Supply Chain jobs in United Kingdom

Procurement Assistant

Responsible to: Group Head of Strategic Sourcing

Department: Finance

Location: JD Sports Fashion plc, Bury Head Office

Group Overview: Established in 1981 with a single store in the North-West of England, JD Sports Fashion plc is a leading global omnichannel retailer of sports fashion and outdoor brands. JD is an industry-leading retail business which combines the best of physical and digital retail to give a compelling consumer proposition, enabling its customers to shop seamlessly across all channels. The Group now has over 4,500 stores across 36 countries with a strong presence in the UK, Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, and is proud of the fact that it always provides its customers with the latest products from the very best brands.

Role Background: The Procurement Assistant will support the Sourcing function and assist Sourcing Managers with administrative tasks, aiding cost efficiency. You will handle high-quality data and analysis of our indirect suppliers. As part of a high-performing team, you will help grow the Group Procurement function while ensuring financial information is captured, monitored, and shared to improve efficiency.

You should be detail-oriented, highly organised, and meet deadlines well. You will interact with our Finance and Legal teams. This role is ideal for those entering Procurement or who enjoy administration, offering opportunities for self-development and stakeholder management.

Responsibilities: This is an exciting opportunity to help support and deliver the Procurement strategy. We are looking for an individual with a passion and enthusiasm. Acting as a support for all required sourcing and commercial activities, the successful candidate shall ensure that negotiation, contract work is undertaken in accordance with Group and sector best practice, including but not limited to:

• Assist in commercial analysis on the back of sourcing opportunities alongside any administrative duties as required.
• Prioritising and managing workload and to-do list, managing expectations cross-functionally.
• Attending and taking comprehensive and detailed meeting notes and actions.
• Building and maintaining productive relationships within the company.
• Supporting your line manager with the provision of expenditure data and analysis of required suppliers.
• Providing data insights that support procurement simplifications and efficiencies.
• After training has been provided, using Group Finance platforms for Purchase Orders, tenders, eSourcing and eAuctions to ensure financial and operational transparency.
• Contributing to Group ESG goals pertaining to climate change, sustainable sourcing, recycling, and the circular economy.
• Regular engagement with the Group Legal and Finance teams to minimise risk and maximise commercial leverage.

Key Relationships:

• Group Finance and Procurement
• Third Party Suppliers
• Divisional teams including Supply Chain, Retail, Marketing, Digital, Technology, People and Legal

Skills/Experience/Knowledge required:

• Highly numerate with the ability to create, review and analyse data using Microsoft Excel.
• Ability to create visual dashboards with any other BI/data visualisation tools preferred.
• The ability to present at a high standard, to create actionable insight via Microsoft PowerPoint.
• At ease communicating with, and presenting to, key stakeholders in a clear and concise manner with the aim of influencing decision-making from the insights presented.
• Diligence – the ability to assess and scrutinise key reports and work prior to submitting to line manager, meeting the standards required, and striving to improve the quality and use of data.
• Confidence to own problems and issues, propose solutions and ensure deadlines and/or business goals are achieved.
• Motivation to further develop existing skills, and to learn new processes and systems.
• Contribute to continued team development by identifying potential efficiencies and appropriately challenging existing processes.

The Successful Applicant:

• Negotiation and leadership skills.
• Confident, self-starter with a can-do attitude.
• Proficiency in MS Office software and computer systems.
• Excellent decision-making and strategic thinking abilities.