Full Description

Are you an experienced Buying Operations Lead with a strong understanding of procurement operations, purchasing processes and procure-to-pay (P2P) workflows?

We’re looking for a proactive, solutions-focused professional to lead day-to-day buying operations within a busy Supply Operations team. This is an opportunity to take ownership of purchasing processes, resolve operational challenges and drive improvements that strengthen compliance, efficiency and service delivery.

Reporting to the Head of Supply Operations, you’ll oversee buying workflows, supplier onboarding, purchase order management and transactional controls, helping ensure that purchasing activity is accurate, efficient and compliant with established policies.

We’re looking for someone who can hit the ground running, work independently and confidently manage operational issues from start to finish. You’ll need sound judgement, excellent attention to detail and the confidence to challenge processes constructively, influence stakeholders and identify opportunities for continuous improvement.

Experience with Oracle Fusion would be advantageous.

Key responsibilities:

• Lead buying operations: Manage requisition-to-purchase order workflows, ensuring purchasing activity is processed accurately, efficiently and in line with agreed policies and controls.
• Manage purchasing exceptions: Investigate and resolve non-standard buying requests, workflow issues and blocked or overdue purchase orders, escalating complex matters when necessary.
• Coordinate supplier onboarding: Ensure suppliers are correctly set up and ready to transact, maintaining accurate supplier records and master data.
• Maintain data accuracy: Monitor supplier, purchase order and invoice-related information, identifying errors and coordinating timely corrections.
• Resolve operational issues: Work closely with Finance, suppliers, Logistics and internal stakeholders to address order, delivery, receipting, pricing and invoice queries.
• Drive compliance: Promote consistent buying practices, reinforce approval processes and maintain accurate records to support financial controls and audit requirements.
• Improve the buying experience: Encourage the use of approved purchasing channels, guided buying tools and self-service processes, reducing unnecessary manual intervention.
• Monitor performance: Use Excel, reports and transactional data to identify recurring issues, assess risks and prioritise operational improvements.
• Support process improvement: Contribute to workflow optimisation, automation and system improvements, helping ensure buying operations remain effective and scalable.
• Collaborate across teams: Build effective working relationships with colleagues across Supply Operations, Finance, Procurement and other operational functions.

About you:

You’ll be an experienced procurement, purchasing or supply operations professional who understands how effective buying processes support business performance, financial accuracy and operational continuity.

You’ll be comfortable taking ownership of complex queries, balancing competing priorities and making informed decisions within established controls. Rather than simply reacting to problems, you’ll look for root causes and work with others to prevent recurring issues.

Essential skills and experience:

• Proven experience in procurement operations, purchasing, supply chain administration, finance operations or a similar operational role.
• Strong understanding of buying operations, requisition-to-PO workflows and procure-to-pay processes.
• Experience managing purchase orders, transactional exceptions and operational workflow issues.
• Knowledge of supplier records, purchasing data, receipting and invoice-related processes.
• Understanding of operational controls, approval processes, audit trails and compliant record keeping.
• Experience identifying operational risks, process weaknesses and opportunities for improvement.
• Strong problem-solving skills, with the ability to investigate issues and coordinate solutions across multiple teams.
• Excellent attention to detail and a commitment to maintaining accurate transactional records.
• Strong organisational skills, with the ability to prioritise competing demands in a busy environment.
• Confident communication and stakeholder management skills, including the ability to challenge constructively and promote compliance.
• Good working knowledge of Microsoft Excel or equivalent reporting tools.
• Experience using ERP or e-procurement systems.

Desirable experience:

• Experience using Oracle Fusion.
• Experience in a scientific, research or higher education purchasing environment.
• Experience working with workflow, helpdesk or automation tools.
• Experience supporting system implementations, testing, standard operating procedure (SOP) updates or process changes.