Location: Sunderland (Hybrid – minimum 3 days in office, up to 2 days from home)
Role Overview
The Fleet Buyer provides high-quality procurement support to the Fleet Operations team at both tactical and operational levels. The role is responsible for delivering cost-effective purchasing solutions while maintaining required standards for quality, compliance, and delivery.
This position plays an active role in the continuous improvement of procurement processes, contributing technical knowledge and commercial expertise to support fleet operations across an internationally trading vessel portfolio.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide day-to-day procurement support to the Fleet Operations team and assigned vessels.
- Deliver excellence across core procurement activities, including:
- Creation, maintenance, and revision of Purchase Orders (POs)
- Ensuring supplier acknowledgement in line with agreed terms and conditions
- Prepare, coordinate, issue, and evaluate:
- Requests for Information (RFIs)
- Requests for Quotation (RFQs)
- Requests for Proposal (RFPs)
- Invitations to Tender (ITTs)
- Ensure full compliance with:
- Fleet and marine-specific regulations
- Company QHSE standards
- Internal procurement policies and procedures, including:
- Purchase-to-Pay (P2P) processes
- Approved Vendor List (AVL) usage
- Delegation of Authority (DOA) approvals
- Maintain accurate and well-organised procurement documentation, databases, and reports.
- Build and maintain strong, collaborative relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
- Develop and maintain category, commodity, and supplier knowledge to support informed purchasing decisions.
- Coordinate supplier onboarding, including NDAs and General Confidentiality Agreements (GCAs).
- Maintain accurate supplier and contract records.
- Promote procurement best practices across the business.
- Develop reporting and analytical tools to evaluate supplier performance, proposals, and quotations.
- Support departmental reporting requirements, including KPIs, monthly reports, supplier scorecards, and audits.
- Contribute to the development and refinement of procurement policies, processes, and procedures.
- Communicate effectively with stakeholders, adapting style and approach as needed.
- Support departmental, business, and individual performance objectives.
- Undertake other relevant duties as required.
- CIPS Level 3 (or equivalent) procurement qualification.
- Minimum of 3 years’ experience in a similar procurement or buying role.
- At least 5 years’ experience in fleet purchasing within an internationally trading shipping company.
- Experience supporting foreign trading vessels.
- Strong commercial awareness with proven negotiation skills.
- Sound understanding of contractual terms and conditions.
- Ability to prioritise a dynamic workload and work effectively both independently and as part of a team.
- Strong interpersonal, communication, and stakeholder management skills.
- Ability to analyse, interpret, and present data clearly.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications.
- Experience using ERP systems (e.g. IFS, Sage or similar).
- Willingness to travel where required.
- Valid UK driving licence.
- Previous experience in Fleet Operations or the marine support industry.
- Broader experience within the marine industry.
- Engineering background.
- Familiarity with marine Planned Maintenance Systems (e.g. AMOS, MARSOFT).
- Experience in international procurement environments.