Operational Buyer (Regional) - #1699233

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Our new Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Filton, Bristol is a £32m state of the art technology research and development facility. It acts as a hub for world-class innovative technology for the next generation of fuel-efficient aircraft. It offers a collaborative space for research and development with universities, the UK’s CATAPULT network and GKN Aerospace’s UK supply chain, to help strengthen aerospace technology and support the UK’s Industrial strategy.

In this role, you will be responsible for order processing, supplier scheduling, and managing delivery performance to ensure alignment with business requirements. You will oversee invoice processing and work towards achieving supplier and business performance objectives, with a focus on the efficient delivery of procured items and services. Additionally, you will collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to understand business needs, keep Indirect Procurement colleagues informed of key developments, and promote Procurement support services.

Job Responsibilities

• Oversee supplier delivery performance across ~£60m spend, ensuring alignment with operational requirements.
• Manage supplier scheduling and maintain accurate procurement data.
• Support Category Buyers and Procurement Managers with supplier reviews, RfX processes, and contract implementation.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships, ensuring delivery commitments are met.
• Identify and escalate supply risks, constraints, and bottlenecks.
• Drive supplier performance improvements and support multifunctional team reviews.
• Negotiate contracts within procurement frameworks to maximize business benefits.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies and regional/global contracts.
• Monitor supplier performance through scorecards and regular reviews.
• Support supplier quality issue resolution, including non-conformance and returns.
• Manage invoice queries to ensure timely supplier payments.
• Communicate with internal stakeholders to align procurement strategies with business needs.
• Uphold Health, Safety, and Environmental policies and procedures.
  
  

What You'll Bring

Essential

To help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:

• A degree OR at least 2 years of experience in Supply Chain Management or Procurement roles
• Experience with procurement activities within indirect spend categories
• Experience communicating with suppliers, internal stakeholders, or external partners in a procurement role
  
  

Desirable

• APICS / MCIPS qualification
• ERP Proficiency
• Experienced in using Excel for data analysis, including functions like pivot tables and VLOOKUPs
• Large scale manufacturing and/or heavily regulated industry experience preferred (f.i. Aerospace, Automotive, Pharma, Nuclear)
  
  

We are looking for a proactive individual with strong communication and analytical skills, who can confidently engage stakeholders across different business lines, functions, regions, and sites. A willingness to challenge the status quo is essential, as we seek someone who can identify opportunities for improvement and drive positive change.

What We'll Offer

Once you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:

• Competitive salary dependant on experience
• Hybrid working – giving you the opportunity to balance home and office working
• Industry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis
• Life Assurance 8 x salary
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Income protection
• Shopping discounts
• Cycle To Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• A collaborative, dynamic working environment
  
  

As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.