Procurement Category Buyer MRO, Arla - Leeds

Do you want to play a key role in shaping the future of MRO procurement across multiple manufacturing sites in the UK?

As our new Procurement Category Buyer MRO, you will help drive procurement excellence across Arla's production network by improving supplier performance, increasing spend transparency, and creating stronger procurement practices. This is a highly collaborative role where you will work across Procurement, Maintenance, Finance, and Operations to ensure that MRO services and consumables are sourced effectively and consistently across regions.

This role offers a unique opportunity to influence purchasing behavior, improve data transparency, and create value across multiple sites while working closely with both strategic and operational stakeholders.

How you will make an impact

As Procurement Category Buyer MRO, you will support the execution of our MRO category strategy by strengthening supplier governance, improving procurement processes, and driving greater visibility of spend and performance. Acting as a key link between Category Management and local sites, you will help ensure that sourcing decisions, contracts, and procurement data support both operational efficiency and long-term value creation.

Your key responsibilities will include

Managing and negotiating site-specific MRO service agreements with approved suppliers while supporting supplier onboarding and contract governance.

Driving spend transparency through analysis, reporting, and identification of cross-site savings and consolidation opportunities.

Improving purchasing behavior by increasing contract and catalog utilization, reducing free-text purchasing, and supporting best-practice procurement processes.

Ensuring data quality and compliance across MRO purchasing activities, including master data, PO structures, approval flows, and coding standards.

Supporting continuous improvement initiatives, procurement tool implementations, and process optimization projects across regions and sites.

You will be part of the Procurement organization and work closely with Category Managers, Procurement Directors, Local Procurement teams, Maintenance Leads, Finance, Operations, and external MRO suppliers.

What will make you successful

We are looking for a procurement professional who enjoys working across functions and geographies and who is motivated by turning data into actionable insights and measurable improvements.

To succeed in this role, you will bring3-5 years of experience within Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, MRO, or other indirect purchasing categories.

Experience negotiating contracts and managing supplier relationships.

Strong analytical capabilities with the ability to translate data into business recommendations and improvement initiatives.

A solid understanding of procurement and Procure-to-Pay (P2P) processes, systems, and governance practices.

Experience from manufacturing, food production, processing, or other industrial environments is an advantage.

As a person, you Build strong relationships and influence stakeholders across different functions and locations.

Take a structured and continuous improvement-focused approach to your work.

Combine attention to detail with the ability to see the bigger business picture.

What do we offer?

You will join a global procurement organization where collaboration, continuous improvement, and value creation are at the heart of everything we do.

This role offers broad exposure across Arla's manufacturing network and provides excellent opportunities to build your procurement expertise while influencing strategic and operational decisions.

We’re committed to supporting your growth and development, offering internal and external training opportunities. You’ll enjoy a competitive salary, 26…