Procurement Senior Category Buyer - Global Engineering & Industrial Organisation
2 days ago
Manchester
Procurement Senior Category Buyer - Global Engineering & Industrial Organisation Locations: Manchester / Surrey / Yorkshire (Hybrid: 2 days per week on site) Salary: £50,000–£58,000 +Discretionary bonus + excellent benefits Category Spend: c. £50m Step into a high-impact role within one of the world’s most respected engineering organisations, operating at the cutting edge of chemicals, gases and technical manufacturing. This is a standout opportunity for a rising procurement professional looking to accelerate their career within a complex, strategic, and commercially critical category. You will manage end-to-end procurement activity across special gases, packaged gases, electronic gases and chemicals, blending strategic category ownership with hands-on delivery. Expect exposure to high-value negotiations, supplier optimisation, cross-functional stakeholder influence, and international collaboration across EMEA. If you’re driven, commercially sharp, and ready to develop into a true category leader, this role will give you depth, visibility, and progression you won’t easily find elsewhere. Key Responsibilities • Develop and deliver category strategies aligned to business priorities, productivity targets and risk mitigation, • Lead value improvement initiatives (cost optimisation, alternative sourcing, process efficiencies, value engineering), • Build, develop and manage supplier relationships, driving continuous improvement and innovation, • Identify, evaluate and onboard new suppliers to support category growth and resilience, • Negotiate pricing, commercial terms and contract agreements, • Conduct robust market and supply analysis to monitor trends, regulation, and competitive positioning, • Ensure strong governance, contract compliance and risk management, • Oversee procurement lifecycle activities including contract drafting, review and execution, • Manage supplier KPIs and performance reviews, implementing corrective actions where necessary, • Champion total cost of ownership thinking and challenge historic practices, • Work closely with supply chain, logistics, planning and operations teams to support business continuity, • Engage with senior leaders (Finance, BU Heads, Operations, Supply Chain) to align procurement strategy and delivery, • Collaborate across EMEA/global procurement networks to leverage best practice and scale advantages About You: You’re a proactive, curious and commercially driven procurement professional with foundational experience and a desire to develop into a strategic category leader. Essential: • 3–5 years’ procurement experience (direct spend), • Confident stakeholder engagement and influencing skills, • Proven experience supporting both tactical and strategic procurement activity, • Strong negotiation ability and commercial acumen, • Comfortable navigating complex environments with multiple priorities, • Exposure to international suppliers or multi-regional markets Desirable: • Experience within chemicals, industrial gases, special gases, technical or engineering categories, • Degree or equivalent professional experience, • CIPS qualification (or currently studying), • Understanding of contract drafting and management, • Background in industrial, manufacturing or engineering environments What’s on Offer • £50,000–£58,000 base salary, • 10% annual bonus, • Hybrid working (2 days per week on site), • Occasional UK travel (minimal global travel), • Meaningful ownership of a specialist, high-value category, • Clear progression path into a senior procurement position Why This Role? • Visibility: Direct exposure to senior leadership and strategic decision-making, • Growth: The organisation actively develops procurement talent into senior roles, • Scale: Work within a global function and learn best practice from a world-class procurement network, • Impact: Every project you deliver will be measurable, commercial, and business-critical Interview Process • Initial 30–45 min call: CV overview, motivations, capability alignment, • Final panel interview: Technical, behavioural, and scenario-based assessment Ready to Take the Next Step? If you’re ambitious, commercially minded and excited by the prospect of owning a technical, high-value category in a global engineering business, we’d love to hear from you. This role offers genuine development, senior support, and the opportunity to make a visible impact from day one. Apply now and build a procurement career with scale, purpose and progression.