Purchasing Assistant - Norwich

We're excited to offer a fantastic opportunity to become part of our Procurement & Finance Operations team at Mills & Reeve.

The role

We're excited to offer a fantastic opportunity to become part of our Procurement & Finance Operations team at Mills & Reeve. We're looking for a proactive and detail-oriented Purchasing Assistant who will play a key role in supporting our busy department.

In this role, you'll be responsible for reviewing expense claims with accuracy and efficiency, while also providing essential administrative support across a range of procurement and finance activities. It's a great chance to contribute to a collaborative team, develop your skills, and be part of a firm that values innovation.

The person

This role is ideal for someone with previous administrative experience who is confident using technology and thrives in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment. The successful candidate will be comfortable working independently, using their initiative to solve problems and follow tasks through to completion. While experience in procurement or handling buying and expense claims is beneficial, it's not essential. A strong working knowledge of Microsoft 365 applications—particularly Word, Excel, Outlook, and Teams—is important, along with a general ease with data input and digital systems. They should be logical, organised, and able to meet deadlines, while also being open to improving processes and suggesting new ways of working. Confidence in building relationships across the organisation and a willingness to take ownership of tasks are key to success in this position.

The activities

• Operational support
• Raise and maintain accurate purchase orders in collaboration with Buyers and Business Support colleagues.
• Review and process expense claims, ensuring compliance with firm policies.
• Assist with supplier onboarding by completing new supplier forms and supporting timely payments.
• Team collaboration & leadership
• Support team initiatives and stay informed through firm communications.
• Be flexible and proactive in helping colleagues, especially during busy periods or absences.
• Promote continuous improvement by suggesting more efficient ways of working.
• Data & systems management
• Maintain supplier records across systems such as Concur, Risk Ledger, and the Supplier Contracts Database.
• Generate spend reports using tools like 3E, Amazon Business, and credit card portals.
• Help manage online supplier accounts and ensure data accuracy.
• Administrative support
• Organise and file key documents including contracts and due diligence forms.
• Arrange meetings, manage diaries, prepare agendas, and take/distribute minutes when needed.
• Support audit preparation by collecting and maintaining supplier data for ISO and internal reviews.
  

For full details on this role, please ensure you read the job description below.

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible.

The Benefits

As you'd expect, we offer a competitive salary and a wide range of benefits. Click here to find out more about our core benefit offering.

Pre employment screening

If we offer you a role, we will conduct comprehensive pre-employment screening. This screening will include, but is not limited to, a basic DBS, verification of your right to work, a three year employment history and a self-declaration to assess your character and suitability for the role. Full details of our pre-screening employment process are available upon request.

The firm

Mills & Reeve is centred on achieving more for clients, their businesses and the wider communities we serve. Our clients and their industries benefit from our knowledge and learning, and receive consistent experiences with no surprises. We tell them what they need to know when they need to know it.

We build personal relationships, with advice individually tailored to individual need. And if clients need things we don't offer, we draw on our network to give recommendations. Our 1,250 plus people and over 750 lawyers share one vision – achieving more for clients.

By joining Mills & Reeve, you'll have the chance to build your skills and experience within a firm that's not only ranked in the top 50 UK law firms, but also one that truly values their people. Our mantra is “Achieve more. Together.”, which we feel embodies our purpose and is more than just a catchphrase! We're also ranked in the Sunday Times Best Places to Work list, and were recently awarded Platinum Investors in People.

and finally

Everyone at Mills & Reeve brings a unique perspective and ideas to the team and we do everything we can to help each person to thrive. We're committed to providing an inclusive and supportive working environment, are happy to consider flexible working arrangements, and want to achieve the right balance for both our people and the firm. We encourage everyone to ask if they feel they need any workplace adjustments, and will do our best to support with these.

To find out more about our diversity and inclusion work, visit our website .