Senior Procurement Manager

Primary location: 3 days on site in Leatherhead, KT22 7BA, UK

About us:

We are a clean-tech manufacturer who have created the world’s first purpose built battery and solar powered transport refrigeration unit (TRU). Endurance is a fully electric system and a true zero-emission*, viable alternative to diesel power — charged from the grid during natural downtime and topped up by trailer-top solar as it drives. Since being established in 2020 we have gone from a single prototype to serial production at our recently expanded Leatherhead facility, shipping units worldwide. We are looking for talent who want to join us on our mission, to decarbonise the global cold chain.

Our units are relied on in daily operation by 22 customers across five continents, including Tesco, Ocado, DFDS, Americold, Martin Brower, James Hall and Noble Foods, many of whom have placed repeat orders. We are the only OEM dedicated solely to advancing electric refrigeration, and we are scaling production rapidly to keep pace with demand. In 2025 we were named Winner in the Excellence in Procurement category at the Made in Britain Impact Awards, and we have been recognised in The Sunday Times Best Places to Work in both 2024 and 2025, with a shortlisting for 2026.

Primarily, our team and culture distinguish Sunswap as an exceptional workplace. Our collective commitment to decarbonising the global cold chain unites us, fostering mutual support in achieving our mission. We strive to cultivate an inclusive, forward-thinking, and engaging culture that embraces everyone.

Our benefits:

• 30 days of annual leave (includes a Wellbeing Day)
• Sabbatical (after 3 years of working with Sunswap)
• 5 free counselling sessions per year
• Family leave ranging from 4 weeks to 4 months
• Free Monthly Lunches & Quarterly Socials!
• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Sunswap merch

Job overview

The Procurement Manager is a senior role within the Supply Chain function, accountable for the commercial performance of our electrical system commodities and the strategic suppliers behind them, for the end-to-end transport and logistics operation across the UK, EU and China, and for the development of a small but growing buying team.

This is a role for someone who thinks several steps ahead. As Sunswap moves from low-volume build to serial production, you will own category strategies that secure capacity, protect margin and de-risk supply, and you will lead the complex negotiations and long-term agreements that underpin them. You will act as the commercial voice of Supply Chain to Engineering, Quality and Operations, and you will bring the seniority and judgement to operate independently, making sound commercial decisions without close direction and holding the line with suppliers when it matters.

The role is a great opportunity to shape the supply chain of a high-growth business at exactly the point where the decisions made today define the cost, quality and scalability of the product tomorrow.

Key responsibilities:

Strategic sourcing & commodity ownership

• Own and drive categories and their strategies for a portfolio of electrical system commodities (e.g. power electronics, harnesses, solar panels, fans, motors, chargers, HMI, compressors), aligned to Sunswap’s volume ramp and cost targets.
• Own the relationship, commercial performance and development roadmap of a portfolio of strategic suppliers, including performance improvement plans, business reviews and escalation.
• Build and maintain a strategic supplier pipeline; lead complex sourcing events end-to-end from RFI/RFQ through to award, contract signature and onboarding, defining the approach and driving the outcome with full autonomy.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations covering piece price, tooling and NRE, payment and delivery terms, and long-term agreements. Working with Legal and the Head of Supply Chain on contract structure.

People leadership & development

• Line manage the Indirect Buyer — setting objectives, running one-to-ones and quarterly reviews, and actively developing their capability.
• Build and lead the team as the business scales, expected to include additional direct buying resource; define the structure, recruit and onboard.
• Set clear standards for commercial rigour and process discipline within the team, and create the conditions for people to take on more responsibility over time.
• Lead cross-functionally with maturity: handle challenges constructively and proactively, communicate professionally under pressure, balance challenge with collaboration, and drive a positive, innovative and solution-oriented culture.

Wider supply chain leadership

• Represent Supply Chain in cross-functional forums and internal decision-making, presenting the commercial position with clarity and authority.
• Contribute to the overall supply chain strategy, including make-vs-buy, supplier footprint, inventory policy and the supply chain roadmap to serial production.
• Optimise and redesign procurement processes for scalability and efficiency, including the effective use of our ERP system (Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central) and associated tooling.
• Align procurement with demand: work with production planning to translate forecasts into supply plans, scheduled deliveries and appropriate inventory cover.

Qualifications & experience:

Essential:

• 8+ years’ procurement experience in a manufacturing environment, including demonstrable ownership of strategic commodities and suppliers.
• Experience line managing or formally mentoring procurement staff.
• Proven track record of leading complex negotiations and delivering measurable cost savings against target.
• Strong commercial and contractual understanding, including long-term supply agreements, tooling arrangements and supplier risk.
• Solid understanding of key cost drivers in manufacturing processes, with the ability to build and defend a should-cost position.
• Excellent analytical ability and confidence working with data to drive decisions.
• Experience with an industry standard ERP system.
• Excellent interpersonal and relationship management skills, with the credibility to influence senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent organisational skills and the ability to work with complete autonomy.
• Strategic mindset, with the experience and self-sufficiency to take ownership of significant commercial decisions and see them through.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally to meet suppliers as required.

Desirable:

• Experience in the automotive industry or another high-volume, engineering-led manufacturing sector.
• Experience sourcing electrical or electronic commodities (harnesses, power electronics, HMI, PCBAs, solar).
• Experience supporting a business through a transition from prototype/low-volume build to serial production.
• Working knowledge of international logistics and import/export requirements (Incoterms, customs, freight forwarder management) across UK, EU and China.
• Experience of sourcing from and managing suppliers in China.
• CIPS qualified or working towards.
• Experience with Microsoft Dynamics 365 Business Central.