Strategic Buyer (Battery)

Join the Procurement Team based in Bristol as a Strategic Buyer for our Battery department and help us to achieve our mission of pioneering electric aviation.

What success will look like for you, as a Strategic Buyer?

As a Strategic Buyer, you will be responsible for developing and deploying a category management, best practice approach to procurement in the ongoing development of the VX4 aircraft, specifically the battery.

You will conduct market assessments and help us to identify potential new suppliers. You will manage new and existing supplier relationships, and ensure they adhere to contractual KPIs, to secure on-time, cost, and quality products/services. You will manage the commercial negotiation and contracting process from RFI/RFP through to contract award.

You will be joining a lean team where everyone gets stuck in and hands-on with the job in front of them, this means you will also manage the end-to-end PO process, and be responsible for ensuring information is accurate and up to date in our ERP system. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to contribute to further continuous improvement of our procurement processes and tools, and play a key role in helping to develop future supplier ramp-up strategies.

You will be working closely with our expert internal teams across engineering, finance, and program, as well as key global external suppliers. You will need excellent communication, negotiation skills, and attention to detail and the ability to flex between essential operational tasks to strategic problem solving to be successful in this role. You will work with and analyse data and insights to identify where there are potential risks in our supply chain and take the lead to find required solutions.

You will report directly to the Head of Supply Chain Operations and be a key member of the procurement and supply chain team, supporting the continued development of our in-house expertise, specialist sector knowledge and global supply chain capabilities.

What would we like you to bring?

We want you to be successful in your role, to achieve this, you will need to have demonstrable procurement or supply chain experience within the EV/battery technology field and from either an Aerospace, Automotive, or Safety-Critical Manufacturing Company.

You will need a strong track record of success, demonstrating you can develop strategic relationships with your suppliers that have resulted in category growth. You will have previously been exposed to complex and highly regulated work environments. Strong contract management, negotiation, and data analysis skills are essential.   

You will have a high level of resilience to change and ambiguity and apply a continuous learning mindset to your work. Some knowledge of verification and certification processes for aircraft would be advantageous, but not essential. Additionally, you will hold either a BA/BSc degree or equivalent in a business-related field or CIPS qualification.