This is a great opportunity to join long-established UK engineering and machine-builder based in Essex, that are part of the insulating-glass industries. This role holds overall responsibility for both the procurement and commercial sales functions within the business. You will define and lead the purchasing strategy, manage all purchasing functions including supplier relationships and senior buyers. Concurrently you will set and drive the component-sales strategy, oversee the spare parts sales order processing with a level of customer excellency.
Key Responsibilities:
Lead strategic sourcing initiatives to identify, evaluate, and secure reliable suppliers that support business objectives.
Negotiate and manage supplier contracts, ensuring best value, quality, and long-term partnerships.
Negotiate supplier payment terms to optimise cash flow and strengthen commercial performance.
Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, fostering collaboration and continuous improvement.
Collaborate cross-functionally with operations, finance, engineering (if applicable) and marketing to ensure alignment of supply chain, parts-sales and commercial goals.
Monitor and manage supplier risk, implementing mitigation strategies to ensure supply continuity.
Prepare and collate detailed project costings, supporting accurate forecasting and financial control.
Oversee sales order processing and the sales-administrations: ensure efficient order entry, accurate invoicing, timely delivery, and high customer service standards.
Lead continuous improvement initiatives and ensure best practice procurement/sales processes, systems and workflows.
Ensure compliance with company policies and relevant regulatory or quality standards as applicable to spare-parts supply and commercial operations.
Skills & Experience:
Proven experience in a combined supply chain/procurement and sales environment, ideally within manufacturing, engineering, industrial components or spare-parts business.
Strong leadership skills: ability to manage teams across purchasing and sales-order functions.
Commercial mindset: comfortable with sales strategy, upselling, customer account management and revenue generation.
Excellent negotiation and supplier-management skills; strong supplier-contract and cost-management experience.
Proven sales-order-processing experience, understanding of sales administration, customer service and delivery-oriented operations.
Good understanding of inventory management, demand planning, logistic/supply-chain flows
Develop and manage the company MRP system, recommend options to improve the company sales order processing practices
Excellent communication skills and stakeholder management (both internal and external).
Experience with SQL & ODBC and SAP would be advantageous.
Personal Attributes:
An experience Purchasing professional ideally with CIPS level experience with purchasing experience of working in a manufacturing or engineering environment.
Excellent IT skills, specifically Microsoft Excel, experience with SQL & ODBC and SAP would be advantageous.
Excellent communication skills
Willing and able to apply commercial knowledge and experience from purchasing role into our component sales function