Strategic Buyer

Strategic Buyer   Our client, a leading advanced engineering company with a global reach, is seeking a Strategic Buyer to join their team in Eastbourne.   Scope of Role Responsible for the strategic sourcing and optimisation of the supply chain of highly engineered components (low volume, high mix): Determine supply chain strategy to reduce cost, improve quality and delivery opportunities. Keep appraised of the supply chain environment and modify key strategies to improve cost, delivery, service and quality through strategic sourcing programs and supplier performance management. Job Duties & Responsibilities Own, form & support positive relationships with key suppliers, and internal stakeholders Drive bottom line results, improving service, risk, quality across supplier base. Identify, develop, and lead the efforts to qualify high performing suppliers across the portfolio. Analyse spend by commodity to determine opportunities to reduce cost, improve quality and service provided by suppliers. Develop long term thoughtful strategies by commodity for spend. Develop optimisation programs, including plans to improve cost, risk mitigation, service, an quality. Follow market price trends and apply this to affected commodities, analyse impact and work with suppliers to keep costs to a minimum. Understand ongoing trends across the globe and adjust strategy through integrating agility into supply chain plans. Look for forecasting opportunities for supply of components, working with internal quotation departments. Reduce sole source dependency. Work with global supply chain to gather supplier information with a view to collaborate to reduce cost. Align and maximize as much as possible. Define a process to report on cost savings against targets and monitor supplier performance to targets. Support supplier performance management and risk mitigation programs and related metrics. Skills & Abilities Experience in strategic sourcing programs & practices. Strong negotiations skills Strong analytical, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Ability to structure a compelling business proposition. Agile, adaptable to the rapidly changing supply chain environment. Ability to multi-task and handle the pressure of the supply chain environment. Requirement to travel to suppliers (domestic and international) 20% of time. Experience in a manufacturing environment preferred. Experience with ERP systems preferred. Lean or Six Sigma experience preferred