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Strategic Purchasing Manager
 
Location: Hailsham, East Sussex
Job Type: Permanent
Start Date: Immediate
Working Hours: 37.5 hours per week
Holiday Entitlement: 25 days + Bank Holidays
Salary: TBC + Private Health Insurance
 
Are you a commercially driven procurement professional with a strong technical background? We are currently seeking a Strategic Purchasing Manager to join our engineering team in Hailsham. This is a hands-on role managing the full purchasing lifecycle, driving supplier performance, sourcing strategies, and cost optimisation for highly technical machinery used in the advanced materials industry.
 
As Strategic Purchasing Manager, you’ll be responsible for understanding technical specifications and engineering drawings, sourcing parts globally, managing supplier relationships, and negotiating pricing and lead times to ensure timely, high-quality, and cost-effective delivery of materials and components. You'll play a vital role in procurement strategy, cost reduction, and ensuring efficient product delivery in a high-spec manufacturing environment.
The Strategic Purchasing Manager will work closely with engineering, production, and finance teams to ensure all supply chain activities align with project and customer requirements. Occasional UK and short international travel is expected.
 
Key responsibilities:

Manage end-to-end procurement process from specification through to delivery.
Source globally, analyse cost, manage supplier relationships, and track performance.
Interpret engineering drawings and support re-engineering for cost/value optimisation.
Negotiate cost-effective contracts while maintaining product quality standards.
Monitor supplier performance, order progress, and ensure timely material delivery. Requirements:

Proven experience in a similar procurement role within a technical manufacturing environment.
Strong technical understanding of components, materials, and processes.
Excellent negotiation, communication, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to read technical drawings and work cross-functionally under pressure.
Full UK driving licence and ability to travel globally as needed