Buyer, Business

Operational Buyer

North Hykeham, Lincoln – 12-month contract. Rate: £20 per hour PAYE or £27 per hour via Umbrella.

Our commitment is to provide equal opportunity regardless of, for example, your gender, age, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation or beliefs. We also engage with employers to develop programmes and pathways that embrace diverse talent and promote more inclusive employment worldwide through partnerships and other initiatives. We recognise and celebrate the value of difference and how it makes us faster, smarter and more innovative than our competition.

My client is a global leader in the energy sector, committed to driving the transition toward a more sustainable future. With a presence in multiple countries, they operate across the entire energy landscape—from conventional and renewable power generation to grid technologies, energy storage, and electrifying complex industrial processes. Their mission is to support businesses and communities in reducing greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring energy remains reliable, affordable, and sustainable.

By leveraging a diverse and collaborative workforce, they deliver innovative solutions that help shape the future of energy worldwide.

They are looking for an Operational Buyer to join the team on an initial 12‑month contract with the potential to extend. You will be working Monday to Friday, 37.5 hour working week, being in the office a minimum 3 days a week.

You will be responsible for ensuring strict adherence to company processes and procedures, particularly around ERP compliance and SAP data management. This includes maintaining accurate purchase documentation, meeting customer flow‑down requirements, and supporting standardized global methods and systems to drive efficiency and compliance. You will also collaborate closely with internal customers to ensure early involvement and strong customer care.

Additionally, you will manage strategic sourcing activities, execute commodity strategies, and support supplier management processes such as qualification, evaluation, and development to secure high‑quality suppliers. The role involves preparing and conducting negotiations for medium purchasing volumes to achieve optimal savings, while contributing to transparent procurement practices and continuous improvement in sourcing and supplier performance.

• Convert purchase requisitions into purchase orders.
• Existing PIR's should be checked in SAP and, if not valid, re‑validated.
• Create the Purchase Order using standard texts.
• Release the purchase order in accordance with the purchasing guidelines and authorisation limits once purchase support has created the purchase order.
• Any variations highlighted by the sourcing support will be passed to the buyer for agreement and the next course of action.

• Send out requests for quotes (RFQ) to suppliers within the approved supplier list.
• Collate all necessary information including but not limited to drawings/specifications, quality requirements and send out the RFQ.
• Monitor responses and ensure completeness. Analyse responses received – including cost/price, lead time, etc. Recommend source highlighting any issues or opportunities.
• Expedite responses from suppliers.
• Creation the PIR in SAP.

Responsibility to resolve minor invoice/commercial queries with the suppliers.

General ad‑hoc support and input into the organisation's key initiatives e.g. Supplier Evaluation System, e‑procurement tools, Approved Supplier Database, KPIs, Balanced Scorecard and World Class Purchasing measures.

• Experience of procurement functions.
• Experience of working with cross‑functional teams in an operations and engineering environment.
• Experience in the Energy, Oil and Gas industry – standards for onshore and offshore desirable.
• Ability to work in a complex, fast‑changing global organisational environment.
• Good understanding of business strategy and plans to ensure alignment.
• Familiarity with operational management and quality processes.
• Good working knowledge of SAP and e‑procurement systems.
• Have a creative and innovative mindset.
• Practical experience in developing business improvements.
• Commercial and contractual experience desirable.

Candidates must show evidence of the above in their CV to be considered.

Please be advised if you haven't heard from us within 48 hours then unfortunately your application has not been successful on this occasion, we may however keep your details on file for any suitable future vacancies and contact you.

We use generative AI tools to support our candidate screening process. This helps us ensure a fair, consistent, and efficient experience for all applicants. Rest assured, all final decisions are made by our hiring team, and your application will be reviewed with care and attention.