Purchasing Lead

**Purchasing Lead, Customer Channel Group**

**Location: Illkirch France OR Loughborough, UK**

**Position Summary**:
The purchasing Lead has overall responsibility for ensuring supply execution through the supply chain network, by proactive collaboration with suppliers and developing effective and consistent purchasing processes within the designated category. In this role, the purchasing Lead is responsible for managing a team of Buyers and Senior buyers while providing continuous improvement in the processes and operational plans in collaboration with the Purchasing manager.

**Duties and Responsibilities**:

- Manage the team as a Role Model Leader: being accountable for the engagement, performance, compensation and the development of the team and be reference point for the buyers and senior buyers
- Manage the buyers and senior buyers from the category at European level, which includes training, developing and maintaining the team to work in a fast-paced and ever-changing environment focused on exceeding customer expectations
- Adopt and participate in PPI initiatives to identify improvements and cost savings to the business
- Participate to design and implement new processes and refine existing processes to optimize time management. Document new process flows and introduce within the wider team
- Identify problems, produce and analyze data to make accurate sound decisions. Document solutions in conjunction with the training group
- Animate the Tier Meeting with the senior buyer.
- Achieve department goals by reviewing, defining and implementing effective procurement processes and workflows
- Track and publish metrics to measure performance
- Ensure service level targets (fill rate, availability) are met.
- Ensure the inventory plan is followed by the team.
- Proactively resolving supply constraint to protect service.
- Identify problems, produce and analyze data to make accurate sound decisions. Document solutions in conjunction with the training group
- Ensure the team effectively manage all purchasing and associated operational aspects of inventory management.
- Ensure the team track Shipments of purchase orders and take necessary actions in case of unusual delay.
- Ensure the team manage the data flow through each stage of a purchase order - confirmation, estimated ship date, ASN etc. Provide updates to changed delivery dates and ensure the orders are dispatched. Ensure high level of supplier response and up to date delivery dates
- Ensure the team review the delivery times at item level and dispatch dates that need to be improved to avoid shortages (predictive stock out)
- Ensure the team manage the processing of delivery issues from suppliers - short/over/wrong product/damaged etc. in collaboration with the different warehouses
- Manage and drive improved supplier performance, using metrics. Manage the weekly calls with the suppliers to review performance and manage get well plans.
- Developing robust improvement plans with supplier to improve flow of product supply, accuracy of lead time and order confirmation & status update data exchange.
- Support the buyers and the senior buyers for the preparation of monthly and weekly calls with the suppliers and participate to these calls if needed
- Be proactive by contributing to improve supplier performance
- Establish and build effective relationships with suppliers and stakeholders within the business.
- Maintain a high level of internal customer service, supporting customer services and other business functions when required.
- Collaboration with the various departments in operations, Transport, Product management and finance to resolve process issue which are preventing the flow of product supply
- Participate in internal regular meetings with other departments of the company
- Be a back-up of the purchasing manager

**Minimum Requirements/Qualifications**
- Bachelor’s Degree in relevant discipline.
- Knowledge and experience of purchasing/inventory management in a highly complex distribution in a high SKU environment.
- Knowledge and experience of ERP purchasing functionality.
- Proven leadership experience within a customer-centric environment
- Experienced in process improvement
- Previous project experience. Ability to help to design and implement new processes.
- Proven supplier negotiation experience
- Must be English speaking

**Competencies**
- Excellent analytical skills. Intermediate/advanced Excel user.
- Ability to quickly and accurately process and analyze large volumes of data, produce conclusions and make accurate decisions based on fact.
- Ability to communicate effectively, both written and verbally with management regarding progress and deadlines
- Must have experience and be comfortable in a highly structured/procedural environment and in an international matrix organization
- Excellent interpersonal, customer orientation and problem solving, can-do attitude
- Able to document new process flows and introduce within the wider te