A technical buying role for someone who can look at a machined part and tell how it was made, and what it should cost.
You will own your commodities and choose your own suppliers, with proper systems and category structure behind you rather than a supply base handed down from somewhere else.
About the role
This is a hands-on buying seat with a motorsport and advanced engineering business in Banbury, working across machined and fabricated metallic components and powertrain. Low volume, technically demanding, and fast. You will work directly with design and manufacturing engineers on one side and your suppliers on the other, and you will be trusted to make the call.
It is a proper buying role rather than a category or analyst seat. If you like placing orders, owning parts through to receipt and having a genuine say in who makes them, this is that job.
What you will do
- Own machined and fabricated metallic commodities from sourcing through to parts arriving on time and on cost
- Interpret engineering drawings and specifications, and translate them into sourcing decisions suppliers can deliver against
- Find, select and negotiate with suppliers on price, lead time and commercial terms, rather than buying against a list somebody else built
- Sense-check quotations on material and machine time, and challenge where technical risk, lead time and cost need balancing
- Buy powertrain components: engines, gearboxes and driveline
- Anticipate supply and quality risk early rather than reacting to it
- Keep purchasing data accurate: pricing, lead times, delivery dates and invoice resolution
- Contribute to cost reduction, supplier rationalisation and stock targets
What you will bring
- Buying experience with machined and fabricated metallic components, bought to an engineering drawing
- Machining credibility. You can look at a part, identify the process and machine type, and hold a technical conversation with a supplier
- Genuine supplier selection and negotiation, choosing suppliers yourself rather than placing orders against a fixed approved list
- Experience of working inside a proper procurement structure, with category discipline and systems behind you
- Comfort working at pace on low volume with changing priorities
- Confident use of an ERP system and strong Excel alongside it. IFS experience is useful but not essential
- A background in motorsport, automotive, aerospace, precision engineering or advanced manufacturing
- Powertrain experience is ideal. If you have the machining and the sourcing but not the powertrain, there is scope to build that side with a proper handover
- An engineering background, whether an apprenticeship, an HNC or HND, or time in an engineering function, is a genuine advantage
- CIPS or a relevant degree is welcome but not a requirement
What is on offer
- £50,000 to £65,000 depending on experience
- 25 days holiday, increasing with service, with the option to buy more
- Pension and car salary sacrifice schemes
- Subsidised on-site restaurant
- Ongoing training and professional development
- Fully on site in Banbury, 8:30 to 5, Monday to Friday
