Procurement Manager jobs
In any business, it’s essential that the contracts with vendors, suppliers and service providers are carefully negotiated and monitored. This will help ensure that every arrangement is in the best interests of the company.
Whether the organisation operates within the construction, retail, manufacturing, defence or education sectors, or another industry entirely, it will be the Procurement Manager’s responsibility to make sure all acquisitions meet budgetary and scheduling requirements.
In addition, tasks will include checking the quality of the products and ensuring all procurement activity is executed in a way that meets the requirements set out by current legislation and company policies.
Other responsibilities include developing strategies for the successful acquisition of goods and services and establishing best practice techniques. You will also need to maintain good relationships with suppliers, renegotiating contracts as necessary and continuously managing business risks.
The skills required
Those seeking positions as Procurement Managers will need to be well organised with good analytical skills and an ability to negotiate with suppliers effectively. The role sometimes requires you to deal with overseas suppliers, so foreign language fluency could be beneficial.
You should also be highly motivated and willing to help drive business in terms of client satisfaction and profitability.
What's more, candidates for Procurement Manager roles should be able to deal with high stress situations, be confident in their decision making and capable of making important choices that could have a marked effect on the company as a whole.
Procurement Manager Jobs in Oxford
The county town of Oxford and famous throughout the world for its university, Oxford is actually a thriving, self-contained city with a diversity of industries not directly related to its county status or education sector. It has been a successful city for so long that its architecture spans the millennia, and since much of the most important buildings were churches, it got the name “city of dreaming spires”.
Without doubt the university and its related activities (bars, cafes, hotels, shops, theatres etc.) is the key single employer of the city, and the university heritage also plays into its thriving tourism industry. All this contributes to the thriving nature of the city, which is busy all the year round.
But a major industry just to the south east of the city centre is car manufacturing, at the Cowley BMW plant, home of the new Mini. The plant used to be the Morris Motors plant during the First World War, and this attracted a railway and other communications to serve it. During World War Two the plant made training planes for the RAF. After the war mergers and acquisitions changed the company to BMC, then British Leyland, Austin Rover, the Rover Group and finally BMW (but locals still call the factory Morris’s).
With a thriving, ever changing population and various high-tech and heavy industries, Oxford often throws up Procurement Manager positions to help oil the wheels of commerce. It’s certainly an exciting place to live and work.
Popular locations
Search for Procurement Manager roles with Cast UK
Here at Cast UK, our recruitment consultants have significant expertise in all parts of the supply chain.
Every member of our team has worked in these areas themselves, so they have a thorough understanding of what makes the right candidate for each role and we work hard to ensure every match we make is the best for both the applicant and the employer.
In addition, our regional specialists have particular understanding of the job market in their areas, so we can provide the assistance you need to take your career to the next level.
To find out more about how Cast UK can help you recruit a Procurement Manager for your business or find you a job as a Procurement Manager then contact one of our consultant team on 0333 121 3345.
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