Global Commodity Senior Buyer - Direct Material

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.

What's in it for you?

Besides an innovative and international work environment that offers you a good work-life balance, we offer you opportunities to learn and grow, a competitive salary (Grade L2) pension plan, 29 vacation days / 13 ADV days, and travel allowance (from 10 km single journey) as well.

Job Summary

Due to our continued success and our ambitious growth plans, we’re looking for a Global Commodity Senior Buyer to join our team, supporting our Landing Gear business.

You’ll be responsible for the end-to-end management of our suppliers, including taking the lead on our sourcing strategy, supplier sourcing and onboarding, supplier performance, and purchasing negotiations. You’ll have a strong focus on managing a portfolio of suppliers to reduce risk and optimise cost.

You'll work closely with the commodity management team based in Papendrecht to deliver cost-effective solutions that align with the specific needs of sites and programs, contributing to value generation across GKN Aerospace.

Job Responsibilities

The Global Commodity Senior Buyer will be responsible for supporting strategic sourcing for the relevant commodity to maximize leverage of direct material reporting to the Global Commodity Manager:

• Support the commodity team to meet or exceed objectives related to commodities including: Cost Savings, economics, working capital, quality, supplier rationalization, low-cost sourcing, and other agreed objectives.
• Take Leadership when required for commodity activities in coordination with costing and engineering to drive a competitive advantage for GKN Aerospace.
• Support in the development of commodity strategies
• Ensure self-development in the field of Procurement
• Support and prepare the Make or Buy decisions, prepare data and plans for relevant commodity gate reviews.
• Support efforts concerning supply base rationalization and supplier development.
• Ensure Leveraging synergies across the GKN global network.
• Build RFI/RFP packs and work with Cost Analysts / ME to test value for money.

Job Qualifications

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management or related fields
• A minimum of 3 years Commodity experience with 2-3 years in Aerospace industry preferred.
• Must be fluent (speaking and reading) in the English Language

Preferred Qualifications:

• Ability to interact with people of different levels inside/outside the company and to operate within a team to reach team goals and business objectives
• Ability to empower others to achieve results through motivation, recognition, and performance feedback.
• Ability to express information in a manner appropriate to different levels of people & to lead and close out negotiations.
• Ability to recognize, respond to customer expectations with a sense of urgency.
• Ability to take full responsibility for decisions & results even when all elements are not under individual direct control.
• Experience in implementing industry-leading best practices.
• Proven ability in strategy deployment.
• Proven project management techniques.

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 are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology. ​