Operational Buyer (Regional)
GKN Aerospace
Date: 8 hours ago
City: Bristol
Contract type: Full time
Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
Job Summary
Our Indirect Commodity Management & Procurement Excellence team is on the lookout for an Indirect Operational Buyer to join us at our Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bristol—the place where brilliant engineers, cutting-edge innovation, and central head office functions (think HR, Finance, IT, and more) all come together. We’ve teamed up with the UK Government for a £32M investment through the Aerospace Technology Institute to create the GTC, and now we need YOU to make procurement excellence part of the magic happening here!
How You'll Contribute
We’re building something new and exciting! We’ve got strong indirect procurement in place—preferred suppliers, contracts, buyers—all the essentials. But what we don’t have (yet!) is dedicated operational buying support—someone to help stakeholders navigate the admin, from raising POs to finding the right supplier or choosing the correct contract.
That’s where you come in.
We’re on a mission to bring real operational buying support to all indirect categories—from real estate and maintenance to consultants, tooling, IT, transport, and beyond. We want indirect procurement to feel more personal, more collaborative, and way more efficient. Your job? Be right there where the transactions happen, making sure stakeholders feel supported and processes get smoother.
By adding this on-the-ground support, we’re making procurement more personal, more integrated, and more connected. Instead of stakeholders handling purchasing in isolation, you’ll be their trusted guide, ensuring smooth transactions and building closer relationships between procurement and the business.
And that’s not all—this role is our eyes and ears on the ground. You’ll gather feedback on how our suppliers are performing, what’s working, and where we can improve. Your insights will help category buyers and managers refine our procurement strategies, making sure we’re always raising the bar.
What are we expecting from you in 6 months, one year, and two years?
First 6 months: You’ll be a familiar face across Indirect Procurement—category buyers and category managers will know you’re our Procurement Ops “go-to” for the GTC. Stakeholders alike will know you as their go-to person for purchase orders and procurement support. You’ll also dive into community groups and GTC activities (because networking + fun = win-win). Most importantly, you’ll listen to engineers, to colleagues, to the system itself—to spot what works and what doesn’t.
One year in: This role will truly belong to you. You’ll own indirect procurement operations at GTC, fine-tuning quick-win process improvements and making things run smoother.
Two years in: You’ll have made several impactful improvements to processes and communication, feeding valuable insights to category buyers and managers to shape better procurement strategies. And, of course, your next career move will be on the horizon—whether it’s specializing in buying or transitioning into a category-focused role, we’ll support you in building a development path to get there.
What You'll Bring
Two of your superpowers? Stakeholder & relationship management: People genuinely enjoy working with you—you make things easy, engaging, and fun! Process improvement: You love being organised, bringing structure to chaos, and ensuring things work as seamlessly as possible.
You’re a self-starter with ambition, ready to build relationships, solve problems, and refine solutions as needed.
Experience-wise
We’ll offer you challenges that excite and opportunities that inspire. This is your chance to be part of a forward-thinking, industry-leading organisation that’s pushing boundaries—and you’ll be right at the heart of it in Indirect Procurement!
With some of the best training and development available, who knows how far you’ll go? We’re here to support your journey and see your career fly!
Perks & Benefits
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.
GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.
Job Summary
Our Indirect Commodity Management & Procurement Excellence team is on the lookout for an Indirect Operational Buyer to join us at our Global Technology Centre (GTC) in Bristol—the place where brilliant engineers, cutting-edge innovation, and central head office functions (think HR, Finance, IT, and more) all come together. We’ve teamed up with the UK Government for a £32M investment through the Aerospace Technology Institute to create the GTC, and now we need YOU to make procurement excellence part of the magic happening here!
How You'll Contribute
We’re building something new and exciting! We’ve got strong indirect procurement in place—preferred suppliers, contracts, buyers—all the essentials. But what we don’t have (yet!) is dedicated operational buying support—someone to help stakeholders navigate the admin, from raising POs to finding the right supplier or choosing the correct contract.
That’s where you come in.
We’re on a mission to bring real operational buying support to all indirect categories—from real estate and maintenance to consultants, tooling, IT, transport, and beyond. We want indirect procurement to feel more personal, more collaborative, and way more efficient. Your job? Be right there where the transactions happen, making sure stakeholders feel supported and processes get smoother.
By adding this on-the-ground support, we’re making procurement more personal, more integrated, and more connected. Instead of stakeholders handling purchasing in isolation, you’ll be their trusted guide, ensuring smooth transactions and building closer relationships between procurement and the business.
And that’s not all—this role is our eyes and ears on the ground. You’ll gather feedback on how our suppliers are performing, what’s working, and where we can improve. Your insights will help category buyers and managers refine our procurement strategies, making sure we’re always raising the bar.
What are we expecting from you in 6 months, one year, and two years?
First 6 months: You’ll be a familiar face across Indirect Procurement—category buyers and category managers will know you’re our Procurement Ops “go-to” for the GTC. Stakeholders alike will know you as their go-to person for purchase orders and procurement support. You’ll also dive into community groups and GTC activities (because networking + fun = win-win). Most importantly, you’ll listen to engineers, to colleagues, to the system itself—to spot what works and what doesn’t.
One year in: This role will truly belong to you. You’ll own indirect procurement operations at GTC, fine-tuning quick-win process improvements and making things run smoother.
Two years in: You’ll have made several impactful improvements to processes and communication, feeding valuable insights to category buyers and managers to shape better procurement strategies. And, of course, your next career move will be on the horizon—whether it’s specializing in buying or transitioning into a category-focused role, we’ll support you in building a development path to get there.
What You'll Bring
Two of your superpowers? Stakeholder & relationship management: People genuinely enjoy working with you—you make things easy, engaging, and fun! Process improvement: You love being organised, bringing structure to chaos, and ensuring things work as seamlessly as possible.
You’re a self-starter with ambition, ready to build relationships, solve problems, and refine solutions as needed.
Experience-wise
- You've worked as a buyer in a mature operation handling indirect procurement for a significant spend (£30M+ ideally).
- You’ve got 3+ years of professional experience (5–7 years is ideal).
- You're an Excel whiz—pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, and spend management tools are second nature to you.
- You've got experience in large-scale manufacturing or heavily regulated industries (aerospace, automotive, pharma, nuclear, etc.).
- A degree in a commercial field or an APICS/MCIPS qualification would be great!
We’ll offer you challenges that excite and opportunities that inspire. This is your chance to be part of a forward-thinking, industry-leading organisation that’s pushing boundaries—and you’ll be right at the heart of it in Indirect Procurement!
With some of the best training and development available, who knows how far you’ll go? We’re here to support your journey and see your career fly!
Perks & Benefits
- Competitive salary (dependant on experience)
- Hybrid working—a mix of office and home flexibility
- Industry-leading pension scheme (we match up to 8% at a 1:1.5 ratio)
- Life assurance (8x your salary)
- 25 days holiday + bank holidays
- Income protection
- Shopping discounts
- Cycle To Work Scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- A collaborative, dynamic working environment
We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?
A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working
Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.
We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.
We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.
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