Programme Purchaser

Job description

Programme Purchaser
Safran Seats - Cwmbran (South Wales)
Site Based

Safran - Here, we craft excellence together.

At Safran, excellence is a journey - and we'd love you to be a part of it. As a trusted global leader in aerospace, defence, and space, we are proud to be a company where diversity, innovation, and opportunity come together to shape a sustainable future where we can all succeed together through a shared vision.
We are looking for passionate individuals to join our Purchasing team as a Programme Purchaser at our Cwmbran site.

Why work at Safran

* A global presence: Be part of a global aerospace, defence & space business with over 100,000 Colleagues, across 300 sites in 30 countries.
* Inclusive & empowering environment: We celebrate our differences and believe they make us stronger. We know that a fulfilling work environment is a key driver for innovative ideas and team success.
* Innovation at the core: Join our mission to decarbonise aerospace and make the world a safer place.
* Mobility & training opportunities: We can support your ambitions with training, development, a personalised career plan and mobility opportunities.
* A culture of excellence: join a team that values collaboration, integrity, and continuous improvement.

About the role:

As a Programme Purchaser, you'll play a central role in driving material readiness for key programme milestones, ensuring the right parts are sourced, ordered, and delivered on time to support development, testing, and certification phases. You'll collaborate closely with engineering and programme teams, transforming requirements into clear purchasing actions while managing suppliers, RFP/Q processes, and purchase orders. Your work will directly influence programme success by maintaining accurate purchasing health reports, tracking costs against budget targets, and resolving material issues.
This is a dynamic, hands-on role where you'll be the link between programme needs and supplier performance, helping to keep complex projects moving smoothly.

Key Responsibilities:

* Keep track and report all purchased material needs across development, testing, and PDR/CDR stages, keeping everything on schedule.
* Run RFP/RFQ activities, review supplier quotes, and support choosing the right partners using engineering and programme data.
* Raise purchase orders through MRP and work closely with suppliers to ensure materials arrive on time, in full, and to the quality expected.
* Tackle any material or invoice issues to keep the programme moving and maintain strong performance against KPIs.
* Keep the team informed by creating clear purchasing health reports and dashboards for IPT and leadership reviews.
* Keep costs on track by monitoring spend against budgets, spotting cost avoidance opportunities, and managing approvals for long lead items.
* Oversee programme inventory, from tracking and disposition to arranging transport or airfreight when required.

Looking after the people who make Safran great is our priority. We offer a range of flexible benefits designed to support you-both in and out of work, including:

* 33 days holiday (including bank holidays).
* Industry leading pension scheme with salary sacrifice employer contributions up to 10%.
* Private medical cover (to include Digital GP and rapid access Physio with no excess) with ability to upgrade level of benefit and cover family members.
* Access to salary sacrifice benefits scheme including cycle to work and Octopus EV Scheme.
* 4 x Life Assurance.
* Interactive benefits platform including wide range of discretionary benefits including technology, retail benefits, income protection.
* Enhanced family friendly policies and benefits (enhanced maternity and paternity leave) and employee assistance programme.
* Annual share save schemes.
* Option for hybrid and flexible working arrangements.
* Opportunities for career advancement and personal growth. Benefit from support through Safran University and our internal Training and Development Schools.
* Get involved in our corporate social responsibility activities from sustainability initiatives, charity and fundraising, volunteering days, or supporting STEM activities at local schools and colleges nurturing the next generation of talent.

Desired profile

What you'll bring:

Knowledge, Experience, Training and Qualifications

Essential:
* Previous experience in purchasing or buying.
Desirable:
* Experience working MRP (Material Requirements Planning) and ERP tools (Baan ideally).

Competencies, Behaviours and Skills

Essential:
* Strong communication skills, resilience and confidence when dealing with stakeholders at all levels.
* Proven problem solving skills with a proactive, solution focused mindset.

At Safran, we understand that diversity and inclusion make teams stronger and more effective, and as an organisation, we are committed to fair and equitable employment practices for everyone.
We also know that some candidates may be put off applying for jobs where they don't meet 100% of the criteria outlined in the advert, however, we encourage anybody to apply if you can demonstrate a variety of skills and experience relevant to the requirements of this role.
Please let us know if you would like to discuss any reasonable adjustments to the application or hiring process that may better facilitate your participation.

About SAFRAN

Safran is an international high-technology group, operating in the aviation (propulsion, equipment and interiors), defense and space markets. Its core purpose is to contribute to a safer, more sustainable world, where air transport is more environmentally friendly, comfortable and accessible. Safran has a global presence, with 100,000 employees and sales of 27.3 billion euros in 2024, and holds, alone or in partnership, world or regional leadership positions in its core markets.
Safran is in the 2nd place in the aerospace and defense industry in TIME magazine's "World's best companies 2024" ranking.

Safran Seats is one of the world's leading manufacturers of aircraft seats, for both crew and passengers. 1 million Safran Seats-manufactured aircraft seats are currently in service with air fleets around the world.