Procurement Specialist

ABL Recruitment

Position Summary

Are YOU a budding Procurement Specialist, based in the midlands? This is an incredible opportunity to further your experience in the automotive industry, at a time of enormous change in the industry. You’ll be moving in with one of the UK’s most well-known home-grown manufacturers, working with a company with years of brand recognition, and long term, stable financial backing. This role will be working with all teams in the business, and focusses on maintaining compliant, ensuring cost-efficiency and managing suppliers and governance. You will be at the centre of procurement operations, responsible for supplier sourcing, management, evaluation, negotiation and performance monitoring. A great opportunity for someone early career looking to get a breadth of experience at a very fast pace!

Position Title: Procurement Specialist

Department: Finance & Operations

Reporting To: Senior Procurement Manager

Location: Birmingham (5 days on site)

Salary: Up to 30K

Start Date: MUST BE ABLE TO START WITHIN 1 MONTH

Key Responsibilities

Procurement Management

• Manage the full procurement lifecycle from purchase requisition (PR) to purchase order (PO) issuance.
• Review procurement requests and ensure completeness of business requirements.
• Develop and maintain Scope of Work (SOW) documents together with requesting departments.
• Conduct supplier sourcing, market research, and supplier qualification activities.
• Obtain and evaluate supplier quotations in accordance with company procurement policies.
• Lead commercial negotiations to achieve optimal pricing, quality, delivery, and service terms.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with approved budgets and internal approval authorities.
• Generate and manage Purchase Orders (POs) through the procurement system.

Business Procurement Support

Support procurement activities related to:

• Marketing campaigns
• Trade shows and exhibitions
• Customer events
• Advertising and media services
• Logistics and vehicle transportation
• Consultancy services
• Project-based outsourced services
• OEM-related business activities

Work closely with Sales, Marketing, and Project teams to understand business requirements and procurement priorities.

Administrative Procurement Support

Manage procurement activities related to:

• Office supplies
• IT equipment
• Office services and facilities
• Travel services
• Employee welfare programmes
• Training services
• Fixed assets

Supplier Management

• Build and maintain a qualified supplier database.
• Conduct supplier onboarding and due diligence checks.
• Manage supplier performance reviews and supplier scorecards.
• Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation and cost optimisation.
• Support contract negotiations and supplier relationship management.

Procurement Governance and Compliance

• Ensure procurement requests are supported by approved budgets.
• Verify procurement documentation is complete and properly approved.
• Ensure procurement processes comply with company policies and internal controls.
• Support conflict of interest reviews and supplier compliance assessments.
• Maintain procurement records and audit trails.
• Assist with procurement reporting and spend analysis.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Finance to support budget control and payment processes.
• Partner with business stakeholders to identify procurement opportunities and cost-saving initiatives.
• Provide procurement guidance and support to internal departments.
• Participate in procurement process improvement initiatives.

Qualifications and Experience

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, or related discipline.

Experience

• Minimum 3 years of procurement experience.
• Experience in both indirect procurement and business/project procurement preferred.
• Experience in automotive, manufacturing, FMCG, retail, or multinational environments is advantageous.
• Experience managing supplier RFQs, negotiations, and contracts.
• Experience working within procurement systems and ERP platforms.

Skills and Competencies

• Strong commercial awareness and negotiation skills.
• Excellent stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities.
• Ability to manage multiple procurement projects simultaneously.
• High attention to detail and organisational skills.
• Good understanding of procurement governance and internal controls.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Excel and ERP/procurement systems.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English.

Preferred Qualifications

• CIPS qualification (Level 4 or above) preferred.
• Knowledge of UK procurement regulations and supplier compliance requirements.
• Experience supporting sales and marketing procurement activities.
• Experience in automotive OEM or automotive distribution environment is highly desirable.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Procurement savings achieved.
• Supplier delivery and performance metrics.
• Procurement cycle time.
• PO issuance accuracy.
• Budget compliance rate.
• Supplier onboarding and compliance completion rate.
• Internal stakeholder satisfaction.
• Procurement policy compliance.