Job Description
Senior Buyer - Ingredients & Packaging Procurement
Food Manufacturing - Multi-Site - High-Impact FMCG Environment
Location: Newbury, Berkshire
Salary: 40-50,000 + 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 ingredient markets continuously
Forecast pricing movements and supplier market trends
Assess geopolitical, agricultural, economic, and supply chain risks impacting procurement categories
Provide commercial insight and market intelligence to internal stakeholders
Support budget planning and forecasting activity with accurate procurement analysis
Develop proactive risk mitigation strategies across categories
The Candidate
Degree educated and a minimum of CIPS Level 3 or 4 required with the desire to continue those studies
This role requires an experienced FMCG procurement professional with strong food manufacturing or FMCG exposure and a track record operating within commercially and operationally demanding environments.
The successful individual is likely to bring:
Progressive procurement and category management experience within FMCG manufacturing
Experience purchasing ingredients, raw materials, commodities, and packaging
Experience operating within food manufacturing or complex manufacturing supply chains
Strong negotiation capability across supplier relationships
Excellent commercial acumen and analytical capability
Experience managing volatile commodity-driven categories
Strong stakeholder engagement and influencing skills
The ability to operate with pace, resilience, and accountability
A highly collaborative approach combined with the confidence to challenge constructively
Strong understanding of procurement governance, supplier management, and category strategy
The ability to balance strategic thinking with operational responsiveness
Personal Attributes
The organisation is seeking an individual who combines commercial credibility with strong relationship-building capability.
You will be:
Commercially sharp and analytically minded
Proactive and solutions focused
Comfortable operating within fast-moving manufacturing environments
Highly organised with strong attention to detail
Confident influencing cross-functional stakeholders
Capable of managing competing priorities effectively
Collaborative whilst able to challenge appropriately
Driven to continuously improve processes, performance, and outcomes
Resilient under pressure and calm within operationally demanding situations
Why This Opportunity?
This is an opportunity to join a highly regarded food manufacturing business at an exciting stage of evolution and growth.
The procurement function is highly valued within the organisation and plays a critical role in supporting operational performance, customer delivery, innovation, and commercial success.
The successful individual will gain:
Significant exposure across the wider business
The opportunity to influence strategic procurement direction
Ownership of commercially important categories
A collaborative and fast-paced FMCG environment
Strong long-term career development potential
The ability to make a visible and measurable impact
This opportunity would suit ambitious procurement professionals seeking a role with genuine breadth, influence, and progression potential within a complex FMCG manufacturing environment.
