Sourcing Specialist, Chertsey, Surrey

At Air Products, our purpose is to bring people together to reimagine what’s possible, collaborate and innovate solutions to the world’s most significant energy and environmental sustainability challenges. Grow with us as we embark on building tomorrow together by being the safest, most diverse and most profitable industrial gas company in the world.  

Reimagine What’s Possible 

At Air Products, we have been helping our customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable for more than 80 years. With approximately 23,000 employees and operations in over 50 countries, we serve customers across a wide range of industries from food and beverage to medical, energy and transportation. We supply a unique portfolio of atmospheric and process gases, equipment, and services.

An opportunity exists within the Supply Chain Organisation for an ambitious Sourcing Specialist who will be responsible for managing procurement strategies, supplier relationships, and sourcing initiatives across a diverse range of commodities and services. T

he role is centered on delivering measurable cost savings, minimizing supply chain risks, and aligning supplier capabilities with evolving business needs to obtain the best value.

A key focus is on driving simplicity and sustainability in procurement practices while ensuring compliance and operational excellence.

 The incumbent is also accountable for optimizing total cost of ownership through strategic sourcing and supplier collaboration. The role involves leading the development and execution of global and regional supply agreements, spearheading innovative procurement projects, and challenging existing business models to drive continuous improvement and operational excellence.

The Sourcing Specialist will have the following Dimensions and Accountabilities;

Countries Supported:

United Kingdom & Ireland

Purchasing Commitment

~$20MM

Annual Savings Delivery

~$650K

PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Develop and implement sourcing strategies for assigned categories / commodities.
• Lead category planning and execution to achieve cost reduction, risk mitigation, and process improvement.
• Conduct market research, supplier risk assessments, and sourcing events.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers.
• Lead, develop and execute contract negotiations and manage supplier performance through KPIs and SLAs.
• Escalation point for supplier issues and ensure service continuity.

Stakeholder Engagement

• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to understand procurement needs and ensure early engagement.
• Communicate procurement strategies and progress to stakeholders and senior management.
• Support commercial and operational teams with procurement expertise.
• Challenge existing business models to achieve operational excellence

Project Procurement

• Support procurement for capital projects, depot maintenance, and site services.
• support procurement activities for all type of project: opex, capex, productivity
• define and implement project specific sourcing strategy
• act as Single Point of Contact for procurement within project team

Compliance & Continuous Improvement

• Ensure compliance with global and regional procurement policies.
• Identify and implement process improvements, including digitalization and automation.
• Contribute to sustainability and ethical sourcing initiatives.
• Drive standardization and simplification of procurement processes.

Business area and Key Commodities/Services Managed:

Lead, manage and support all procurement activities for goods and services relating to:

• The Tail End spend for the United Kingdon and Ireland for facilities, corporate, and the Distribution, Production, Merchant Business units by:

• Analyzing total spend data, cleanse the raw data to remove duplicates and errors, then categorize all spend according to categories.
• Use spend analysis tools or methods to find spend patterns such as repeat purchases, identify maverick spend (spending outside of established contracts or preferred suppliers), and spot opportunities for saving take action to consolidate the spend negotiate price, agree terms and conditions of Purchase, create Purchase orders / framework agreements.
• Provide regular updates/reports to track progress.
• Reduce number of tail end spend suppliers through consolidation.

The role will include support on high value projects across air separation units, and merchant business for the customer engineering and packaged gases business units as required/instructed as well as new business opportunities to deliver agreed savings.

You will be or have the following;

Qualifications & Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain, Engineering, CIPS qualification or equivalent

0-3 years of experience in procurement or sourcing roles.

• Experience in Capex, operational, fast paced and changing environment
• Knowledge of SAP and eSourcing is an advantage.
• Analytical skills, spend analysis, ability to identify market opportunities to optimise supplier performance and cost
• Continuous Improvement (Lean, Six Sigma) beneficial

Key Skills:

• Strong negotiation and influencing skills.
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management.
• Analytical mindset with attention to detail.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and projects.
• Proactive, self-motivated, and results oriented.

At Air Products, we work in an environment where diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. We invite you to bring your diverse self and creativity to a company reimagining what’s possible. Be part of our growth story and make a difference.

We offer a competitive salary and benefits package, a culture of respect, challenge and innovation – with excellent opportunities for growth and development.

We are the world’s largest hydrogen producer with over 80 years of industrial gas experience. We are hydrogen and industrial gas experts delivering safe, end-to-end solutions, investing in real, clean energy projects at scale, and driving the industry forward to generate a cleaner future. 

At Air Products, we work in an environment where we put safety first, diversity is essential, inclusion is our culture, and each person knows they belong and matter. To learn more, visit About Air Products.