern office environment
• Free onsite parking / within walking distance from the train station

About Pineapple

Pineapple is a global leader in designing innovative furniture for challenging environments. Founded in 1975 as a family-run business, we've grown into an international organisation with headquarters in Kent and offices in France, Germany and the USA.

With more than 200 employees worldwide, we're passionate about creating furniture that not only looks great and performs exceptionally but also helps create calm, safe and inspiring spaces for the people who use it.

We're proud to have been recognised as one of The Sunday Times Best Places to Work for three consecutive years. Our people are at the heart of everything we do, and we're committed to creating a workplace where everyone feels valued, supported and empowered to succeed.

Our Values

We're proud of the culture we've built and are looking for someone who shares our values:

Teamwork - We work collaboratively, supporting one another and recognising that the best results come from working together.

Committed - We take pride in what we do, showing dedication, reliability and a strong work ethic every day.

Ownership - We take responsibility for our work, act with integrity and continually look for ways to improve.

Positive - We approach challenges with optimism, enthusiasm and a solutions-focused mindset.

Responsive - We act quickly, communicate effectively and always strive to exceed customer expectations.

If you're looking for a supportive, people-first workplace where you can grow your career and genuinely enjoy coming to work, you'll feel right at home with us.

Diversity & Inclusion -

Pineapple is an equal opportunities employer. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds and are committed to creating an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.