Junior Buyer

**Junior Buyer**

**Salary: From £30,250 to £36,000 per annum, depending on experience**

**Location: Northampton: Northamptonshire**

**Full Time 37.5 hours a week**

**Are you looking for a more meaningful opportunity? Are you enthusiastic but don't quite meet the criteria below? Please apply**

**Firstly, a bit about us**

We are St Andrew's. We are a mental health Charity and our purpose is to inspire hope for those living with complex mental health needs.

We are looking to a future with less stigma, more community support, more research and education, and we aim to be at the forefront of inspiring real change. We want to ensure we can all live in a society where everyone with complex mental health needs is heard, valued and has hope for their future.

**Purpose of Role**:
To ensure the Charity’s procurement service delivers the right balance between the cost and the quality of all products and services, delivering continuous value for money, and efficiency optimisation.

**Key Responsibilities**:

- To ensure all procurement activity is undertaken in line with the Charity's financial and procurement policies and procedures across all areas of the Charity.
- To provide a high quality, value-driven and pro-active procurement service to all the Charity’s internal customers.
- To work with the Procurement Team to manage and deliver the strategic sourcing lifecycle: from supplier selection, terms & price negotiation, tender process management, through to post-contract award supplier relationship management and initial contract mobilisation.
- To engage with stakeholders, internal customers and suppliers to:

- Reduce procurement non-compliance
- Increase the amount of Charity spend that is under a contract or pricing agreement.
- Pro-actively seek out and deliver cost savings and cost avoidance opportunities.
- To ensure all relevant procurement, contract and supplier records are kept up-to-date, accurate and accessible.
- To liaise, where required, with the Payables or Purchasing Team to ensure swift resolution of invoice queries and to expedite other purchase order/finance system-related issues in a timely manner.
- To support implementation and optimisation of any ERP or e-Procurement software or tools.
- To engage stakeholders to develop and execute procurement initiatives and ensure that goods and services procured meet internal customer expectations.
- To perform spend analysis to identify opportunities and/or ensure optimum value for money is being obtained.
- To support the new supplier vetting and on boarding processes.
- To review, in collaboration with procurement and legal colleagues, contract terms and advise on potential risks, cost drivers and propose acceptable commercial positions.
- To keep up to date with changes in procurement law and practice and advise the Charity on the potential impact of such.
- This job description is not exhaustive and other duties commensurate with the post may be required from time to time, which are not shown here.

**About you**:

- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, being able to quickly build rapport with people.
- Experience working as a Junior Buyer or equivalent or with some buying experience or a recent graduate.
- Experience working in a procurement, purchasing or supply chain environment.
- Intermediate understanding of Excel (vLook ups, Pivot tables, Basic Formulas).
- Computer literate, with good understanding of Microsoft Office software.
- Comfortable with a good level of autonomy & decision making.
- Continuous improvement mind-set and with a “can-do” attitude.
- Basic understanding of commercial risk.
- Methodical and data-driven with the ability to analyse data.
- Professional, confident & organised.

**Reward and Benefits**:
**Interested?** **We would love you to apply**

Our patients, their carers and families, and your colleagues will expect you to live the St Andrew’s CARE values of Compassion, Accountability, Respect and Excellence each and every day.