Supplier Development Engineer

De La Rue; Basingstoke; Hybrid; GBP 55,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid working opportunities

26 days annual leave + bank holidays

Contributory pension scheme (De La Rue

Private health insurance

Life assurance - 4x basic salary

Cycle to Work Scheme

Job summary

De La Rue plc in Basingstoke seeks a Supplier Development Engineer to join the Central Quality Team. You will secure supplier quality for key banknote components across manufacturing sites and manage supplier assessment from a QA perspective.

The role focuses on reducing failures, improving supplier capability, and using financial measures to gauge improvement. International travel is a core requirement, with strong leadership across functions expected.

Qualifications

• Broad business knowledge within the banknote manufacturing industry.
• Proven track record of driving continuous improvement with tangible benefits.
• Ability to drive change and influence across multiple sites.
• Experience with supplier assessment and new product introduction from a QA perspective.
• Strong leadership and cross-functional collaboration skills.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to OTIF by ensuring raw material supply is fit for purpose.
• Collaborate with procurement to support strategies and reduce risk.
• Implement supplier quality metrics to measure performance and drive improvements.
• Lead qualification of new and existing security features in the vendor portfolio.
• Create supplier development plans to improve quality and productivity year over year.
• Understand how thread specifications affect supplier quality and drive internal improvements.
• Implement robust change control to manage supplier-driven changes.

Skills

Banknote production knowledge

Continuous improvement

Stakeholder engagement

Change control

Supplier quality assurance

International travel

Education

Degree or equivalent in a technical field

Job description

The Vacancy

We are looking for a Supplier Development Engineer to join our Central Quality Team within De La Rue.

This role will provide supplier quality assurance for the key components of our banknotes into our manufacturing sites. This covers components sourced from our current or potential pipeline of new suppliers and the supply of our material into our suppliers. It Involves driving value into the supply base by reducing failure rates and improving supplier capability, using financial measures to gauge improvement in supplier performance. A strong paper manufacturing knowledge base is essential for this role, along with experience of supplier assessment and assisting new product introduction from a quality assurance perspective. Demonstrable experience in specification creation and development and supplier change control is vital for this role. This opportunity is particularly suited to an individual with strong leadership and cross-functional team building skills as well as broad business knowledge of the banknotes industry. Flexibility, sometimes at short notice, for international travel is a core requirement of this role.

Key Responsibilities

• Contribute to factory on time in full (OTIF) by assuring raw material supply is fit for purpose, reliably supplied and meets customer’s requirements
• Work closely with procurement both at category and site level to support procurement strategies and reduce risk
• Implement supplier’s quality metrics to measure performance, provide focus and drive improvement with our paper suppliers
• Lead and support the qualification process roadmap of new and existing security features into our paper supplier portfolio to enable greater scope for sourcing
• Create specific supplier development plans to drive year on year improvements in quality and productivity that translate into measurable bottom line financial benefits
• Understand how the specification & quality of what we supply in threads affects our paper suppliers and drive internal improvements for improved paper productivity and quality
• When a supplier driven change is required, implement a robust change control process to identify & mitigate risks, obtaining formal approval from key stakeholders
• Analyse & implement effective corrective actions with suppliers via the supplier corrective action request (SCAR) process, utilising the appropriate tools commensurate with the concern e.g. 8D, 4C approach, while ensuring effective containment is in place to minimise impact on the manufacturing site

Contract type: Permanent

Working hours: Full Time - 36.5 hrs per week (9am - 5:15pm Mon, 9am - 5pm Tue - Fri)

Base location: Basingstoke Viables

Skills, Qualifications & Experience

• Broad business knowledge and experience of banknotes manufacturing industry
• Proven track record of driving continuous improvement resulting in tangible benefits
• Sound judgement and ability to deal with ambiguity
• Ability to grasp technical concepts or issues quickly to then enable good problem-solving skills
• Ability to enlist support and drive significant change across multiple sites
• Experience of developing and delivering education and training programmes
• Proven track record in engaging, influencing and collaborating with key stakeholders to drive positive change
• Ability to network effectively and influence key stakeholders across multiple locations to create an environment conducive to quality compliance and improvement
• Sound commercial judgement
• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience, preferably in a technical capacity

About De La Rue

De La Rue is a leading supplier of currency solutions and a long-standing trusted partner to central banks and governments worldwide. Our products underpin the integrity of economies and trade, enabling businesses and citizens to participate securely in their respective economies. With a heritage spanning over 200 years, we remain a global leader in advancing security and integrity for currency solutions, supplying 54% of the world’s central banks and manufacturing in the UK, Europe & Asia. We produce fully finished banknotes, polymer substrate, security and currency services.

Benefits

• Car allowance
• Eligible for the Company’s Annual incentive scheme
• Hybrid working opportunities
• 26 days annual leave + bank holidays
• Contributory pension scheme (De La Rue pay 1.5x the employee's contribution - employee contributions up to a maximum of 6%, with employer contributions up to a maximum of 9%)
• Private health insurance - No cost for single cover, subsidised rates for additional dependant cover
• Life assurance - 4x your basic salary
• Chance to buy or sell holiday as part of our Annual Leave Flexibility Scheme
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Subsidised Gym Memberships
• Various other perks and Employee Assistance packages
• Enhanced family friendly policies (e.g., four weeks paid paternity leave)

***This position is located in Basingstoke. To be eligible for consideration, you must be authorised to work in the UK without company sponsorship***

Join the Team

We want to work with people like you from all backgrounds and experiences, to help us gain a diverse workforce with a broad outlook and sharp expertise. We are looking for people unafraid to go that extra mile, bringing with them unique characteristics and abilities.

Show us you have what it takes and we'll reward you with a great place to work alongside other great people. Global business, global people. We think De La Rue is an amazing place to work. But don't just take our word for it.

Join The Team and Create Your Own Story