Purchasing Manager Dunfermline

Purchasing Manager (Procurement Manager)

A Purchasing Manager is responsible for ensuring that a company has a clear purchasing and procurement strategy when purchasing goods so that they meet budgetary and other operational requirements of the company and that this buying strategy is adhered to.  Some companies require suppliers to meet certain standards such as ISO accreditation and the Purchasing Manager will be responsible for ensuring that suppliers meet these requirements from a Procurement perspective and an Ethical Compliance perspective.

Typical day to day tasks undertaken by a Procurement Manager might include producing tenders, forecasting future business needs (Opex or Capex) by liaising with internal colleagues, researching potential suppliers, supplier onboarding, developing and maintaining relationships with key suppliers, monitoring the timely delivery of products and services and ensuring all projects meet financial, legal and regulatory compliance.  If the Purchasing Manager has a team of staff, she/he will also need to manage, motivate and support the team. 

Skills & Experience Required for a Career in Purchasing

• A Bachelor’s degree in a relevant subject such as science, business, project management or supply chain 
• An additional professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply would be helpful
• Good working knowledge of Material Requirements Planning (MRP) systems, for either Capital Expenditure (Capex) or Operational Expenditure (OpEx) and strong general IT skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to communicate with influence colleagues, clients and suppliers
• Good negotiating skills to achieve the best price from suppliers.
• Understanding of OpEx / Capex budget management processes

Salary Levels/Career Progression

Although a degree and several years’ experience would typically be required for a Procurement or Purchasing manager position, there are opportunities for non-graduates to have a career in Procurement or Purchasing.   Typical entry level roles might include Buyer’s Assistant, Junior Buyer, Buyer, Purchasing Assistant or Procurement Assistant.

A Procurement Manager in a large organisation may have the opportunity to progress to roles such as Head Buyer, Head of Procurement, Director of Procurement and Purchasing or similar.  Salaries of a typical Procurement Manager start in the region of £45k upward dependent on the size of the organisation and location.

Dunfermline is the second largest town in Fife, Scotland and is located approximately 3 miles from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, 40 miles from Glasgow, 17 from Edinburgh and also 17 from Stirling.  Dunfermline was the capital of Scotland for over 500 years. Dunfermline Abbey, which was founded in the 12th century by Queen Margaret, is the most famous ancient building in the town and its graveyard was been the burial place of 11 of Scotland's kings and queens up to including Robert The Bruce in 1329.  Other ancient buildings include the Royal Palace, Abbot House and St Margaret's Cave.

There are numerous golf course within easy reach of Dunfermline, including the world famous St Andrew’s golf course which is only 40 miles away.  The majority of employment in Dunfermline is in the service sector, with significant employers Sky UK, Amazon and Best Western.  The Carnegie campus just outside the city is home to a growing number of technology, medical device and other hi-tech companies.

Famous people born in Dunfermline: Iain Banks, novelist and Barbara Dickson, singer/songwriter.

Dunfermline is a great place to further your career in life sciences. If you are a looking for pharmaceutical jobs in Scotland, scientific careers in Scotland or want to discuss cell therapy, gene therapy, ATMP, medical device, technology, biotech or pharmaceutical job opportunities in Scotland, give our Next Phase team a call. The Dunfermline area is continuing to expand as a centre for jobs in science, process development, technology, software development, project management, informatics, quality, reg affairs and supply chain.

At Next Phase we help people find new jobs in life sciences across the UK, Europe and USA. This page lists some of the job opportunities in Scotland, and if you give us a call we can also talk to you about other scientific jobs, pharmaceutical career opportunities and the latest updates in cell and gene therapy and ATMP development in the Dunfermline area.