Job Purpose:
As a Senior Buyer, you have an important role to play in ensuring that we are delivering best value for money, minimising commercial risk, and maintaining and improving quality and performance whilst ensuring regulatory compliance within a healthcare environment. You will work closely with key stakeholders to identify, develop and implement effective sourcing initiatives and drive supplier performance to deliver the sourcing plan.
The role of Senior Buyer will include the following:
1. Develop a short and medium to long term vision for the relevant sub-categories, ensuring full alignment to business needs
2. Identify and implement opportunities for cost reduction, service improvement and risk mitigation within the designated sub-categories
3. Develop and lead new sourcing initiatives including defining business needs, sourcing, supplier negotiation, implementation and performance monitoring.
4. Ensure effective contract management for key suppliers/categories, based on key performance metrics. quality/response time
5. Develop strong relationships with key suppliers and internal stakeholders in order to drive improvements
The role of Senior Buyer is expected to be focussed primarily on the clinical consumables category, however may be allocated to a different category from time to time to meet business needs.
Accountabilities and Activities:
6. In conjunction with the Category Manager and / or Head of Procurement, identify, develop and implement sourcing/procurement strategies to ensure best value for money.
7. Lead and implement new sourcing initiatives aligned with Spire’s business needs and the procurement plan.
8. Conclude sourcing initiatives with relevant legal framework to minimise commercial risks and ensure performance can be monitored.
9. Develop and maintain relationships with key suppliers to improve quality and service performance, risk mitigation and identify opportunities to drive further value from our relationships.
10. Measures and actively manages supplier performance against agreed service levels, implementing improvement plans where required.
11. Develop strong relationships with key stakeholders, generating a solid understanding of their business, potential impact or directional change for sub-categories and to ensure the delivery of the right solutions in terms of quality, value and functionality
12. Work closely with the relevant key stakeholders to ensure that best value for money is achieved.
13. Monitor compliance to preferred supplier agreements and work with hospitals and suppliers to ensure such benefits are realised
14. Be the subject matter expert for designated sub-categories, ensuring sound commercial advice is provided to the business at all times.
15. Develop a detailed understanding of relevant sub-categories, monitoring and highlighting when market changes will have a material impact on our cost base, recommending relevant action to be taken.
16. Work in conjunction with other Procurement team members and share experiences and practices to further improve procurement process, tools and performance
17. Produce clear project status updates and management information reports for the Category Manager and / or Head of Procurement.
18. Comply with and promote the Spire Healthcare Procurement Policy across the organisation.
19. For regulatory compliance, underpin robust processes that maintain procurement information/data, files and records.
20. Represent the Procurement team at cross functional meetings
21. Ensure supplier pricing is maintained accurately at all times and support the resolution of any price queries by working with the Accounts team as required
22. This is not an exhaustive list, as positions of this nature will require flexibility, adaptability and response to business needs.
Qualifications, Training and Experience:
23. Graduate or equivalent, and/or working towards MCIPS or MCIPS qualified preferred.
24. Several years’ proven experience in a similar Procurement role
25. Demonstrates procurement competence, strong negotiation & influencing skills, with evidence of having applied innovative thinking
26. Ability to understand, articulate and lead the sourcing process
27. Experience of developing and executing sourcing initiatives.
28. “Hands on” approach. Versatile, tenacious and people orientated.
29. Able to prioritise effectively, taking into account short and long-term needs of the business.
30. Experience of healthcare sector is desirable but not essential.
31. Proficiency in drafting, reviewing and negotiating contractual terms and conditions and service level agreements
32. Effective communicator at all levels (written and verbal), with excellent interpersonal and influencing skills.
33. Well organised and accurate under pressure
34. Ability to gather, collate and analyse large amounts of procurement and financial data.
35. Effective in analytical thinking, decision making, report writing and presentations.
36. Ability to lead and participate actively in cross-functional project teams and familiarity with process improvement methodology.
37. The ability to work effectively with senior and other business management is essential.
38. Ability to build and maintain effective supplier relationships based on the highest standards of ethical conduct.
39. Competent use of Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, as a minimum) at an advanced level.
40. Full Driving License required.
41. Proven track record of controlling and reducing external spend whilst developing a robust supplier base.
Judgement Skills:
42. The Senior Buyer is required to plan, implement and manage, a wide variety of complex initiatives.
43. In conjunction with the Category Manager / Head of Procurement, the Senior Buyer will be responsible to define and implement procurement best practice for the relevant sub-categories.
44. In order to drive projects and process improvements, the Senior Buyer needs to lead and influence colleagues from different parts of Spire as well as suppliers. This will require high standards of personal organisation, data presentation and interpersonal skills in addition to professional procurement expertise.
45. Participating in, cross-functional and cross-business projects will require individual judgement skills.
46. Interaction with internal and external customers at the highest levels will be required, this calls for strong orientation to customer satisfaction and the ability to recognise, define & meet the customer’s needs.
47. The jobholder will work daily with commercially sensitive information, and must maintain confidentiality in all aspects of the position.
Freedom of Action:
48. Leading negotiations directly with suppliers and on behalf of the company, using best practice tools and methodology, including composing and agreeing contract terms
49. Commitment of budgeted expenditure within agreed authority.
50. Determine and implement plans for improved business performance across the category
51. Major decisions will be made in conjunction with the Category Manager and/or Head of Procurement or as part of an appropriate group, as directed by the Head of Procurement
52. The Senior Buyer role will be responsible to the Category Manager on a day to day basis.
53. He/she has delegated authority to recommend suppliers with whom to trade and negotiate contract terms and conditions.
54. The Senior Buyer also represents the Department on relevant Procurement projects and meetings.
Environment:
The position will be offered on a Hybrid working arrangement. Two days at Worcester Six and three days home-based. The role will also involve occasional travel to hospitals and other business premises as well as travel to suppliers’ premises.