We are currently looking for a Procurement and Supplier Development Lead

A little about us:

With over a century of engineering expertise and innovation, KNDS UK is a renowned world leader in rapidly deployable military bridging systems and a key partner in the UK MoD’s Boxer armoured vehicle programme.

We are proud of our heritage and our reputation of providing the highest quality engineering solutions for over 100 years. As a trusted partner to military customers around the world, our employees are the very heart of our company. We have a skilled and experienced workforce dedicated to achieving excellence in all areas of the business from Engineering to Project Management, Business Support to Operations.

As our business evolves, we are looking to strengthen our workforce with talented and motivated individuals across a range of disciplines to work from our Northwest Engineering Centre of Excellence and currently have this opportunity available:

About the role:

The primary purpose of this role is to be responsible for the development of supply chain readiness and industrialisation actives and supplier engagement to embed capability and capacity that enables sustainable growth within the supply base as we embark on a rapid production ramp-up phase for both the Boxer armoured vehicle and Tactical Bridging programmes.

Key duties include, but are not limited to:

·         As a Supplier Development lead, you will be responsible for ensuring a stable and efficient supply chain in close collaboration with our commodity managers and suppliers.

·         You will engage with suppliers to assess their production capabilities and capacities to identify and resolve potential bottlenecks.

·         Your finding and recommendation will support investment decisions by analysing capacities, technologies, and cost-effectiveness.

·         Actively supporting the ramp-up from KNDS UK and the Supply Chain for future projects will be one of your core responsibilities.

·         Lead and conduct detailed supplier evaluations and prepare risk assessments to define target sourcing strategy with a view to securing supply continuity.

·         Define and implement measures for capacity expansion and optimize supplier performance.

·         Act as the interface between the commodity managers, Internal Manufacturing, Manufacturing Engineering and Quality department, to developing strategic partnerships with our suppliers.

·         Support with make-or-buy analyses and contribute to decision-making internally.

·         Identifying cost-saving opportunities and implementing quality improvement measures at KNDS UK.

·         Coordinate Run at Rate demonstration activities

What we’re looking for:

Our ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate the following:

·      Proven experience and capability of working within Procurement / supply chain as a supplier development lead / engineer.

·      Degree Educated

·      Experience of working within a Manufacturing background

·      APQP awareness

·      Lean principles

Why you should join us:

When you become part of the KNDS UK team, you will enjoy employee benefits such as:

·         Competitive salary

·         Attractive pension (4% employee contribution, 7% employer contribution)

·         Half-day Friday

·         Life assurance scheme

·         Company sick pay scheme which increases with service

·         Employee Assistance Programme

·         Additional Holidays & other Long Service rewards

·         Wellbeing initiatives, such as Free Fruit on Tuesday’s

·         Cycle to work Scheme

·         Free on-site car parking

·         On-site electric vehicle charging points

We’re also very proud to be part of the Armed Forces Covenant since 2018, achieving their Silver Award in 2020 and Gold Award in 2024. We actively support and encourage service leavers, reservists and cadets to join our team, recognising military skills and qualifications in our recruitment and selection process.

If you are passionate about Procurement and eager to contribute to a thriving workplace environment, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity.

We look forward to receiving your application!

Recruiters please note that we have a list of approved recruitment agency partners in place and we will contact agencies directly should we require support. Any unsolicited CV’s received via an agency will be accepted with thanks but without fee.