Head of Purchasing
Ref: 634540
West Midlands, UK
£60,000
- Permanent
- Global Sourcing
- Value Engineering
- Immediately Available
About the candidate
A commercially sharp Head of Purchasing with extensive experience across engineering, manufacturing, construction, wastewater, nuclear, oil and gas environments. They have progressed from a hands-on fabrication and engineering background into senior procurement leadership, giving them a strong practical understanding of materials, supplier capability, project delivery and operational pressures.
They have managed multi-million-pound purchasing budgets, international supplier bases and cross-functional teams across the UK, Europe, China, India, Mexico and the USA. CIPS qualified and immediately available, they bring a pragmatic, energetic approach to supplier negotiation, value engineering, stock control, quality systems and procurement strategy.
What makes them great?
- Proven savings delivery: Achieved over £800k in savings within the first 12 months in a senior purchasing role, alongside further savings of 8-10% through pricing reviews linked to steel, shipping and exchange rates.
- Quality and process improvement: Introduced a non-conformance process that recovered around £100k in the first year and has implemented ISO standards, 5S and Lean approaches across operational environments.
- Commercial impact: Has delivered 15-20% savings through value analysis and engineering, achieved 30-40% savings through low-cost country sourcing, and improved project margins by around 5% through supplier framework negotiations.
Areas of expertise
- Strategic procurement leadership: Experienced in managing purchasing functions with annual spends of around £20m to £50m, leading buyer teams and reporting supplier performance at board level.
- Global sourcing and supplier development: Strong background in building and auditing supplier networks across low-cost countries, including China, India, Eastern Europe and Mexico.
- Engineering-led purchasing: Deep knowledge of fabrication, mechanical equipment, bespoke engineered products, incoterms, ISO standards, value analysis and value engineering.