Senior Buyer, Corporate Services

Our client is an international FMCG (food) company that manufactures leading brands and is growing rapidly through acquisition.  They have created a new opportunity for a senior procurement professional to join the Indirects team and lead on the Corporate Services (HR, Travel and Fleet) categories as well as manage the commercial relationship with an outsourced procurement consultancy.  

Working as part of a strategic and central procurement team, you will have the opportunity to influence categories strategies in the UK head office and 10 international manufacturing plants and design and implement a Group procurement policy for HR, Travel and Fleet.  

You will use your communication and influencing skills to work with stakeholders on the commercial benefits of procurement strategies.  It will be essential to build trust, understand business requirements and deliver value through the procurement processes.  You must be comfortable and confident to identify and scope business opportunities, motivate and develop project teams and run procurement projects at pace.  Cost savings are important to the business but you will be able to bring broader value to the business by looking at other areas such as sustainability, risk and value-add.  

There are some significant procurement projects in the pipeline for the Corporate Services category including a TMC review and Fleet consolidation.  This is a great time to join a fast moving and results focused business that has ambitious plans for 2019.  

Key responsibilities include:
• Category Management - developing category plans for Corporate Services spend to include plans for individual sourcing projects, identifying cost saving benefits and timeframes.  Running regular category review meetings with key stakeholders, up to Executive level
• Strategic Sourcing – developing sourcing strategies to achieve annual savings targets through spend analysis, market research, developing specifications, drafting tender documentation and running tenders and contract management
• Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) – creating an SRM programme with suppliers to include continuous improvement
• Stakeholder Management – creating buy-in, building credibility and attending stakeholder forums to get a better understanding of business requirements
• Innovation – generating new process improvement possibilities through the category management process and delivering new revenue generating ideas via the supply base  

The ideal applicant:
• Procurement professional with 5 years+ experience and category management skills in Indirect procurement, preferably with experience in at least one of the following categories:  HR, Fleet, Travel, Marketing or Professional Services
• Experience in managing outsourced procurement providers is an advantage
• Strong commercial acumen and leadership qualities
• Experience of working in a complex, fast moving business, such as FMCG, and multi-cultural empathy
• Graduate calibre (Degree)
• Proven experience of devising and delivering category strategy development as well as excellent negotiation skills
• A self-starter and change agent with project management skills
• Track record of engaging with and educating senior stakeholders
• A self-starter with the ability to build your own work load and prioritise