Assistant Procurement Manager – Chemicals Global Engineering & Industrial Technologies Organisation

Assistant Procurement Manager – Chemicals

Global Engineering & Industrial Technologies Organisation

Location: Surrey (Hybrid – 2 days per week onsite)

To apply please contact [email protected]

Salary: £50,000–£58,000 + Annual Bonus + Excellent Benefits

Category Spend: c. £50m

This is a compelling opportunity for an ambitious procurement professional to step into an Assistant Procurement Manager role within a highly specialised chemicals and industrial gases category.

Working across special gases, packaged gases, electronic gases and chemicals, you will operate in a complex and technical environment where strategic procurement meets hands-on execution. The role offers genuine ownership across a high-value category, combining productivity delivery, supplier performance management and multi-functional stakeholder engagement.

You will also collaborate closely with wider EMEA procurement teams, gaining exposure to international sourcing and benefitting from the practices, scale, and expertise of a global organisation.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and develop category strategies aligned with business objectives and productivity targets
• Lead and contribute to cost-reduction and value improvement initiatives (value engineering, alternative sourcing, process optimisation)
• Build, manage and develop strong supplier relationships, driving innovation and continuous improvement
• Identify and evaluate new suppliers to enhance category performance
• Negotiate competitive commercial agreements, pricing and contract terms
• Conduct market analysis covering supply conditions, pricing trends, regulatory shifts and emerging technologies
• Ensure best-practice contracting and compliance to mitigate sourcing risk
• Manage the end-to-end procurement lifecycle including contract drafting, review and execution
• Monitor supplier performance, oversee KPIs and support remediation where required
• Promote total cost of ownership and challenge embedded or legacy practices
• Work with production planning, inventory and logistics teams to maintain supply chain efficiency
• Engage and influence senior stakeholders across operations, finance, supply chain and business unit leadership
• Collaborate across EMEA/global procurement teams to share insights and align sourcing strategies

Ideal Candidate Profile

You will be a capable and driven procurement professional with strong foundations in direct procurement and a desire to broaden your strategic influence within a global, technical environment.

Essential Experience

• 3–5 years’ procurement experience
• Background in direct procurement
• Strong stakeholder engagement—credible, persuasive and comfortable challenging constructively
• Experience supporting both strategic and tactical procurement delivery
• Commercially astute with strong negotiation capability
• Comfortable working in complex, fast-moving or ambiguous settings
• Exposure to international suppliers or multi-regional markets

Desirable Experience

• Knowledge of chemicals, industrial gases, special gases or engineering/technical categories
• Degree-level education (or A-levels with strong relevant experience)
• CIPS qualification (or working towards it)
• Understanding of contract drafting, contract law and contract management
• Experience within engineering, manufacturing or industrial environments

What’s on Offer

• Competitive salary: £50,000–£58,000
• 9% annual bonus (50% individual / 25% business / 25% department)
• Additional annual 18% bonus
• Hybrid working – 2 days on site
• Monthly procurement team meeting in Woking
• Occasional UK travel; minimal global travel
• Broad visibility across the organisation with meaningful category ownership
• Clear progression pathway into a senior procurement leadership role

Interview Process

• Initial Call (30–45 mins): CV walkthrough and capability assessment
• Final Panel Interview