Strategic Procurement & Supply Chain Lead

Universal Business Team; Essex; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 60,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Private Healthcare

25 days annual leave

Profit related bonus

OS benefits

Job summary

Wickford, Essex-based manufacturer seeks a hands-on Procurement & Supply Chain Manager to own procurement, supplier relationships and inventory strategy across the business. You will lead a small team, negotiate major contracts and drive improvements in cost, availability and supplier performance.

Reporting to the MD and sitting on the SLT, you’ll shape the function, balance working capital with stock, and manage overseas suppliers while collaborating with finance, operations and sales to

Qualifications

• Proven procurement experience within manufacturing, distribution or a similar product-led environment.
• Experience managing overseas suppliers and significant purchasing spend.
• Strong negotiation and supplier-management skills.
• A good understanding of inventory planning, forecasting and working-capital trade-offs.
• Experience managing and developing a small procurement team.
• Hands-on approach with ability to delve into detail and drive improvements.

Responsibilities

• Own and develop the procurement and supply chain strategy across manufactured and factored products.
• Lead supplier selection, negotiation, contracts and performance management, including key overseas suppliers in Turkey and the Far East.
• Manage purchasing spend, pricing, freight, lead times, MOQs and supplier terms.
• Own inventory parameters, forecasting and safety-stock policy, balancing product availability with working capital.
• Drive down excess, slow-moving and obsolete stock.
• Identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including supplier concentration, FX, freight and geographic exposure.
• Work closely with Finance, Operations, Sales, Quality and NPD to improve forecasting, margins and service levels.
• Lead and develop a team of three, setting clear KPIs and standards.
• Improve procurement processes, systems and automation, making better use of ERP, inventory planning and reporting tools.
• Bring market intelligence and commercial insight to the SLT and make recommendations that improve the performance of the business.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Supplier management

Negotiation

Inventory planning

Cost optimization

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

ERP systems

Reporting tools

Job description

Wickford, Essex-based manufacturer seeks a hands-on Procurement & Supply Chain Manager to own procurement, supplier relationships and inventory strategy across the business. You will lead a small team, negotiate major contracts and drive improvements in cost, availability and supplier performance.

Reporting to the MD and sitting on the SLT, you’ll shape the function, balance working capital with stock, and manage overseas suppliers while collaborating with finance, operations and sales to