Senior Buyer

Senior Buyer
- Raw Ingredients & Packaging Procurement

Food Manufacturing
- Multi-Site
- High-Impact FMCG Environment

Location:
Berkshire

Salary: £40-55,000 + benefits + career opportunities + CPD (CIPS)

A highly respected and rapidly evolving UK food manufacturing business is seeking an exceptional Buyer to take ownership of strategically critical procurement categories across ingredients and packaging (approximately £20m portfolio) within a fast-paced FMCG manufacturing environment.

This is a significant opportunity for an experienced procurement professional who thrives within commercially complex, operationally demanding, and highly collaborative manufacturing businesses. The role offers genuine visibility, influence, and the opportunity to shape category strategy within a business that is investing heavily in operational capability, customer partnerships, innovation, and long-term growth.

The organisation operates within a dynamic food manufacturing environment supplying both retail and B2B channels, where procurement plays a central role in protecting margin, maintaining continuity of supply, driving innovation, and supporting wider commercial performance.

This is not a transactional buying role.

It requires a commercially astute, strategically minded procurement professional capable of operating across supplier markets, manufacturing operations, finance, planning, technical, NPD, and commercial teams to deliver measurable business impact.

The Opportunity

The Senior Buyer will hold end-to-end responsibility for a portfolio of strategically important procurement categories spanning raw materials, ingredients, commodities, and packaging.

The successful individual will be expected to:

Develop and execute category strategies aligned to wider business objectives

Manage supplier performance, cost control, and security of supply across critical spend areas

Operate confidently within volatile commodity and ingredient markets

Lead commercial negotiations with both UK and international suppliers

Identify opportunities for value creation beyond simple cost reduction

Support working capital and inventory optimisation initiatives

Drive supplier innovation into the wider business

Partner closely with operational stakeholders to support service, production, and customer requirements

Build robust procurement governance whilst maintaining pace and agility

The role requires someone capable of balancing strategic thinking with operational execution.

You will need to be equally comfortable negotiating commercial agreements, managing supply risk, influencing senior stakeholders, analysing market movements, supporting manufacturing operations, and challenging suppliers where required.

Key Areas of Responsibility

Strategic Procurement & Category Management

Develop robust procurement category strategies across allocated areas of spend

Create short, medium, and long-term sourcing plans aligned to business growth and operational requirements

Continuously analyse supplier markets, commodity movements, inflationary pressures, and broader market dynamics

Identify opportunities to reduce total cost of ownership whilst protecting quality and service

Lead strategic sourcing activity including tendering, benchmarking, supplier rationalisation, and contract negotiations

Deliver procurement savings, value improvement initiatives, and margin enhancement opportunities

Build contingency planning and mitigation strategies for supply chain risk

Ensure continuity of supply across critical operational categories

Support procurement transformation and continuous improvement initiatives

Supplier Management & Commercial Leadership

Build strong strategic relationships with key suppliers and manufacturing partners

Lead supplier negotiations across pricing, contracts, service levels, rebates, payment terms, and performance expectations

Conduct supplier performance reviews and drive accountability through structured KPI management

Introduce joint business planning approaches with strategically important suppliers

Drive supplier-led innovation into the business across ingredients, packaging, product development, sustainability, and operational efficiency

Challenge underperformance and implement corrective action where required

Collaborate with suppliers on cost engineering and value optimisation initiatives

Operational & Cross-Functional Partnership

Work closely with manufacturing, planning, technical, finance, commercial, and NPD functions to support wider business objectives

Support service continuity and minimise operational disruption through proactive supplier and inventory management

Participate in business-critical operational and supply chain meetings

Contribute to working capital reduction initiatives including stock optimisation and reduction of obsolete materials

Ensure procurement decisions balance commercial objectives with operational realities

Support launch activity, customer requirements, and business growth initiatives

Market Intelligence & Risk Management

Monitor commodity and…