Commodity Lead

Posting date:	09 July 2025
Hours:	Full time
Closing date:	08 August 2025
Location:	Pentrebach, CF48 4LA
Company:	General Dynamics Lands Systems UK
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	496

Summary

Description

General Dynamics Land Systems is on the look-out for a full-time Commodity Lead to join our Supply Chain Team, based in Merthyr, South Wales. The successful and inclusive candidate will earn a favourable salary of £50,560 to £79,800 based on experience and potential. This is an ideal role for someone who has a proactive and positive mindset and a keen desire to grow professionally. Joining an established team, the successful candidate will be responsible for managing the procurement and sourcing strategies for assigned commodities, ensuring cost-effective and timely delivery of materials. This role includes leading a small team of procurement professionals and collaborating with cross-functional departments to achieve business objectives. If you were already working in this position, this is what you would have been working on this week:

• Commodity Strategy Development: Develop and implement commodity strategies to ensure competitive pricing, quality, and delivery performance.
• Supplier Management: Identify, evaluate, and manage relationships with suppliers to ensure reliable supply chains and continuous improvement.
• Team Leadership: Lead, mentor, and develop a small team of procurement professionals, fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture.
• Negotiations: Conduct negotiations with suppliers to secure favourable terms and conditions, including cost savings and value-added services.
• Market Analysis: Monitor market trends and industry developments to anticipate changes and adjust sourcing strategies accordingly.
• Risk Management: Identify and mitigate risks associated with supply chain disruptions, ensuring continuity of supply.
• Cost Management: Drive cost reduction initiatives and manage budgets effectively to achieve financial targets.
• Compliance: Ensure all procurement activities comply with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.
• Continuous Improvement: Implement and promote continuous improvement initiatives within the procurement process to enhance efficiency, quality, and cost-effectiveness.

To apply for this role, you will require the following:

• MRP experience (Oracle preferred)
• Microsoft Office – Intermediate Minimum
• Consistently demonstrates the values & ethics of GDLS-UK supply chain.
• Degree or Demonstrable Experience.
• Minimum of 3 years’ experience in procurement, sourcing, or supply chain management, preferably in the defence or manufacturing industry.
• Proven track record of successful supplier negotiations and cost management.
• Strong leadership skills with experience managing and developing teams.
• Excellent analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making abilities.
• Effective communication and interpersonal skills.
• Proficiency in procurement software and tools.
• Good communication skills – Written & Verbal.
• Able to prioritise workload to meet functional and business deadlines.
• Good numeric & analytical skills

Our Company Benefits: We pride ourselves in being a great place to work with a shared sense of purpose, offering highly competitive benefits:

• A compressed nine-day fortnight – which means every other Friday off!
• A flexible benefits scheme - allowing you to adapt your benefits to suit yours and your family’s needs
• A personalised career development plan, alongside regular progress reviews - supporting and valuing your progression within the Company
• Professional training and development courses, both internal and external - allowing you to reach your full potential
• A flexible working environment where your contributions are recognised and rewarded, which includes compressed hours, reduced hours and job share
• A Company sports and social club, offering events at discounted prices – giving you the opportunity to meet and socialise with your fellow colleagues outside the workplace

About General Dynamics UK General Dynamics Land Systems is a global leader in providing products and support across the full spectrum of combat vehicles. Our global team has more than 6,000 employees working towards creating a diverse product portfolio delivering best-in-class capability to Armed Forces communities worldwide. In the UK, we employee more than 750 people and are leading the way in Armoured Fighting Vehicles and sustainment services. Our vision is documented and embedded into our culture, so all employees understand the Company’s direction and their role in achieving it. We are currently delivering the AJAX programme, providing 589 Armoured Fighting Vehicles in six variants to the British Army and have also developed and delivered 400 Foxhound vehicles - a highly-protected and mobile 4x4 platform with high-deployment availability.We believe in maintaining a diverse workplace – inclusive of beliefs, cultural background, job experiences, thoughts and ideas. If who we are and what we do resonates with you, we invite you to join our high performance teamAs part of our commitment to inclusion and diversity we welcome in particular applications from women, members of the LGBTQIA+ community and ethnic minority groups. We are a Disability Confident Employer, as such we offer an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Proud member of the Disability Confident employer scheme

About Disability Confident

A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.