Senior Buyer

Division Close Brothers Central Functions

Location London, United Kingdom

Salary Competitive Basic Salary + Benefits + Discretionary Bonus

The Vacancy

OVERALL SUMMARY

At Close Brothers we look to recruit individuals from all different backgrounds and encourage you to apply even if you don't tick every box. We celebrate diversity, promote inclusivity and are open to discuss flexible work options to help you balance your work and home life.

Join the Close Brothers Third Party Management Team where you will support the Category Leads and partner with relevant business areas across the Bank to provide procurement support in line with the Third Party Management (TPM) framework. Working as part of the Central Operations team, our ideal team member will have previous experience in optimising commercial value and reducing the risks associated with third party relationships throughout the full lifecycle with excellent experience in managing procurement projects.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Effectively manage relevant stakeholders across the organisation, acting in the capacity of a trusted advisor.
• Lead and be accountable for the commercial negotiations on third party engagements.
• Lead procurement activity (RfX) in the assessment, selection and delivery of Third Party solutions to the Bank.
• Support effective supplier relationship management across nominated third party engagements to ensure commercial value is optimised across the full lifecycle.
• Support Category Leads in executing established sourcing strategies using best practice methodologies working with business and finance to identify, measure and track value delivery.
• Work within the Third Party Management framework at all times to ensure prudent and practical management of risk whilst always striving to meet the needs of business stakeholders.
• Work closely with Third Party Monitoring colleagues where ongoing assurance activities are undertaken on relevant suppliers.
• Commit to an ethos of continuous improvement, always seeking feedback (both structured and anecdotal) to identify opportunities to enhance the TPM framework and working practices.

WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU HAVE/ARE:

• A recognised procurement professional.
• Experience in meeting the needs of diverse and niche business units.
• Experience in negotiating contracts (Legal and Commercial) with Tier 1 providers.
• Strong knowledge of Soft Services Procurement.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and networking skills.
• Good influencing skills at senior levels to influence acceptance of a new way of working.

IT IS NOT ESSENTIAL BUT IT WOULD BE GREAT IF YOU HAVE/ARE:

• Experience of managing a procurement category in at least one blue-chip organisation that has crossed functional and business boundaries.
• Experience in the Financial Services sector.
• Demonstrable and applied knowledge of contract law.
• Strong knowledge of regulations related to Financial Services (SySc8, Material Outsourcing, GDPR, etc).

We are an inclusive organisation and committed to ensuring our recruitment process is as accessible as possible to everyone. We will make adjustments for people who have a disability or long-term condition. If you need the job description or application form in an alternative format or would like to discuss the recruitment process with us, please email us at or request a call back.

ABOUT US

At Close Brothers we support employees to balance their work life priorities and in this role you will be able to enjoy a mixture of hybrid working.

Close Brothers is a leading UK merchant banking group providing lending, deposit taking and securities trading. We employ approximately 3,000 people, principally in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Close Brothers Group plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250.

At Close Brothers Group, we are all connected by our mission to be the best place in the UK for wealth professionals and their clients.

We believe that everyone should think ahead, have a financial plan and invest wisely. Our clients are professionals, business owners, individuals, charities, families, and employers, who rely on our clear financial advice and investment management services to preserve and grow their long-term savings and investments.

We are a team of about 900 people based in 15 offices across the UK. Our geographic footprint means we can combine a local approach with face-to-face services to enable strong, long-term relationships with our clients.

Sustainability is fundamental to our purpose and we have a responsibility to help address the social, economic and environmental challenges facing our business, colleagues and clients. We strive to do the right thing and are dedicated to helping the charities that matter most to our people.

Our vision is to develop an open and inclusive company that ensures everyone is valued, respected and included, so that in years to come our business will represent a diverse and inclusive workforce from the top down.

We look to recruit individuals from all different backgrounds. If this job is of interest to you but you do not meet every criteria then we encourage you still to apply as we are open to providing training opportunities. As an early adopter of hybrid working we are open to discussing all types of flexible working options, helping you to balance your work and home life.