Category Buyer

We are hiring for a Category Buyer** **to join our growing team in Portadown.

**Responsibilities**
- Manage the outsourced spend for a specific commodity spend Category
- Build, maintain and manage scaled & critical strategic supplier relationships.
- Deliver significant and sustained cost savings for their Category, on an on-going basis.
- Contribute to the overall Make vs Buy strategy, identifying opportunities and synergies both within the supply chain and current Make portfolio.
- Provide strategic leadership to key business transformation and outsourcing projects and leverage strong project and change management skills to manage complex and high value outsourcing and re-sourcing projects.
- Drive sustainable and ethical sourcing practices across the organisation. Influencing stakeholders at the highest level within the business unit, suppliers, and customers.
- Conducting strategic sourcing, search, and supplier evaluations; conducting RFPs / tender / commercial negotiation processes
- Managing multiple supplier relationships and projects to balance supply chain competition
- Securing a global supply base that meets the organization’s cost and performance targets
- Drive continuous improvements for the Category / group of commodities.
- Negotiate and implement LTAs and subcontracts
- Provide insights and recommendations based on analysis, research, industry trends, benchmarking, and best practices.

**Reward**
- Competitive salary
- Annual bonus (linked to company performance)
- Health cash plan
- 33 days annual leave
- Contributory salary sacrifice pension scheme
- Discounted Gym membership
- £5,000 employee referral bonus (role dependant)
- Death in service at x4 gross salary
- Wellbeing Initiatives
- Employee Recognition scheme
- Local charity / sponsorship activities
- Learning and development opportunities

**Requirements**:
**Essential**
- Category Supply Market knowledge
- 5 years’ experience in Supply Chain / Strategic Procurement within a technology / aerospace company
- Proven track record of managing strategic sourcing processes and critical supplier relationships and of leading complex sourcing evaluation process and outsourcing
- Demonstrated experience influencing many levels inside and outside of the organisation
- Experience across a broad range of metals, specialism knowledge in aluminium and aerospace metallurgy solutions
- Experience and knowledge of CNC machining processes and related costs / efficiencies
- Experience across a broad range of Plastics and Composite materials
- Experience and knowledge of plastics processes and related costs / efficiencies

**Desirable**
- Ideally CIPS qualification / Advanced Practitioner or equivalent

**We reserve the right to enhance criteria on shortlisting.**

**Thompson Aero Seating is an Equal Opportunities employer.