Reading
Senior Buyer - Ingredients & Packaging Procurement Location: Berkshire Food Manufacturing - Multi-Site - High-Impact FMCG Environment Salary: £40-50,000 + benefits + career opportunities + CPD (CIPS) A highly respected and rapidly evolving UK food manufacturing business is seeking an exceptional Buyer to take ownership of strategically critical procurement categories across ingredients and packaging (approximately £20m portfolio) within a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment. The organisation operates within a dynamic food manufacturing environment supplying both retail and B2B channels, where procurement plays a central role in protecting margin, maintaining continuity of supply, driving innovation, and supporting wider commercial performance. This is not a transactional buying role. It requires a commercially astute, strategically minded procurement professional capable of operating across supplier markets, manufacturing operations, finance, planning, technical, NPD, and commercial teams to deliver measurable business impact. The Opportunity • Develop and execute category strategies aligned to wider business objectives, • Manage supplier performance, cost control, and security of supply across critical spend areas, • Operate confidently within volatile commodity and ingredient markets, • Lead commercial negotiations with both UK and international suppliers, • Identify opportunities for value creation beyond simple cost reduction, • Support working capital and inventory optimisation initiatives, • Drive supplier innovation into the wider business, • Partner closely with operational stakeholders to support service, production, and customer requirements, • Build robust procurement governance whilst maintaining pace and agility, • The role requires someone capable of balancing strategic thinking with operational execution. Key Areas of Responsibility Strategic Procurement & Category Management • Develop robust procurement category strategies across allocated areas of spend, • Create short, medium, and long-term sourcing plans aligned to business growth and operational requirements, • Continuously analyse supplier markets, commodity movements, inflationary pressures, & broader market dynamics, • Identify opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership whilst protecting quality and service, • Lead strategic sourcing activity including tendering, benchmarking, supplier rationalisation, and contract negotiations, • Deliver procurement savings, value improvement initiatives, and margin enhancement opportunities, • Build contingency planning and mitigation strategies for supply chain risk, • Ensure continuity of supply across critical operational categories, • Support procurement transformation and continuous improvement initiatives Supplier Management & Commercial Leadership • Build strong strategic relationships with key suppliers and manufacturing partners, • Lead supplier negotiations, • Conduct supplier performance reviews and drive accountability through structured KPIs, • Introduce joint business planning approaches with strategically important suppliers, • Drive supplier-led innovation into the business, • Challenge underperformance and implement corrective action where required, • Collaborate with suppliers on cost engineering and value optimisation initiatives Operational & Cross-Functional Partnership • Work closely with manufacturing, planning, technical, finance, commercial, and NPD functions to support business objectives, • Support service continuity and minimise operational disruption through proactive supplier and inventory management, • Participate in business-critical operational and supply chain meetings, • Contribute to working capital reduction initiatives, • Ensure procurement decisions balance commercial objectives with operational realities, • Support launch activity, customer requirements, and business growth initiatives Market Intelligence & Risk Management • Monitor commodity and ingredient markets continuously, • Forecast pricing movements and supplier market trends, • Assess geopolitical, agricultural, economic, and supply chain risks, • Provide commercial insight and market intelligence to internal stakeholders, • Support budget planning and forecasting activity with accurate procurement analysis, • Develop proactive risk mitigation strategies across categories The Candidate • Degree educated and a minimum of CIPS Level 3 or 4, • This role requires an experienced FMCG procurement professional with strong food manufacturing or FMCG exposure, • Progressive procurement and category management experience within FMCG manufacturing, • Experience purchasing ingredients, raw materials, commodities, and packaging, • Experience operating within food manufacturing or complex manufacturing supply chains, • Strong negotiation capability across supplier relationships, • Excellent commercial acumen and analytical capability, • Experience managing volatile commodity-driven categories, • Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, • The ability to operate with pace, resilience, and accountability, • A highly collaborative approach combined with the confidence to challenge constructively, • Strong understanding of procurement governance, supplier management, and category strategy, • The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational responsiveness Personal Attributes • Commercially sharp and analytically minded, • Proactive and solutions focused, • Comfortable operating within fast-moving manufacturing environments, • Highly organised with strong attention to detail, • Confident influencing cross-functional stakeholders, • Capable of managing competing priorities effectively, • Collaborative whilst able to challenge appropriately, • Driven to continuously improve processes, performance, and outcomes, • Resilient under pressure and calm within operationally demanding situations Why This Opportunity? • Significant exposure across the wider business, • The opportunity to influence strategic procurement direction, • Ownership of commercially important categories, • A collaborative and fast-paced FMCG environment, • Strong long-term career development potential, • The ability to make a visible and measurable impact
