Assistant Sourcing Manager

Company Description

Culina Group is a leading UK 3rd party food & drinks logistics provider offering dedicated and shared user warehousing and distribution solutions.

At Culina we have a winning culture, we believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive… A place where you're valued, challenged, and inspired!

Job Description

Are you a commercially minded procurement professional looking to take the next step in your career?

As an Assistant Sourcing Manager within our Central Group Procurement team, you will play a pivotal role in identifying, delivering and embedding value across the Culina Group through structured sourcing activities. This is an exciting opportunity to join a growing procurement function where you'll gain exposure to a diverse range of indirect spend categories, partner with senior stakeholders, and contribute to strategic procurement initiatives.

You'll be responsible for managing sourcing projects from initial business requirement through to implementation and supplier handover. For the right candidate, this role offers a clear pathway for progression within a dynamic and ambitious procurement team.

Working within allocated spend categories, you will follow our structured seven-stage sourcing methodology to deliver sustainable commercial value:

• Capture and understand business requirements and stakeholder needs.
• Analyse requirements against existing suppliers and incumbent capabilities.
• Assess market opportunities and identify potential solutions.
• Develop tender documentation in collaboration with key stakeholders.
• Run tender processes and negotiate best-value outcomes for the Culina Group.
• Implement sourcing outcomes and provide effective handovers to Supplier Relationship Managers.
• Continually review spend activity to identify opportunities for cost optimisation, innovation, sustainability improvements and revenue generation.

You'll also:

• Support the creation and implementation of strategic sourcing and category plans.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders at all levels across the organisation.
• Lead sourcing projects within your category areas to deliver best-in-class procurement outcomes.
• Contribute to supplier performance, business resilience and risk management objectives.
• Work collaboratively with Supplier Relationship Management teams and subject matter experts.
• Identify and help build a pipeline of procurement opportunities that support continuous improvement and value creation.

Qualifications

• Proven experience within an Indirect Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Purchasing or Buying role.
• Demonstrable success delivering value through competitive tendering, negotiation and supplier management.
• Experience creating professional tender documentation, including output-based specifications and performance measures/KPIs.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple sourcing projects simultaneously.
• A structured and analytical approach to supplier evaluation, including the use of weighted scorecards and evaluation criteria.
• Understanding of negotiation strategies and commercial decision-making.
• Experience supporting or leading contract drafting, negotiation and execution, working alongside legal teams where appropriate.
• Strong Excel, data analysis and eProcurement system skills.
• Knowledge of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) methodologies and cost-benefit analysis.
• Commercially focused with a track record of identifying savings and value-add opportunities.
• Excellent communication, influencing and stakeholder management skills.
• Experience contributing to category strategies and sourcing plans that balance performance, risk and long-term value.

Desirable

• Experience working with large framework agreements and structured call-off processes.
• CIPS Level 4 qualification (or working towards) or equivalent procurement qualification.
• Experience within logistics, supply chain, transport or operationally focused environments.

Additional Information

As part of our drive to make Culina Group a great place to work. We are proud to be an inclusive and diverse organisation where we are committed to employee development and recognising success for hard working performers.

Our dedicated learning and development programmes are open to every employee to give you the opportunity to shape your own future within logistics and continue to work in an environment where team culture thrives.

Our People are the driving force behind our success, which is why we offer a wide range of benefits which include:

• Annual Leave – Competitive holiday entitlement of 24 days + 8 Bank Holidays
• Pension scheme – we want colleagues to enjoy a comfortable retirements so we offer a great contribution of 4% employee and 4% employer
• Life Assurance -  x2 your annual salary
• Wellness – Via our Employee Assistance Programme we offer immediate access to a confidential telephone counselling and legal information service that operates 24 hours a days, 365 days a year
• Eye Care Vouchers – We can provide you with substantial savings with free eye tests and discounts on prescription glasses
• Reward & Recognition – We recognise that employees have gone the extra mile via Employee of the month and year, special recognition and long service awards.
• Everyday discounts - via our benefit platform you will have access to over 50 retailer discounts for everyday savings!

If you meet the requirements for the above role and are looking for your next career opportunity please apply now and become a part of our #WinningTeam!