Purchasing Team Manager
Pay: £35 - £45k per annum (open to negotiation depending on experience)
Job Type: Full Time
Location: Banbury, UK
For over 10 years, Live Wire has delivered technology, AV, and immersive experiences across Formula 1 and major live events worldwide. Supporting leading F1 teams and Formula 1 Management across all 24 races, our work spans hospitality suites, paddocks, garages, pit walls, fan zones, and factory environments.
Alongside motorsport, we deliver technical production and live event solutions across concerts, festivals, theatre, conferences, and venues including the Southbank Centre and Barbican. Based in Banbury, we are a fast-growing company working in some of the most demanding and exciting live production environments in the world.
About the Role:
We are looking for an experienced Purchasing Team Manager to manage, support and develop the purchasing team through leading procurement, supplier coordination, inventory planning, and purchasing operations across Formula 1 and live event projects. This role is suited to someone highly organised, commercially aware, and confident. With leadership experience within fast-paced operational environments where timelines, accuracy, and communication are critical.
The successful candidate will work closely with project management, operations, technical, logistics, and warehouse teams to ensure equipment, consumables, services, and operational requirements are sourced efficiently, delivered on time, and managed within budget.
You will play a key role in supporting and developing the purchasing team through effective management, purchasing processes, stock control, and operational coordination while maintaining high standards across procurement and logistics activities.
Key ResponsibilitiesPurchasing Team Management
- Lead, manage and develop the purchasing team, providing clear direction, support and priorities.
- Allocate workload across the team and ensure purchasing requirements are dealt with efficiently and on time.
- Monitor team performance and maintain high standards of accuracy and service.
- Identify opportunities to improve purchasing processes, systems and ways of working.
- Support the development of purchasing procedures and best practice across the business.
Procurement & Purchasing
- Manage purchasing activity across Formula 1, live events and general business requirements.
- Source equipment, materials, consumables, services and other operational requirements from approved suppliers.
- Obtain and evaluate supplier quotations, pricing, lead times and availability.
- Raise and manage purchase orders, ensuring purchasing information is accurate and up to date.
- Track outstanding orders, deliveries and supplier deadlines.
- Manage multiple purchasing requirements across concurrent projects and changing priorities.
Internal Coordination
- Keep Project Management, Production and Technical teams updated on purchasing progress, costs, availability and outstanding requirements.
- Work closely with Inventory and Warehouse teams to maintain visibility of available stock and identify upcoming purchasing requirements.
- Ensure purchasing activity is aligned with project schedules, build requirements and event deadlines.
- Communicate potential delays, shortages or cost issues early and help find practical solutions.
Supplier Management
- Build and maintain strong relationships with suppliers, manufacturers and service providers.
- Negotiate pricing, lead times and terms where appropriate.
- Monitor supplier performance, reliability and delivery standards.
- Coordinate with suppliers on deliveries, collections, shipping and project deadlines.
- Identify new suppliers and alternative sourcing options where they offer commercial or operational benefits.
- Maintain accurate supplier records.
Stock & Inventory Coordination
- Work closely with Inventory and Warehouse teams to monitor stock levels and equipment availability.
- Identify when stock needs to be replenished based on upcoming project requirements.
- Help manage equipment shortages, urgent purchasing requirements and last-minute changes.
- Ensure purchasing decisions take existing stock and future project requirements into account.
Budget & Cost Control
- Monitor purchasing spend across projects and departments.
- Ensure purchasing remains aligned with agreed project budgets.
- Identify opportunities to reduce costs while maintaining quality and delivery requirements.
- Support purchasing forecasts, reporting and budget management.
Risk & Problem Solving
- Proactively identify purchasing risks, shortages, delays and supplier issues.
- Find alternative suppliers or purchasing solutions when requirements change.
- Manage urgent purchasing requests in a fast-paced live event environment.
- Respond quickly to changing project requirements while maintaining accuracy and delivery standards.
Essential Skills & Experience
- Experience in a Purchasing, Procurement or Supply Chain Management role.
- Previous experience managing and developing a team.
- Strong organisational skills and excellent attention to detail.
- Experience managing purchase orders, supplier relationships and purchasing processes.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to work effectively with multiple internal teams.
- Commercial awareness and confidence negotiating with suppliers.
- Ability to manage multiple projects, deadlines and priorities simultaneously.
- Confident problem-solving approach and ability to remain calm under pressure.
- Good working knowledge of Google Workspace and purchasing/inventory management systems, ideally Sage.
- Willingness to travel internationally when required.
Desirable
- Experience within live events, AV, technical production, motorsport or Formula 1.
- Understanding of technical equipment, event technology and production workflows.
- Experience working within a project-based or operational environment with tight deadlines.
- Experience managing purchasing for international projects or events.
What We Offer
- The opportunity to work on international Formula 1 and live event projects.
- Exposure to a wide range of technical production environments and global events.
- A collaborative and highly skilled working environment.
- Opportunities for career progression and professional development.
- The chance to play a key role in the continued development of our purchasing operation.
Live Wire Productions is committed to creating a workplace that is open, inclusive and free from discrimination or prejudice. We welcome applications from all backgrounds and are proud to support equal opportunities regardless of race, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, disability or age.
To apply, please send your CV and a short cover letter to:
[email protected]
Pay: £35,000.00-£45,000.00 per year
Work Location: In person
