Purchasing Manager - Scientific Yorkshire and the Humber

Purchasing Manager (Procurement Manager)

A Purchasing Manager is responsible for ensuring that a company has a clear purchasing and procurement strategy when purchasing goods so that they meet budgetary and other operational requirements of the company and that this buying strategy is adhered to.  Some companies require suppliers to meet certain standards such as ISO accreditation and the Purchasing Manager will be responsible for ensuring that suppliers meet these requirements from a Procurement perspective and an Ethical Compliance perspective.

Typical day to day tasks undertaken by a Procurement Manager might include producing tenders, forecasting future business needs (Opex or Capex) by liaising with internal colleagues, researching potential suppliers, supplier onboarding, developing and maintaining relationships with key suppliers, monitoring the timely delivery of products and services and ensuring all projects meet financial, legal and regulatory compliance.  If the Purchasing Manager has a team of staff, she/he will also need to manage, motivate and support the team. 

Skills & Experience Required for a Career in Purchasing

• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject such as science, business, project management or supply chain 
• An additional professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply would be helpful
• Good working knowledge of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems, for either Capital Expenditure (Capex) or Operational Expenditure (OpEx) and strong general IT skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to communicate with influence colleagues, clients and suppliers
• Good negotiating skills to achieve the best price from suppliers.
• Understanding of OpEx / Capex budget management processes

Salary Levels/Career Progression

Although a degree and several years’ experience would typically be required for a Procurement or Purchasing manager position, there are opportunities for non-graduates to have a career in Procurement or Purchasing.   Typical entry level roles might include Buyer’s Assistant, Junior Buyer, Buyer, Purchasing Assistant or Procurement Assistant.

A Purchasing Manager in a large organisation may have the opportunity to progress to roles such as Head Buyer, Head of Procurement, Director of Procurement and Purchasing or similar.  Salaries of a typical Procurement Manager start in the region of £45k upward dependent on the size of the organisation and location.

Yorkshire, formally known as the County of York, is a historic county of Northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison with other English counties, functions have been undertaken over time by its subdivisions which have also been subject to periodic reform. Throughout these changes, Yorkshire has continued to be recognised as a geographic territory and cultural region. The name is familiar and well understood across the United Kingdom and is in common use in the media and the military, and also features in the titles of current areas of civil administration such as North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

Within the borders of the historic county of Yorkshire are large stretches of unspoiled countryside, particularly within the Yorkshire Dales, North York Moors and Peak District National parks. Yorkshire has been nicknamed "God's Own Country".

The emblem of Yorkshire is the White Rose of the English royal House of York.

There is an excellence in Yorkshire when it comes to life science, Leeds are leading the way in medical technology in diagnostics and imagine, and York for health economics.

Yorkshire is a great place to further your career in life sciences. If you are a looking for pharmaceutical jobs in Yorkshire, scientific careers in Yorkshire or want to discuss cell therapy, gene therapy, ATMP, medical device, technology, biotech or pharmaceutical job opportunities inYorkshire, give our Next Phase team a call. The Northern area is continuing to expand as a centre for jobs in science, process development, technology, software development, project management, informatics, quality, reg affairs and supply chain.

At Next Phase we help people find new jobs in life sciences across the UK, Europe and USA. This page lists some of the job opportunities in Yorkshire, and if you give us a call we can also talk to you about other scientific jobs, pharmaceutical career opportunities and the latest updates in cell and gene therapy and ATMP development in the Northern England area.