Head of Purchasing

Job Summary

The Head of Purchasing will lead the companies sourcing, supplier negotiation, and purchasing strategy to ensure balance between commercial value, quality standards, and effective supplier management.  

The role will oversee departmental operations, mentor and develop the purchasing team, and collaborate closely with internal operational stakeholders to mitigate risk, optimise stock levels, and ensure full compliance with company and regulatory policies.

What does this role Involve

Key Accountabilities:

• Managing the placement of all POs and the associated amounts to support the sales budget
• Quality and effectiveness of product supplier relationships, Group and third parties
• Align the purchasing team focus to fully integrate the supplier and product management across the commercial functions

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead and manage the purchasing team, providing guidance, training, and performance evaluations to support the continued delivery of the function
• Leadership of Published, Distributed and TGC product purchasing strategies in conjunction with the Purchasing Channel Controllers
• Leading on new Product Management on all product categories to ensure the Purchasing Function is only working with products that bring longer term value to the business
• Plan and execute the purchasing strategy for the organisation. · Oversee the product sourcing using intelligence from all available data including market research on consumer demand, requests and understanding of customer/retailer needs from national and hobby and independent sales channels – finding suppliers and games to fill gaps and open up new categories
• Responsible for aligning forecasting and business requirements into the PO ordering cycle.
• Manage inventory levels and optimize stock levels to minimize carrying costs while meeting business demands.
• Working in conjunction with the Product Master Data Manager to develop the supplier data collection strategy and ensure that the team get the most from the management of this data.
• Responsible for the Quality & Compliance of all the products distributed through the business as well as wider statutory / compliance requirements not specifically related to products.
• A key member of the Commercial Leadership team interacting with Sales & Marketing involved in assessing the product portfolio within the business and driving the business requirements and needs to deliver across all the product categories
• Ensure that team members remain future looking and empower the team to own and drive positive change and solutions which have a lasting impact
• Responsible for overseeing the management of the supplier relationships and stock profitability including negotiating price and T & Cs, managing service levels, communication and feedback, internal communication and engagement and authorising stock purchases
• Working through with Purchasing and other Commercial areas to allow for informed decisions about the products and quantity to be purchased based on the product P & L and all available forecast and demand data
• Through Purchasing team, has understanding and is responsible for pricing strategy and policy, helps drive the business to make qualitative, prompt, commercial decisions on discontinuing lines and has a significant role in stock management accountability
• Manage key relationships and the interactions with these stake holders - internally within the company, within the Group and with third-party partners
• Lead the commercial decision making on New Releases including Group KNR (Key New Releases) for the UK market
• Identify new business opportunities across different markets or sectors

What are we looking for

Essential:

• Always exhibits the correct behaviours as well as delivering the required results
• Excellent written & verbal communication skills
• A team player who builds strong working relationships
• Significant and demonstrable experience in purchasing
• Always collaborative and empathetic both internally and externally
• Strong interpersonal skills with ability to quickly establish rapport & build trust
• Significant management skills, motivational with an approachable style who leads by example
• Experience in product development
• Experience in supplier management
• Consumer and data oriented

Desirable:

• BSc/MSc degree in Purchasing or related field
• Experience in the mass and core market entertainment market