13352 - Senior Buyer
| Posting date: | 21 November 2025 |
|---|---|
| Salary: | £41,064 to £48,822 per year |
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 03 December 2025 |
| Location: | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Remote working: | Hybrid - work remotely up to 3 days per week |
| Company: | University of Edinburgh |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 13352 |
Summary
Grade UE07: £41,064 to £48,822 per annum, pro-rata if part time
Procurement Operations, Procurement Department, University of Edinburgh Finance Department
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Open-ended (permanent)
We are looking for a great person to join our award-winning procurement team as a Senior Buyer.
The opportunity
Procurement at Edinburgh University is undergoing a major transformation as we transform our Procurement, extending the scope of our influence and impact across our £1bn world-renowned organisation and introduce Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. This is a great opportunity for a Senior Buyer to join our team.
The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50 and placed 20th in the 2020 QS World University Rankings. It has over 33,000 students and employs 15,000 staff and has a non-pay spend in excess of £300 million per annum.
Our vision is “To become world class in everything we do, recognised as a trusted strategic partner in the successful delivery of the University’s Strategy 2030”.
To deliver on our commitments we are now looking for people who make things happen, who challenge the status quo, are excited about working in a diverse, dynamic environment and really want to make a change.
Edinburgh University is a world leader. Be part of our new Procurement journey.
The Opportunity:
We are looking for a Senior Buyer to join our IS & Telecoms Operational Procurement team.
The Senior Buyer will:
• obtain quotations for purchases, supporting end users to develop accurate specifications and analysing requirements to identify suitable suppliers for direct Requests for Quotations for lower value, non-regulated procurements.
• create advertise, evaluate and award tenders to suppliers using University and relevant external systems/portals and in accordance with agreed commodity procurement strategies, deciding upon the appropriate procurement route and whether order consolidation is possible, at all times ensuring compliance with University policies, procedures and procurement regulations and sourcing strategies
• ensure effective and efficient administration of the University’s Procurement Card programme in accordance with policy and procedure, escalating any fraudulent transactions/discrepancies to the Procurement Support Team and other relevant parties
• organise and maintain document management (e.g. specification development, e-Sourcing, whole life costing and contract/order placement, benefits and efficiency records)
• investigate and resolve invoice price variances by liaising with end users and external suppliers to ensure prompt supplier payment
• create new supplier requests and submit to the Procurement Support team, ensuring business probity considerations are actioned
• support the development of Operational Procurement processes, training delivery, provide advice and guidance to end users and improve service standards
• ensure supplier catalogues are kept up-to-date
• represent the University at relevant external events and contribute to future commodity strategies by participating in User Information Groups and deputise for Operational Procurement Manager as required
• monitor suppliers’ performance against contracts or other arrangements, investigate and resolve any issues with suppliers and end users to ensure satisfactory levels of quality of service and goods is received
• Analyse expenditure profiles, look for opportunities to reduce duplication and streamline processes for the University in goods, services and works. Preparing and delivering on annual commodity plans to achieve best practice indicators to contribute to improving commodity influence, value for money, whole life costing, sustainability etc.
The successful candidate will:
• have relevant procurement experience, ideally in IT, Software & hardware procurement, public or Higher Education sector with knowledge of legislative framework and will demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development.
• IT experience is not mandatory if supported by substantial procurement experience and a demonstration of ability to pick up a new category.
• be passionate about delivering excellent customer service and possess excellent interpersonal skills for effective interaction with internal customers and external suppliers and ideally be able to demonstrate examples of responsiveness and successful introduction of change
• be self-motivated and thrive in a time sensitive, high volume environment with a flexible attitude and the ability to multi-task and meet deadlines
• have personal credibility and ethics, be a good team player with good commercial influencing and negotiation skills and have the ability to influence and provide guidance to colleagues throughout the University on procurement best practice and compliance
• possess good analytical skills, good attention to detail and the ability to produce clear, evidence-based reports and recommendations and good presentation skills to deliver procurement updates and training to end users.
Procurement Operations, Procurement Department, University of Edinburgh Finance Department
Full-time: 35 hours per week
Open-ended (permanent)
We are looking for a great person to join our award-winning procurement team as a Senior Buyer.
The opportunity
Procurement at Edinburgh University is undergoing a major transformation as we transform our Procurement, extending the scope of our influence and impact across our £1bn world-renowned organisation and introduce Oracle Fusion Cloud ERP. This is a great opportunity for a Senior Buyer to join our team.
The University of Edinburgh is one of the world's top universities, consistently ranked in the world top 50 and placed 20th in the 2020 QS World University Rankings. It has over 33,000 students and employs 15,000 staff and has a non-pay spend in excess of £300 million per annum.
Our vision is “To become world class in everything we do, recognised as a trusted strategic partner in the successful delivery of the University’s Strategy 2030”.
To deliver on our commitments we are now looking for people who make things happen, who challenge the status quo, are excited about working in a diverse, dynamic environment and really want to make a change.
Edinburgh University is a world leader. Be part of our new Procurement journey.
The Opportunity:
We are looking for a Senior Buyer to join our IS & Telecoms Operational Procurement team.
The Senior Buyer will:
• obtain quotations for purchases, supporting end users to develop accurate specifications and analysing requirements to identify suitable suppliers for direct Requests for Quotations for lower value, non-regulated procurements.
• create advertise, evaluate and award tenders to suppliers using University and relevant external systems/portals and in accordance with agreed commodity procurement strategies, deciding upon the appropriate procurement route and whether order consolidation is possible, at all times ensuring compliance with University policies, procedures and procurement regulations and sourcing strategies
• ensure effective and efficient administration of the University’s Procurement Card programme in accordance with policy and procedure, escalating any fraudulent transactions/discrepancies to the Procurement Support Team and other relevant parties
• organise and maintain document management (e.g. specification development, e-Sourcing, whole life costing and contract/order placement, benefits and efficiency records)
• investigate and resolve invoice price variances by liaising with end users and external suppliers to ensure prompt supplier payment
• create new supplier requests and submit to the Procurement Support team, ensuring business probity considerations are actioned
• support the development of Operational Procurement processes, training delivery, provide advice and guidance to end users and improve service standards
• ensure supplier catalogues are kept up-to-date
• represent the University at relevant external events and contribute to future commodity strategies by participating in User Information Groups and deputise for Operational Procurement Manager as required
• monitor suppliers’ performance against contracts or other arrangements, investigate and resolve any issues with suppliers and end users to ensure satisfactory levels of quality of service and goods is received
• Analyse expenditure profiles, look for opportunities to reduce duplication and streamline processes for the University in goods, services and works. Preparing and delivering on annual commodity plans to achieve best practice indicators to contribute to improving commodity influence, value for money, whole life costing, sustainability etc.
The successful candidate will:
• have relevant procurement experience, ideally in IT, Software & hardware procurement, public or Higher Education sector with knowledge of legislative framework and will demonstrate a commitment to continuous professional development.
• IT experience is not mandatory if supported by substantial procurement experience and a demonstration of ability to pick up a new category.
• be passionate about delivering excellent customer service and possess excellent interpersonal skills for effective interaction with internal customers and external suppliers and ideally be able to demonstrate examples of responsiveness and successful introduction of change
• be self-motivated and thrive in a time sensitive, high volume environment with a flexible attitude and the ability to multi-task and meet deadlines
• have personal credibility and ethics, be a good team player with good commercial influencing and negotiation skills and have the ability to influence and provide guidance to colleagues throughout the University on procurement best practice and compliance
• possess good analytical skills, good attention to detail and the ability to produce clear, evidence-based reports and recommendations and good presentation skills to deliver procurement updates and training to end users.