Full-Time

Purchasing Manager

Updated on 9/3/2026

Universal Business Team

Universal Business Team

Family-business consulting, training, and group purchasing

Compensation Overview

£50k - £60k/yr

+ Bonus

Colchester, UK

In Person

On-site role in Colchester.

Category
Operations & Logistics (1)
Required Skills
ERP

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Requirements
  • Proven experience in a Purchasing Manager or senior procurement role within a fast-moving or growing business; an industrial, assembly, or automotive background is ideal.
  • Demonstrated ability to manage purchasing administration while delivering strategic improvements.
  • Ability to lead the purchasing function independently.
  • Track record of delivering savings, improving supplier performance, and implementing effective procurement strategies.
  • Strong commercial awareness with negotiation and analytical skills.
  • Hands-on, adaptable, and proactive approach, with comfort handling both strategy and day-to-day tasks.
  • Communication and stakeholder management skills.
  • Familiarity with enterprise resource planning systems and procurement software.
Responsibilities
  • Own and manage the end-to-end procurement process while maintaining procurement policy and standards.
  • Raise and manage all purchase orders, ensuring orders are accurate, timely, and aligned with demand.
  • Manage supplier selection, onboarding, and approval, ensuring service-level agreements are in place with top suppliers.
  • Manage supplier performance through annual reviews and resolution of supplier issues by tracking performance against service-level agreement standards.
  • Manage and monitor cost prices, identify cost-saving opportunities to increase gross profit, and mitigate price increases.
  • Take responsibility for purchasing and other relevant budgets.
  • Manage information technology systems, including accurate lead times, cost prices, and other relevant data within the enterprise resource planning system.
  • Source and purchase capital equipment and services.
  • Manage the end-to-end Far East procurement process for offshore suppliers, including import paperwork based on projected stock usage and forward orders.
  • Conduct on-site visits to UK-based and overseas suppliers.
  • Attend trade shows.
  • Work with suppliers to improve EBITDA, procure products at competitive rates, ensure consistent component supply, build supplier relationships, and negotiate competitive terms.
  • Drive consistency and efficiency in purchasing processes and systems while collaborating with operations and engineering to support production planning and efficient stock control.
Desired Qualifications
  • Professional qualifications such as Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply are desirable but not essential.
  • Industrial, assembly, or automotive background.
Universal Business Team

Universal Business Team

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UBT helps family-owned businesses grow and run more efficiently by providing advisory, coaching, training, and accounting services, plus a group purchasing program. Its training courses cover finance, HR, leadership, marketing, and sales and are delivered through on-site workplace visits and online sessions; the group purchasing service uses the client network to secure better prices for various products and services. UBT differentiates itself with a social mission that reinvests profits into education and charitable work, funding initiatives like OneSchool Global and the Rapid Relief Team, alongside its consulting and training offerings. Its goal is to help clients increase profitability, improve liquidity, and reduce debt across about 3,000 clients in 19 countries with a global team of around 700.

Company Size

N/A

Company Stage

N/A

Total Funding

N/A

Headquarters

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Founded

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • UBT's 2026 Dayforce rollout improves hiring visibility across Australia, New Zealand, North America, and the UK.
  • The company still markets active growth across 19 countries and 3,000 clients.
  • UBT's education and charitable reinvestment strengthens brand appeal among purpose-driven employers.

What critics are saying

  • UBT's model depends on founder-led trust and family-business referrals, concentrating revenue risk.
  • The Precinct and group-buying offerings face replication by niche consultancies and procurement platforms.
  • If consulting margins weaken, UBT's reinvest-all-profits mission limits capital for acquisitions.

What makes Universal Business Team unique

  • UBT serves 3,000 family businesses across 19 countries, unusually focused on family firms.
  • The Precinct combines consulting with coworking in Sydney, Auckland, and the UK.
  • Dayforce adoption in 2026 shows UBT operates a globally centralized people platform.

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Benefits

Flexible Work Hours

Paid Vacation

Paid Holidays

Paid Sick Leave

Life Insurance

Meal Benefits

Profit Sharing

Performance Bonus

Wellness Program

Professional Development Budget

Training Programs