Buyer in Oxfordshire

Buyer - Hybrid Working - Paternity Cover (4-6 Month Contract)

Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd. is looking to recruit to the Supply Chain department a Buyer to contribute to delivering company growth goals. This is a local role reporting to the Supply Chain Manager.

Company : Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd, 172 Brook Drive, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 4SD.

About Us

We have been designing and manufacturing life-saving products for 50 years, protecting people from toxic and flammable gases.

Crowcon Detection Instruments Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Halma plc. Halma’s ( purpose is growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Halma is a market leader in specialist safety, health, and environmental technologies, a global group of businesses developing solutions that push the boundaries of science and technology. Headquartered in the UK, Halma is one of the top performing businesses in the FTSE 100 index with many years of record revenues and profits. The group has nearly 50 businesses operating through three sectors (Medical, Environmental & Analysis and Safety) in more than 20 countries and major operations in Europe, North and South America and Asia, supplying customers in 160 countries and employing more than 8,500 people worldwide.

Crowcon’s purpose is:

To create sensing solutions designed to save lives every day.

Crowcon’s values are:

• Do the right thing
• Collaborate and support each other
• Always do your best
• Try new things
• Be yourself

What will you be doing?

As a member of the Supply Chain Team, you will determine the sourcing strategies and identify opportunities to gain leverage in the marketplace for your assigned commodities. You will identify, evaluate and develop suppliers to best meet the current and future needs of the business and support the NPD strategy. You will ensure timely procurement of materials, spare, equipment and services at optimum cost, adhering to stringent technical/quality specifications and overall terms and conditions.

The team is made up as follows:

• Supply Chain Manager
• Buyer
• Senior Buyer
• Production Planning
• Logistics Team
• Shipping Team

Main Responsibilities:

• Managing supplier relationships internally and externally to improve cost, quality and supply.
• Sourcing existing and new products from a global supply base.
• Stock management and inventory turns management within the Supply Chain.
• Development of inventory management processes to support full availability and reduce excess, obsolete and slow-moving stock.
• Monitoring stock availability and expedite as required.
• Carry out demand analysis / forecasting.
• Ensure we meet our customer demands by timely procurement of materials, spare parts, equipment and services at optimum cost, adhering to stringent technical/quality specifications and overall terms and conditions.

Your skills & experience

• You will need a minimum of 2 years’ experience of the following:
• Global direct materials buying in a manufacturing environment.
• Understanding of procurement regulation.
• MRP/ERP System experience, particularly Microsoft Navision.

Desirable but not essential:

• Exposure to working with technical drawings.
• Experience with electronics manufacturing.
• CIPS accreditation.
• HND or Degree qualified or equivalent.

About you

• You have strong communication and negotiation skills.
• You are an analytical thinker with excellent negotiation preparation and execution skills.
• You have a track record of delivering results within a challenging supply chain environment.
• You can communicate at all levels within the business, with suppliers and at an executive level.
• You can gain support from others through influencing skills and reasoned logic.
• Good reporting and communication skills.
• You are data driven.
• You inspire with your passion and values.
• You are culturally sensitive.
• You are a collaborative team player.
• You are straightforward and have no interest in politics.
• You are curious and disrupt the status quo.

Company benefits:

• Generous company pension (up to 10.5% matched on a sliding scale)
• Hybrid working
• Company shares
• Health cashplan (Medicash)
• Eyecare scheme (with Specsavers)
• Corporate life insurance
• 25 days holiday
• Your birthday off (after 1 year of service)
• 3 days holiday purchase
• 14 weeks paid maternity, paternity, adoption leave
• Cycle to work scheme
• Subsidised annual bus pass
• Annual train ticket payment scheme
• Employee assistance programme
• Learning and development opportunities
• Free parking and subsidised EV charging points

Don’t have every single listed skill/experience? Studies have shown that women and people from diverse backgrounds are less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every single qualification. At Crowcon we are actively building and encouraging a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, so if you’re excited about this role as the next step of your career, but you don’t feel confident you have enough past experience to perfectly align with the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or another role we may have.