Buyer

Buyer

Full Time

37 hours per week

Permanent

Salary – £37,594 up to £46,993

Location – Durham/ Hybrid working

About the role

We have a fantastic opportunity for two additional Buyers to join our Opex team in Procurement. These are brand-new roles, created to strengthen our team and drive future success.

As a Buyer, you will support the category management team across all key aspects of the strategic sourcing process, working on a range of procurement activities within pre-agreed spend categories. You’ll build strong relationships, influence stakeholders, and help drive value across the business.

Using both tactical and strategic approaches to sourcing and negotiation, you’ll bring fresh ideas, challenge the status quo, and explore innovative solutions to help us think differently and unlock new opportunities from the marketplace.

Our team operates in a hybrid working model, blending remote work with time spent at any NWG office as required. While much of your role can be done from home, we’re looking for candidates who are within a reasonable distance to travel when needed.

About you

As a team, we are driven by the value and savings potential that strategic procurement brings to our sourcing events. We are looking for individuals who are eager to grow, develop their skills, and make an impact.

You don’t need years of experience, what matters most is your enthusiasm, commercial mindset, and willingness to learn. If you have some exposure to procurement or strategic sourcing and a keen interest in negotiation, problem-solving, and stakeholder management, we would love to hear from you.

We welcome applicants with procurement-related qualifications (such as a degree or working towards MCIPS), but if you have relevant experience or transferable skills, that’s just as valuable. While experience in regulated environments (such as public/utility sectors) is a plus, it’s not essential, we are more interested in how you apply your skills to a fast-paced, structured environment like ours.

If you’re passionate about procurement, eager to develop, and ready to take on a new challenge, this is a fantastic opportunity to be part of a supportive and growing team!

Here at Northumbrian Water/Essex & Suffolk Water, we embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity, and encourage all colleagues to bring their most authentic self to work. 

Our colleague network groups include our Rainbow Support Network (LGBTQIA+), REACH (Race, Ethnicity, and Cultural Heritage), WiSTEM (Women in STEM) and Thisability (disability and neurodiversity) networks. They provide a safe space for colleagues from diverse backgrounds, welcoming all colleagues regardless of their personal characteristics to participate in valuable conversation that improves our organisational awareness, understanding and inclusivity. 

We encourage and welcome all applications, as we strive to be an equal opportunity employer, committed to having diverse communities represented within all our teams, structures, and organisation.   

Please note this role may require a DBS to be completed prior to employment 

NWG are an inclusive employer who support the rehabilitation of offenders, we will not, however consider candidates who have certain unspent convictions to ensure our commitment to fostering a safe and secure working environment for all OR colleagues, suppliers, customers and third parties.  

About us 

Here are NWG we strive to make Northumbrian Water Group (NWG) a Great Place to Work, for all. We embrace and value Diversity, Inclusion and Equity and encourage you to bring your full self to work. As an equal opportunity employer we’re committed to having a diverse community represented across our business. 

We’re aware that not everyone will have every skill listed in the job description, however if you have some of the skills listed, we'd encourage you to apply 

NWG at a glance: 

Our purpose at NWG is caring for the essential needs of our communities and environment, now and for generations to come. 

We do this by providing reliable and affordable water and wastewater services for our customers. 

We make a positive difference by operating efficiently and investing prudently, to maintain a sustainable and resilient business. 

Our vision is to be the national leader in the provision of sustainable water and wastewater services. To support us in achieving our vision, we have five core values which are the guiding principles, defining who we are, what we do and how we do it.  

Our benefits 

We’re a Great Place to Work because of the amazing people who work for us, and to say thank you we offer a range of benefits to colleagues. Our ‘Tap Into’ benefits include: 

• Generous holiday entitlement starting at 23 days, plus bank holidays and additional time off on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. There’s also the option to buy or sell holidays. 

• Company pension scheme, where we’ll double match your contributions up to an employer contribution of 10%. 

• Free access to local attractions. 

• A fantastic discount scheme, with savings on days out, shopping, travel and more. 

• Award winning ‘Living Well’ wellbeing support, including access to a digital GP service for you and your family members. 

• Support with sustainable travel – through salary sacrifice cars and a cycle to work scheme. 

• Financial wellbeing support – access our community savings scheme, financial education and low cost loans through Salary Finance. We also provide 4 x Life Assurance and an Income Protection Scheme. 

• Support with your development – we offer a range of development opportunities, can support you through an interest free qualification loan and we’ll even pay for any relevant professional body subscription.