Senior Buyer
Location: Central Belt, Scotland (Hybrid)
Department: Supply Chain / Procurement
Contract: Full-time, Permanent
Salary: Competitive, with benefits
Reports to: Purchasing Manager
Join Our Team as a Senior Buyer
This is a key role within the supply chain team, responsible for ensuring the efficient and cost-effective sourcing of goods and materials to support production, facilities and spares requirements. As a Senior Buyer, you will manage supplier relationships, negotiate contracts, and drive cost savings while maintaining quality and delivery standards. You will play a critical part in achieving business objectives through effective procurement strategies and inventory control.
We're looking for a proactive and commercially minded Senior Buyer to join our growing supply chain team. In this role, you'll take ownership of sourcing and procurement activities, ensuring materials are delivered on time, at the right cost, and to the highest quality standards. You'll play a key part in supporting production and aftermarket operations during an exciting period of growth.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships to ensure reliability and performance
- Negotiate pricing, terms, and contracts to achieve cost reductions without compromising quality or delivery
- Monitor supplier performance using KPIs and take corrective actions where necessary
- Forecast material requirements for production and spares, aligning with business plans and schedules
- Maintain optimal inventory levels to support production while minimising working capital.
- Identify and implement cost-saving initiatives within purchasing and supply chain processes
- Collaborate with internal teams (Sales, Production, Finance) on planning and forecasting to ensure material availability
- Proactively identify supply risks and implement mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of supply
Success Metrics
- Cost Savings: Achieve annual procurement cost reductions of 3-5% through negotiation and strategic sourcing
- Supplier Performance: Maintain On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) delivery 95% across key suppliers
- Inventory Management: Keep stock levels within agreed parameters to minimise working capital while ensuring availability
- Lead Time Reduction: Reduce average supplier lead times by 10% year-on-year
- Compliance: Ensure 100% adherence to company procurement policies and quality standards
Core Competencies
- Problem Solving Ability to analyse issues and develop practical solutions
- Planning & Organising Skilled in prioritising tasks and managing deadlines
- Initiative Self-starter with a continuous improvement mindset.
- Commercial Awareness Understands market trends and cost drivers
- Communication & Collaboration Effective communicator with internal and external stakeholders
- Analytical Thinking Uses data to inform decisions and optimise outcomes
- Teamwork Works collaboratively to achieve shared goals
Required Education & Experience
- Relevant qualification in Procurement or Supply Chain Management (e.g. CIPS)
- Minimum of 5 years' experience in a procurement or buying role within a manufacturing environment
- Strong negotiation and supplier management skills
- Solid experience within a Production or Manufacturing environment ideally within both small and large organisations
Desirable
- Knowledge of international logistics and trade compliance
- Exposure to Lean manufacturing or continuous improvement principles
- Chinese Language would be a huge plus but not essential
Personal Attributes
- Strong communicator with the confidence to challenge and influence at all levels
- Emotional intelligence and someone who can progress problems into solutions
- Highly organised with the ability to manage competing priorities in a deadline-driven environment
- Commercially astute with a mindset for continuous improvement
- Comfortable working independently while also contributing to a collaborative team environment
This role may involve travel potentially to Canada & Asia as well as Europe.
At Invinity, we are actively focused on increasing the representation of women across all levels of our organisation, particularly within our engineering, manufacturing and technical teams. We believe that diverse perspectives drive better innovation, and we are committed to providing a working environment where women can thrive, lead, and progress their careers in STEM.
We support this through inclusive hiring practices, equal pay for equal work, flexible working options, leadership development and continuous review of our policies to ensure they meet the needs of all genders and life stages.
Our culture is one of respect, inclusion, and empowerment - where every individual can contribute fully and confidently to a sustainable energy future.