Procurement

[DarkDarkNight]

I’m considering my future in my current job, and have seen a role for another company as an Assistant Buyer in Procurement. If you work within this role would you recommend it?

I can match a lot of the skills and the job description has previous procurement experience as desirable rather than essential for the role. I don’t know much about it save for what comes up in my companies online learning (anti-corruption training etc.) and a quick google.

So I'm a head of procurement in public sector; I've worked in management consultancy, private sector, central gov and local gov in procurement for the last 20 odd years.

I (obviously...) really enjoy it, no two days are the same, and you get to work throughout the whole organisation depending on what you specialise in (which category etc). It's a solid career, you can do your MCIPS qualification which is required in a lot of public sector roles, and the skills are relatively transferable between companies both private and public.

I recruit a lot at Assistant Buyer level, and for me at this level I don't need someone to have had a lot of experience, as we all buy stuff in our private lives; we can all do cost comparison, working out what we actually want to buy (specification), what higher price we are willing to accept for higher quality etc etc . What I'm looking for is curious people who like to talk to others and find out what they actually need, not always what they want. You'll be doing a lot of project management, as your projects will be at different stages, so there will be a lot of juggling, cat-herding and people management, to make sure you get the bits of info you need when you need them. It's not for disorganised people!

What more can I tell you about it?

Thank you for the information Throwa it’s really useful. The role would be private sector in the same industry as I work in now but a company which has more of a future I think.

My current role is a mix of practical work in a scientific area and the admin to go with it. I much prefer the admin side as it naturally plays to my strengths. I think I am a bit worried the job will be a bit staid compared to what I do now but you have reassured me by saying no two days are the same. I like variety and am used to juggling various different projects at different stages.

The thing is I’m not incredibly ambitious, I take pride in doing my job well but I am not interested in climbing the ladder. I’m a single mum and interested in job security and it seems like an area companies are placing an increasing importance on. Do you generally find it’s a job where people are expected to progress to a buyer, then upwards from there?

I work in this area, I'd say it's a great job if you're organised and like speaking to people but also awesome because as the buyer you start from that position of power with the supplier, unlike in sales where you often don't!
Assistant buyers generally don't need specific buying experience but ability to demonstrate decision making, prioritisation of different tasks, data analysis sort of skills would be good.
I've worked in companies where there was no expected progression for assistant buyers and others where professional development is encouraged, that doesn't have to be promotion but maybe breadth of knowledge, working on different commodities etc.
I worked as an assistant buyer for 4 years before moving companies and doing my MCIPS qualification, and my experience really helped with the academic side, compared to for example new graduates. So never underestimate an assistant buyer!

@darkdarknight in terms of the career progression (or not) thing - it depends. I have had people in my teams both private and public who want to progress, always looking for the next promotion etc. I have also had those in my team who just want to do their job (competently!) and go home at the end of the day, like with any other job, at a range of levels from buyer up to category manager. There is always a market for a good solid buyer / Asst buyer so if this is your level, there will always be jobs out there for you.

You will definitely have the variety. Depending on the category you will have pre tender stuff (talking to people, working out what they want, drafting up tender docs, researching the market, seeing if suppliers are interested etc). Then you will have the actual tender - basically responding to questions and getting answers back in. And then the post tender stuff - reviewing and analysing responses, and actually making a decision on which one to choose. You may also get involved in the the post tender legal contract negotiations depending on your company. And then of course there's emergency last minute dramas which you don't see coming which need to be sorted asap.

It is definitely an area where more and more importance is being placed; my latest job came off the back of a restructure where my team size has doubled, because of the importance placed on it, and this is in the public sector!

Thank you for the information AnnaBegins and Throwa I’m going to have a think. It does sound like an interesting area and from looking back at past vacancies at the company there is a lot of different specialisms and projects. If I were to get a job and do enjoy it there is a lot more opportunity for progression if I want it than my current role.

Personally it is not an ideal time to move job at the minute but long term they are a lot more flexible and family-friendly than my current company which is a big attraction.