Strategic Purchasing & Materials Lead

Vickerstock; Northern Ireland; On-site; GBP 42,000 - 54,000; Full time

Job summary

Vickerstock are partnering with a manufacturing business to appoint a Purchasing Team Lead responsible for overseeing material planning and coordination across site. You will lead the operational buying team to ensure materials are available for production while maintaining appropriate inventory levels.

The role involves managing supplier relationships, demand forecasting, and coordinating procurement activities with finance, quality and operations to prevent disruption and maintain production

Qualifications

• Experience in purchasing/material planning and supplier management, with progression within procurement or supply chain.
• Experience leading a small team or coordinating its daily workflow, including workload allocation, coaching and performance check-ins.
• Practical experience using procurement or ERP systems for purchase orders, approval workflows and supplier data.
• Hands-on supplier management experience, including performance reviews, improvement plans and issue resolution.
• Experience coordinating procurement requirements with finance, quality and operations teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop the operational buying team, allocating workloads, setting daily priorities and providing coaching and training.
• Oversee demand forecasting and material requirements planning to align material availability with production schedules.
• Coordinate purchasing activity to secure materials when required and maintain production continuity.
• Monitor inventory levels, safety stock and supplier lead times alongside the Inventory Manager to prevent shortages and excess stock.
• Act as a second point of escalation for material shortages, coordinating resolution and escalating supply risks to the Category Lead team where required.
• Manage supplier relationships, reviewing performance, resolving issues and agreeing improvement actions.
• Work with production, stores, logistics and quality teams to coordinate material requirements and resolve operational issues.
• Provide management and relevant departments with clear updates on material availability, supply risks and recovery actions.
• Ensure purchasing activity complies with company policies, the Code of Conduct, quality standards and applicable regulatory requirements.

Skills

Team leadership

Supplier management

Material planning

Forecasting

Cross-functional collaboration

Coordination

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Office

Job description

Vickerstock are partnering with a manufacturing business to appoint a Purchasing Team Lead responsible for overseeing material planning and coordination across site. You will lead the operational buying team to ensure materials are available for production while maintaining appropriate inventory levels.

The role involves managing supplier relationships, demand forecasting, and coordinating procurement activities with finance, quality and operations to prevent disruption and maintain production