In 2024, we will reveal procurement opportunities, and we will also discuss how to navigate career transitions.

This is a lovely summary for you, which I compiled after conducting an analysis of the 400 procurement jobs that were accessible on the UK employment market in March of 2024.

underlying causes and factors

There is no starting point for the job hunt. Unless you are a brand-new specialist, going through a change in personal circumstances, or are being driven by the need to relocate, there are various factors that can cause you to look at procurement opportunities that are now accessible on the market.
One of the most obvious explanations would be a rise in the employee’s income. According to the current offerings, reputable organizations promote buyer opportunities at a salary range of forty to fifty thousand pounds, and even higher. The reason for this is that not every buyer and not every organization is made up of the same characteristics. When an organization gives you responsibility for a high-value commodity type category, not only are you more valuable to the firm, but your degree of accountability also increases.
Consider looking into choices outside of your current employer for a number of reasons, one of which being the possibility of career advancement within your sector. It is arguably one of the most obvious ways to speed up your career if you want to advance from the position of buyer to that of category manager but your current category manager does not show any signs of taking a promotion or reaching retirement age. In spite of this, there are advertisements that state that a procurement manager can easily obtain a better compensation for a role that is less difficult in terms of the management function role of a category manager. As a result, the chances for a buyer would lie in their expertise of the product.
In some cases, workers simply do not have the impression that they are gaining any new knowledge from their position. In this particular scenario, it would be beneficial to investigate your rivals or peers in the industry that is adjacent to your own. organizations that have been around for a long time are well-versed in their operations and have a sophisticated procurement and supply chain setup. These organizations also invest in training and new systems. Two years ago, for instance, and again in March 2024, job descriptions in two industry giants clearly acknowledged that the necessity for the post is determined by the strategy to reform procurement and supply chain function. This was the case both times. It was stated by a few individuals that “… this is a category-focused role with project accountabilities including the transformation of our category landscape, utilizing market opportunities and disruptors, developing and operationalizing category strategies, and optimizing relationships with suppliers and collaborators.”
“Global Procurement provides assistance to the organization in both the strategic sourcing of goods and services as well as the operational purchasing of similar items.” What exactly does that say? We take care of any risks that are associated with the vendors, and we provide the greatest customer service in the world.

Procurement Roles and Their Varieties

Depending on a number of different criteria, procurement duties can be different.
The progression from a Buyer to an Assistant Category Manager, then to a Category Manager, and finally to management positions such as a Procurement Manager or a Procurement Director is the progression from each level of seniority. Also, there is a significant demand for roles that are associated with supplier quality engineering. These roles primarily deal with issues pertaining to supplier performance, quality deviations, and quality improvement plans for suppliers.
In terms of the Buyer or Senior Buyer jobs, it is typically anything that is associated with the entry level, such as dealing with request for proposals (RFPs), purchase orders, and so on. On the other hand, there is a lot of uncertainty around whether your role would be constrained within the procure-to-pay (P2P) or request-to-pay (R2P) function, or whether you would also have exposure on the sourcing side of things.

Take a look at these two job descriptions:

When it comes to purchasing goods or services, it is the responsibility of the Buyer to ensure that the circumstances of quality, price, and time are optimal. In order to provide support for the P2P (Purchase to Pay) procedure, you will be responsible for all purchasing duties. As part of your responsibilities in this capacity, you will be responsible for purchasing supplies in accordance with the relevant technical requirements, conditions, and terms. It is important to obtain order acknowledgements from suppliers and monitor the delivery schedules of items in order to guarantee timely delivery to clients.
and “Key Duties & Responsibilities: Create and execute strategic sourcing plans for direct procurement, in alignment with the company’s goals and objectives; Driving local & global commodity and supplier strategies to secure long-term supply of direct material at industry best prices and contracts terms.”
When it comes to the objectives of category manager responsibilities, they are considerably more transparent: you are assigned to a category and you are in charge of that category. In contrast, the same mistake arises when discussing the jobs of procurement manager and purchasing manager, just as it does when characterizing buyers. In some cases, there are indications that purchasing operations are involved in the procurement process. On the other hand, purchasing managers are occasionally required to establish procurement strategy or negotiate contracts. Just like with the buyers, one of the most important pieces of advice that you should take into consideration is to read the job description and ask yourself whether the position is more about getting out, a supplier-facing function (Procurement), or an office-type work when you will be interacting with the Accounts Payable team the most of the time (Purchasing).

Are you able to make a guess as to what this job description discusses?

“Report your findings to the Director of Global Procurement.” Through the development and execution of strategic category management strategies, cost reductions can be achieved. Comprehensive management of the procurement process, including appraisals of suppliers and relationships with those suppliers.
Spend the type. It is significant, and it frequently provides a distinction between the several ways in which you are involved in the life of the firm. Indirect category spend, often known as overheads or OPEX, includes things like consumables, packaging materials, facilities management, and a larger office-type spending group. Direct category spend includes things like capital expenditures (CAPEX) and the procurement of parts, materials, or raw materials for production. You would either work with the Direct category spend or the Indirect category.

Locations and types of businesses

Taking a look at the labor market for procurement managers in March 2024, it is evident that there is a significant number of available employment. There are only two potential challenges that you can encounter: the industry and the location, which is frequently determined by the industry. For instance, if you are now residing in the Midlands and are interested in transitioning to a different career within the same industry, you would benefit from the fact that there is a surplus of firms in that region, which would make it quite simple for you to get employment. However, if you are working in the aerospace industry, which is a sector that has a high concentration in the Gatwick region and the South in general, and there are no opportunities that are comparable to the ones you are looking for, you will most likely need to consider something that is close to your field, such as the defense industry. On the other hand, the places where jobs are available in the Defense sector are not exactly in the same place; rather, they are dispersed further south along the coast and on the west coast.
In the event that you are interested in locating something related to oil and gas, Aberdeen and the Scottish East Coast is without a doubt the location to visit. Due to the fact that these organizations are concerned about procurement, it is likely that you will have a positive experience there. Additionally, you will acquire a respectable amount of knowledge after working there for two to three years.
It is only on the East Coast that there are no positions available for procurement managers. On account of the fact that the concentration of huge enterprises is so low, you are required to select each possibility that presents itself. If you travel further north, you will find an offshore wind industry in Hull, Teesside, and Newcastle. This is the only hope, unless their headquarters are located in London or the North-West region near Manchester. If you move farther north, you will find that the only hope is probably branches of substantial packaging firms.

platforms that facilitate decision-making and recruitment

The platforms:
There are a number of providers of recruitment technologies that are utilized by multinational corporations. These include SuccessFactors, MyWorkdayJobs, Smartrecruiters, Ashby, and PageUpPeople, between others. The software is able to recognize all of the information from the uploaded CV in a matter of seconds, and there is no need to make any adjustments to the name of the course that you have studied. Some of these programs are simple to use. The option is instead restricted by some, and you are unable to locate a “Supply chain management” or “Logistics management” course that you have already studied. In most cases, this is done because there is a requirement to carry out an analysis on, for instance, the number of candidates who studied “Business administration.” On the other hand, when applying from two separate employers’ websites, the same recruitment platform may sometimes have distinct lists of courses to choose from.
An additional characteristic that is commonly utilized in the modern day is automated decision-making technology that provides the option to opt in or opt out. Companies make use of artificial intelligence to generate insights into the degree to which the information provided by your candidate corresponds to the requirements of the role. Despite the fact that it claims that your selection will not have a negative impact on your employment prospects, it is not obvious whether or not it will have an effect on the ultimate decision regarding whether or not to recruit you or to move forward with other applicants.
The results of a job search can vary from one platform to another; job advertisements may even be concealed from the websites of prospective companies, but they will be displayed on LinkedIn’s “Quick Apply” feature. It is likely that a great number of possibilities are offered for no cost. Despite the fact that many recruiters approach you with the cold statements “I stumbled upon your profile” and “I am impressed by your wealth of experience,” the “OpentoWork” status of LinkedIn attracts recruiters more than anything else. When applying through recruiting agencies, individuals who are looking for a skilled worker visa sponsor will be dissatisfied to learn that many well-known organizations have restrictions in their policies. As a result, prospective employers do not include visa applicants within the scope of their recruitment agreement since they are required to pay an additional charge to the agency in addition to meeting the financial obligations of an international worker.

New age, new rules and regulations

Jules Simon, Wilhelm von Humboldt, and John Stuart Mill, three prominent European thinkers, were responsible for the introduction of compulsory education almost two centuries ago. A worker’s capacity to be recruited was thought to be determined by their level of education, which was a reasonable belief. On the other hand, in today’s world, recruiting professionals consider and evaluate more than simply the level of education and the courses that have been recently attended. Not only do companies evaluate your talents and the way you behave, but they also consider the roles that your parents played when you were a child.

Questions such as the ones listed below are frequently encountered:

When you were 14 years old, what was the primary occupation of the person who was leading your household?
At the time that you were 18 years old, what was the highest degree of education that either of your parents or guardians had attained?
At the time that you were 18 years old, what was the highest degree of education that either of your parents or guardians had attained?
When you were between the ages of 11 and 16, what kind of school did you generally attend for the most of your time?
What is the highest educational or school qualification that you have acquired, and which of them is it?
Were your parents self-employed or did they have a job that required them to get paid?
In the event that your parent was working when you were 14 years old, did they have the responsibility of overseeing the work of any employees on a daily basis?

On the other hand, it is not quite obvious whether the responses to these questions are included in the criteria for the selected candidates.

Final Thoughts

At this time, there are numerous choices accessible on the market. In 2024, the labor market in the United Kingdom is experiencing a scarcity of individuals with high levels of expertise in the areas of procurement and supply chain management. It is now more simpler to obtain a position in procurement than it was in the past, and there are more chances for procurement professionals appearing on a daily basis. When compared to the year 2020, when the labor market was relatively calm, the demand for specialists in the fields of procurement and supply chain management has been quite robust in the past two years. Both recruitment teams and recruitment agencies place a high value on qualified specialists and are able to recognize them with relative ease. There are a number of agencies that are strictly focused on advertising procurement roles. The evident number of applicants, in addition to other considerations, would make it more likely that your application would be recognized if you submitted it in dozens of different ways, each with a customized curriculum vitae and cover letter.

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