CAF is one of the international market leaders in the design, manufacture, maintenance and supply of equipment and components for rail systems with presence across the globe in all continents. In the UK market we are present for more than a decade and now we are expanding exponentially through a corporate holding and two differentiated business units: rolling stock and rail services. CAF Rolling Stock UK, Ltd has an assembly facility in Newport (Wales) with a workforce of around 200 staff.

The Commodity Buyer is responsible for implementing material and supplier procurement strategy for new projects, maintaining accuracy of information and ensuring that parts are sourced cost-effectively and that sourcing decisions, commercial terms and supplier capabilities meet companies requirements and conform to company procedures and goals.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Ensure the procurement strategy objectives are delivered and exceeded.

Maintain and develop a sustainable relationship with supply base ensuring that contractual requirements are met & exceeded.

Devise, validate & deliver procurement & commodity strategy for given commodity area.

Work in conjunction with Projects & Systems Engineering to act as the key interface point with the supply base for all commercial matters.

Recognise, manage stakeholder requirements & expectations and align actual deliverables to their requirements.

conduct contract negotiation and on-going management with key suppliers by means of regular business reviews.

Be mindful of the wider CAF organisational functions and their requirements ie service, maintenance and to have a view on integrating their requirements at new build stage..

Recognise risk and be able to to pre-empt mitigate & find resolution of.

Manage as and when required issues with reliability, conformance, inventory control Issue & expedite purchase orders.

Support the Equipment Purchasing Manager (UK & Spain).

Work autonomously to resolve problems and escalate critical issues as required.

Report into the project the activities and actions being taken by Procurement

Support any function with Supplier related issues (first contact point).

Lead the Procurement activities within the Change Management Process.

Obtain functional inputs and requirement.

Attend various meetings across the business and report accordingly.port other departments and carry out other duties as and when business requirements dictate as may be reasonably expected by line manager

Other ad-hoc duties and special projects as required

General

Ensure accurate records are completed and maintained in accordance with procedures in place, and work in progress is communicated to Line Managers and team members as required.

Ensure that all work is compliant with health and safety policies and procedures.

Ensure all work carried out is compliant with organisational quality management systems/policies and procedures.

Participate in team and one-to-one meetings, and undertake, as appropriate, training, relevant to the role as required.

Keep up to date with developments and policies and procedures within the Company, that influence the day-to-day activities within the role, ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and any other relevant internal/external factors e.g. Company policies and procedures, quality management standards, health and safety.

Promote the Company by whatever means are appropriate and available so as to ensure a positive image to internal/external customers/clients.

Ensure, in the course of employment, complete confidentiality is maintained in respect of the Company, its dealings, transactions, and all other information relating to clients / customers, staff etc.

Demonstrate commitment to the aims and objectives of the Company and the implementation of its Equal Opportunities policy in the workplace.

In addition to the duties and responsibilities outlined, you must be prepared to undertake such additional duties which may result from changing circumstances, but which may not of necessity change the general character or level of responsibility to the post.

REQUIRED ACADEMIC SKILLS:

University degree or equivalent through experience, complemented by a demonstrated track record of success. MCIPS qualification preferred but not essential.

REQUIRED PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

A proven commercial professional in a similar role within a modern working environment.

Project-purchasing Planning / Supplier Relationship Management, commodity management experience (minimum of 2 years’) in an engineering/manufacturing environment, Preferable in railway or engineering organization sectors ie aero, automotive, utilities, infrastructure.

Personal Attributes: Strategic / lateral thinker, able to influence, comfortable working at various organizational levels, able to build stakeholder network, appreciation and recognition of cultural differences that may exist in an international organization, autonomous yet a strong team player.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE:

General aptitude towards working in a complex matrix organization at multi site / geographical level, understanding of rail, infrastructure dynamics and current developments.

Be cost conscious recognising total cost and key cost drivers for commodity area.

Have a working knowledge of collaborative and joint product / design development process which may be required on complex systems.

LANGUAGES: English, Spanish would be a plus

Travel: Travel required as duties dictate locally and within mainland Europe.

OTHERS:

Excellent contracting, legal & compliance knowledge

Computer literate: MS Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel)

Excellent organizational skills

Ability to independently problem solve and make decisions

Professional attitude exercising confidentiality as needed

Good systems aptitude (like SAP/Baan experience a plus)