Title:
Senior Buyer Planner
Reports to:
Buyer / Planner Lead
Location: Manchester, M11 2ET - Fulltime - Onsite
Position: 6 Months FTC - With the opportunity to go permanent
Imagine working at the forefront of innovation in fluid-flow technology, with over 1400 colleagues across the globe, and contributing to a legacy of excellence that spans eight manufacturing facilities on four continents. Armstrong Fluid Technology is more than just a leader in our industry; we are a community of the brightest and most creative minds, driven by a shared mission to engineer the future and safeguard our planet.
As a member of our team, you'll dive into an environment that encourages learning and boundary-pushing every day. You'll be part of an agile and dynamic workplace where today's solutions are built for tomorrow's challenges.
As a Senior Buyer Planner, you will play a critical role in aligning demand, supply, and production strategies to ensure optimal service levels, cost efficiency, and operational excellence. You will operate within a highly collaborative and agile environment, supporting end-to-end supply chain planning while contributing to key business decisions and continuous improvement initiatives.
Role Overview
The Senior Buyer Planner is responsible for developing and executing integrated supply chain plans that balance demand forecasts, inventory targets, and production capacity. This role combines planning with operational execution, ensuring material availability while optimizing working capital and supplier performance.
You will act as a key interface between procurement, production, logistics, and commercial teams, providing data-driven insights and proactive risk management to support business continuity and growth.
Key Accountabilities:
Supply & Demand Planning
- Support the end-to-end supply planning process, aligning demand forecasts with production and procurement strategies.
- Translate sales forecasts into actionable supply plans, considering capacity, lead times, and inventory policies.
- Participate in Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes, ensuring cross-functional alignment and forecast accuracy.
- Monitor and manage inventory levels to achieve an optimal balance between service levels and working capital.
Procurement & Supplier Strategy
- Review material requirements planning (MRP) outputs and support timely and accurate execution of supply plans.
- Collaborate with procurement teams to support supplier strategies focused on resilience, cost, and performance.
- Support supplier performance reviews, including KPIs for delivery, quality, and responsiveness.
- Assist with strategic sourcing initiatives and cost reduction programs aligned with business objectives.
- Support negotiations with suppliers to secure competitive pricing, lead times, and service agreements.
Operational Execution & Expediting
- Proactively monitor supply risks, identifying potential shortages and supporting mitigation plans.
- Support escalation processes for critical supply issues, ensuring minimal disruption to production and customer delivery.
- Coordinate closely with production planning to maintain schedule adherence and resolve constraints.
- Support logistics and shipment consolidation strategies to reduce costs and improve efficiency.
Data, Systems & Continuous Improvement
- Maintain planning parameters within ERP/MRP systems, ensuring data integrity (lead times, MOQ, safety stock, etc.).
- Analyse supply chain performance metrics and contribute to continuous improvement initiatives using Lean and 5S principles.
- Identify opportunities to improve planning processes, tools, and system capabilities.
- Contribute to digital transformation and supply chain optimization projects.
What We’re Looking For
To thrive in this role, you should bring:
Education and Experience
- Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
- Member of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply Chain (MCIPS/ CIPS) or working towards this qualification is desirable.
- Substantial work experience in purchasing or supply chain roles, preferably within a manufacturing or production environment.
- Familiarity with ERP/MRP systems.
- Proven experience working with global or local suppliers in a fast-paced production setting.
Soft Skills
- Strong negotiation and communication skills.
- Highly organized with excellent attention to detail.
- Able to work under pressure and manage multiple priorities effectively.
- Collaborative mindset with the ability to work cross-functionally.
- Problem-solving and decision-making abilities in a time-sensitive environment.
Technical Skills
- Proficient in ERP/MRP systems for purchasing and inventory management.
- Good working knowledge of Microsoft Office, especially Excel.
- Understanding of supply chain workflows, lead times, and logistics.
- Knowledge of quality standards, supplier audits, and compliance processes.
Why Armstrong Fluid Technology?
By joining us, you’ll become part of a global community dedicated to pushing the boundaries of fluid-flow technology. You’ll have endless opportunities to learn, grow, and make a significant impact on the world. Together, we'll build tomorrow’s solutions today.
Please note that we do not offer sponsorships, you must have the right to work and live in the UK.
