Buyer

Britten-Norman is the producer of one of the most successful civil aircraft ever manufactured in the UK & it is now the UK’s only independent civil aircraft manufacturer. The company is also a leading aerospace SME, offering a market leading range of aviation related services both within the UK and internationally.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join Britten Norman. Due to ongoing growth we are now recruiting for a buyer to join us our team at Lee-on-the-Solent.

We are looking for an individual with buying experience to take over a busy role providing material for our maintenance repair organisation. This role will be empowered to manage suppliers by building and maintaining relationships with existing businesses while researching and onboarding new potential partners. You will be a strong decision maker who is able to solve problems under pressure which will allow you to be successful in an aerospace environment which requires these skills.

**Primary Tasks**

Main tasks will include but are not limited to:

- Forward planning the parts and services required for the MRO team to achieve its commitments, including raising Purchase Orders (POs), booking paint slots, major component overhauls and purchasing all the parts required to complete aircraft refurbishment and MRO activity.
- Expediting the PO approval process and escalating issues / concerns where it is felt that approval has been unnecessarily delayed.
- Reviewing critical path items and seeking alternative solutions where lead-times are too long or if the price isn’t within budget.
- Identifying suppliers, raising supplier Request for Quotations (RFQs) and expediting responses.
- Building supplier relationships so that favourable terms can be agreed.
- Liaising with the commercial team to ensure the terms and conditions applied to the purchase are correct, and to negotiate as required.
- Investigating favourable methods of shipping and to ensure import / export charges are understood and reported to the commercial and finance team as required.
- Raise issues and concerns with suppliers and or the quality department as appropriate.
- Managing minimum stock holdings for hangar consumables.
- Complete project post-costings and provide feedback to the commercial team.
- Create project shortage reports for each of the projects for the Project Management team and distribute as required.
- Pitch ideas for cost savings or supply chain improvements to the MRO management team.

**Key Skills and Attributes**
- You must be a confident decision maker with strong problem solving skills.
- Comfortable working to tight deadlines and under pressure
- Confident and effective communicator with the ability to write
- A positive attitude & enthusiastic to work in growing company
- Proactive with strong attention to detail
- Once established in the role confident to work autonomously

**Minimum Qualification Requirements**
- 5 GCSEs including English & Maths at Grade C/4 or above
- A CIPS qualification or working towards achieving one would be highly desirable.

**Required Experience**
- To be successful in this role you must have experience in a buying role where you have been actively engaged in building relationships and negotiating with suppliers. This could be from a previous role as a buyer or as an expeditor or procurement administrator.
- Experience of providing statistical analysis and reports
- Experience within aviation or the defence sector would be desirable but is not essential
- Experience within a regulated stores environment would be beneficial.

**Benefits**

33 days holiday (inclusive of Bank and Public Holidays)

Contributory pension scheme

Eligibility to join the healthcare scheme following probation period

Free refreshments

**Benefits**:

- Company pension
- Flexitime
- On-site parking
- Private dental insurance
- Private medical insurance
- Referral programme
- Sick pay

Schedule:

- Monday to Friday

Ability to commute/relocate:

- Lee-on-the-Solent: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)