The UK Purchasing Manager is responsible for leading and developing a team of Buyers, Supplier Quality, Supplier Development and support functions, ensuring high performance, accountability and effective collaboration across functions. This role plays a key part in aligning UK sourcing strategies with wider business and GSC objectives, driving supplier performance, managing risk, and supporting operational excellence. Acting as a central point of coordination, the role ensures purchasing adds value through early engagement, strategic sourcing, and continuous improvement across people, processes and supply chain performance.
· Lead, develop and support a team of Buyers, Supplier Quality, Supplier Development and support
functions, ensuring capability growth, clear accountability, and high performance through coaching, mentoring and structured development plans.
· Act as the primary escalation point for purchasing-related issues within the team, ensuring timely
resolution and continuous improvement in decision-making processes.
· Provide clear and consistent guidance and direction to the team, fostering a collaborative and inclusive culture aligned with business priorities, Supplier Development plans and Global Supply Chain (GSC) objectives.
· Collaborate cross-functionally with Planning, Engineering, Quality, GRB and other internal stakeholders to support early engagement, alignment, and improved procurement outcomes.
· Actively contribute to daily, weekly and monthly management meetings across the site, reinforcing cross-functional visibility of purchasing activities.
· Collaborate with Central GSC Procurement and other Purchasing teams across all Opco's to input into global commodity strategies and leverage global spend and global sourcing opportunities.
· Develop and maintain UK Supply sourcing strategies with a three-year outlook, ensuring alignment with business objectives, Global Procurement strategies, sustainability goals and risk mitigation plans.
· Effectively manage risks within the supply chain, maintaining a robust feedback loop to GSC and senior management to ensure proactive issue resolution and business continuity.
· Support the introduction and execution of UK Supply & GSC initiatives, processes and tools within the team, ensuring consistent application and added value at local level.
· Support Buyers in leading supplier relationship management activities, fostering long-term partnerships and ensuring supplier performance aligns with expectations across Quality, Cost, Delivery, Innovation and Sustainability (QCDIS).
· Support the purchasing aspects of New Product Introduction (NPI) and Value Stream activities, enabling early supplier involvement and timely material readiness.
· Drive continuous improvement by supporting and implementing purchasing process enhancements, digital tools and best practices that increase efficiency and team contribution, in alignment with Global Supply Chain strategic processes and best practices.
· Deliver year on year cost reduction in alignment with UK Supply and Global Procurement targets. · Drive supplier sustainability enhancement in alignment with Group Strategic Initiatives and Global Procurement targets, ensuring that UK Supply suppliers adhere to Spirax's sustainability values and contribute to the company's overall environmental and social goals. · Oversee and coordinate tendering, cost analysis and whole-life value assessments to ensure robust sourcing decisions and best Value for Money. · Ensure continuity of supply through effective operational oversight and by resolving issues that impact procurement execution or supplier performance, including invoice payments and other cross-functional department activities.