Senior Buyer in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Salary: £55,000 to £65,000 per year, plus discretionary annual profit scheme
Job Type: Permanent, Full-Time
Working Pattern: Office-Based

Are you an experienced, commercially minded Senior Buyer ready for a newly created role where you can shape how purchasing is done? Appointments Personnel is recruiting for a Senior Buyer in Newcastle-under-Lyme to join the purchasing team at a manufacturing business. If you have a strong background in procurement, strategic sourcing, category management and supplier negotiation, this role offers real scope to make a visible impact.

The Role
As Senior Buyer, you’ll play a key part in keeping the business supplied with the goods, materials and services it needs, while improving supplier performance, commercial outcomes and data-led decision-making. Working closely with the Purchasing Director, you’ll lead strategic sourcing and category management activity and help drive improvements across both the team and the supplier base. It’s a newly created position, so you’ll have the chance to influence purchasing processes and supplier strategy from the start.

Key Responsibilities

• Maintain the continuous supply of goods, materials and services to the business.
• Lead category management activity and make sure purchase orders are created accurately and on time.
• Interpret material requirements and demand at different levels across the business.
• Agree requirements and delivery dates with suppliers, resolve issues and drive continuous improvement.
• Negotiate commercial terms and deliver value through effective sourcing decisions.
• Monitor market trends and supplier capability, and identify opportunities to develop new suppliers.
• Manage supplier relationships through structured performance reviews, challenging underperformance constructively.
• Develop and monitor key performance indicators, contributing to departmental reporting and stakeholder engagement.
• Strengthen purchasing processes and reporting, and support complex supplier or supply issues.
• Mentor colleagues, support the development of team capability and deputise for the Purchasing Director when required.

Skills and Experience
To be successful in this Senior Buyer role, you’ll ideally have:

• A CIPS Level 6 qualification.
• Extensive procurement or purchasing experience at a senior level, ideally in a manufacturing environment such as metal fabricating, timber or plastics.
• Strong strategic sourcing capability, including overseas sourcing experience.
• Excellent negotiation, commercial and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder-management skills, with a proven ability to build and manage effective supplier partnerships.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word and PowerPoint.
• Desirable: a degree in business, engineering or a related discipline, working knowledge of Sage, knowledge of steel, timber and plastics markets, and experience of category management, leading teams and coaching colleagues.

You’ll be resilient, decisive and commercially astute, comfortable in a fast-paced environment, and able to balance attention to detail with a strategic perspective.

Salary and Benefits

• Salary of £55,000 to £65,000 per year.
• Discretionary annual profit scheme.
• Permanent, full-time position.
• 25 days’ holiday entitlement, plus 8 bank holidays.
• The opportunity to shape purchasing processes and supplier strategy in a newly created role.

Working Hours and Location

• Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 16:30, with additional hours as may be required.
• Full-time and office-based in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

How to Apply
If you’re interested in this Senior Buyer job in Newcastle-under-Lyme and your skills and experience match what we’re looking for, we’d love to hear from you. Apply today with your up-to-date CV.