Senior Buyer / Commodity Buyer

We are seeking an experienced and commercially minded Commodity Buyer to join our procurement team within a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

This role will be responsible for managing assigned commodity categories, ensuring continuity of supply, driving cost savings, and building strong supplier relationships to support business and production objectives.

Key Responsibilities:
Procurement & Sourcing
- Manage the end-to-end procurement process for assigned commodities and components.
- Source and evaluate new suppliers, materials, and alternative solutions to improve cost efficiency and supply resilience.
- Conduct market analysis to monitor pricing trends, supplier risks, and commodity movements.
- Lead RFQ activities, negotiate pricing and commercial terms, and secure best-value agreements.

Supplier Management
- Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships to ensure quality, delivery, and performance expectations are met.
- Monitor supplier KPIs and support continuous improvement initiatives.
- Conduct supplier reviews, audits, and performance evaluations.
- Resolve supply chain issues and proactively escalate potential risks.

Cost & Contract Management
- Drive cost reduction and value engineering initiatives while maintaining product quality and availability.
- Prepare cost analysis, forecasts, and supplier proposals for internal stakeholders.
- Negotiate long-term agreements and service-level expectations.

Cross-Functional Collaboration
- Work closely with Production, Engineering, Quality, and Planning teams to support operational requirements.
- Support new product introduction projects through effective sourcing and supplier engagement.
- Ensure procurement strategies align with wider business objectives and manufacturing efficiency goals.

Systems & Compliance
- Maintain accurate procurement and supplier data within ERP/MRP systems.
- Ensure compliance with company policies, quality standards, and ethical procurement practices.
- Produce reports and track procurement KPIs as required.

Skills & Experience:
Essential
- Previous experience within procurement, purchasing, or supply chain roles, ideally within manufacturing or engineering.
- Strong negotiation and supplier management skills.
- Ability to analyse data, market trends, and make commercially sound decisions.
- Experience using ERP/MRP/SAP systems and strong Excel skills.
- Excellent communication and stakeholder management abilities.

Desirable
- CIPS qualification or currently studying towards CIPS.
- Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or continuous improvement methodologies.
- Experience managing global suppliers or complex commodity categories.

At KHR we take care to ensure that you are represented as well as possible so it is worth checking your CV for layout, spelling and grammar as well as making sure it is up to date before you submit. If you feel you need to highlight particular qualifications, skills or relevant experience with regards to a specific role then please add a cover letter or a preface page. This does not need to be formatted in the same manner. In addition, if your CV is heavy with graphics etc, please could you also submit a "clean" copy in Word. Thank you.

KH Recruitment Ltd is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy. KHR - Recruitment Specialists is a trading name of KH Recruitment Ltd Keep in touch with us online for job alerts, industry updates and market...