The Situation
We are looking for an experienced procurement professional to join a London based Train Operator during a exciting period in the rail industry.
With the sector undergoing significant transformation through rail reform and nationalisation, this role will play a key part in supporting the organisation's commercial objectives while ensuring procurement activities remain compliant, efficient and value-driven.
The Opportunity
This is an exciting opportunity to join the Procurement team at a once-in-a-generation moment for the rail industry, as nationalisation creates significant change, investment, and transformation across the sector. The successful candidate will play a key role in delivering strategic procurement and commercial activities while benefiting from a highly regarded team culture, exposure to major business-critical projects, and excellent long-term career development prospects.
Key Responsibilities
Production Leadership: Lead and manage multiple production support functions, ensuring delivery targets, productivity, quality standards, safety requirements, and budget expectations are consistently achieved.
People Management: Provide leadership for a workforce of approximately 140–160 employees, including managers, supervisors, engineers, team leaders, and shop-floor personnel. Build accountability, maintain performance standards, and effectively manage strong personalities across operational teams.
Operational Planning & Delivery: Own short and medium-term production planning, ensuring resources, manpower, and operational priorities remain aligned to customer programmes and business objectives.
Performance & Data Management: Maintain robust reporting structures, monitor operational KPIs, identify performance risks, and provide clear escalation and action plans to senior stakeholders when issues arise.
Continuous Improvement & Problem Solving: Drive a culture of root-cause analysis and operational improvement, identifying issues, implementing corrective actions, and preventing recurrence through structured problem-solving methodologies.
Safety, Compliance & Housekeeping: Ensure a safe working environment through strong leadership, visible management, adherence to procedures, incident investigation support, and effective enforcement of standards across production teams.
Stakeholder Engagement: Work collaboratively with Production, Projects, Planning, Engineering, Quality, Finance, HR, and senior operational leadership to ensure the successful delivery of business objectives
Salary & Benefits
£55,000 - £60,000
Final Salary Pension
Free Travel on all owned lines
75% discount nationwide on rail travel
25 days + 8 bank holidays annual leave
Health shield
Essential Experience
Experience in a Purchasing Manager role - experience in purchasing & tendering
Public Sector Procurement experience. Knowledge of GCA/CCS
CIPS Qualified
Strong stakeholder engagement
About Ford & Stanley Group
Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group are in the business of people and performance. Our mission is to create one million better workdays through facilitating great recruitment, leadership and occupational mental fitness. We support our clients in their most challenging business areas recruiting, developing and retaining the best talent from shop floor to boardroom.
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Ford & Stanley Talent Services Group Ltd is a Disability Confident employer that is committed to a policy of equal opportunities for all opportunity seekers. We shall adhere to such a policy at all times and will review on an on-going basis all aspects of recruitment to avoid unlawful or undesirable discrimination. We will treat everyone equally irrespective sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, marital or civil partnership status, age, disability, colour, race, nationality, ethnic or national origin, religion or belief or political beliefs and we place an obligation upon all staff to respect and act in accordance with the policy
Salary description
£55000.00 - £60000.00 per year