{"id":4043535,"url":"https://alion.io/job/gkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead","title":"Supplier Development Lead","company":{"id":1833182,"name":"GKN Aerospace","domain":"gknaerospace.com","url":"https://alion.io/company/gknaerospace-com","size_band":"5000+","is_staffing_agency":false,"employer_type":"direct","is_intermediary":false,"listed_via":null,"ats_vendor":"SuccessFactors","truth_index":{"grade":"A","score":100,"open_postings":3,"ghost_share":0,"stale_share":0,"repost_share":0,"time_to_fill_p50_days":27,"computed_at":"2026-11-10T06:52:35Z"}},"role":"Operations","role_family":"Operations","seniority":"lead","employment_type":null,"work_mode":"on_site","remote_scope":null,"remote_scope_basis":null,"remote_working_hours":null,"hiring_geo_confidence":"explicit","locations":["Bristol, United Kingdom"],"countries":["GB"],"hiring_countries":[],"hiring_countries_total":0,"salary":null,"salary_estimate":null,"experience_years_min":5,"visa_sponsorship":false,"relocation_package":false,"has_equity":false,"technologies":[],"status":"live","first_seen_at":"2026-11-06T02:00:00Z","employer_posted_date":"2026-11-06","last_verified_at":"2026-11-10T23:01:45Z","board_verified":true,"closed_at":null,"days_open":5,"trust":{"level":"ok","repost_count":null,"flags":[],"days_open":5},"description":"Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.\nGKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 32 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.6bn in 2025. There are no limits to where you can take your career.\nJoin GKN Aerospace as a Senior Buyer - Make a Global Impact from the UK!\nGKN Aerospace is on the lookout for a Senior Buyer based in the UK to play a pivotal role in supporting our Phoenix, Arizona operation by working directly with UK and European suppliers.\nWhile GKN Phoenix drives a complex global supply chain with substantial annual spend across the UK and Europe. With recent OEM growth, the need for stronger supplier oversight, faster issue resolution, and proactive performance management has never been greater.\nThis newly created role offers a unique opportunity to lead procurement operations closer to our supplier base, enhancing delivery, quality, and responsiveness through regular on-site engagement. If you’re ready to make a tangible impact on a global stage and take ownership of supplier relationships that drive excellence, this is your chance.\nHow you'll contribute:\nOwn operational procurement and supplier performance for assigned suppliers supporting the Phoenix site\nAct as the primary supplier interface, maintaining regular on-site presence and follow-up\nManage purchase orders, schedules, reschedules and commercial changes in line with MRP and production demand\nChallenge suppliers constructively on delivery, responsiveness and execution\nLead supplier recovery and corrective action activities for delivery, quality and commercial issues\nSupport parts transfers, changes, and industrialization through First Article Inspection (FAI) to production\nPartner closely with procurement, quality, engineering and operations teams across regions\nProvide clear, fact-based communication on supplier risk, performance and improvement progres\nWhat makes this role different\nHigh level of supplier interaction with clear ownership and accountability\nRegular travel to supplier sites to drive performance and improvement first-hand\nDirect impact on bottom line results through delivery stability, premium freight reduction and supplier capability\nThis is an rare opportunity to take on a senior, hands-on procurement role with real scope and influence. You’ll work closely with suppliers, have direct impact on operational performance and play a key role in supporting a fast-growing aerospace programme.\nWhat You'll Bring:\nTo help us make a difference, you’ll bring your passion and expertise/ talent for what you do along with the following skills, experience, qualifications and attributes:\nEssential\nProven experience in procurement, operational, commercial and or supply chain roles (typically 5+ years)\nExperience working with a global supply chain\nStrong understanding of MRP-driven manufacturing environments\nConfidence challenging suppliers and driving corrective action\nComfortable working across time zones with international stakeholders\nWillingness and ability to travel up to 50%\nDesirable\nAerospace or other regulated manufacturing experience\nMCIPS or equivalent professional qualification\nExperience supporting supplier performance improvement or development initiatives\nStrong commercial and negotiation capability\nAbility to interpret drawings and specifications\nOnboarding & travel\nInitial onboarding in the UK, followed by 2-3 weeks in Phoenix, Arizona for on-the-job integration\nOngoing travel to UK/EU suppliers and periodic travel to Phoenix\nInternational travel is required; a valid passport is essential\nAll business travel expenses are covered by the company\nWhat we Offer:\nOnce you’re on board you’ll get the following perks and benefits:\nCompetitive salary dependent on experience\nIndustry Leading Pension Scheme = we’ll match your contributions up to 8% on a 1 : 1.5 basis\nLife Assurance 8 x salary\n25 days holiday + bank holidays\nFlexible working hours\nIncome protection\nShopping discounts\nCycle To Work Scheme\nEmployee Assistance Programme\nVirtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family\nA collaborative, dynamic working environment \nAs well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!\nWe’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?\nA Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working\nEveryone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.\nWe’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.\nWe are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.","description_format":"text","description_chars":6131,"description_truncated":false,"requirements":{"experience_years_min":5,"management_years_min":null,"team_size_min":null,"manages_managers":false,"education":null,"security_clearance":false,"languages":[]},"benefits":["Flexible schedule"],"hiring_locations":[{"name":"United Kingdom","iso":"GB","kind":"country"}],"hiring_excludes":[],"relocation_offered":false,"industries":["Aerospace Manufacturing"],"lifecycle":[{"event":"open","at":"2026-11-10T23:01:45Z"}],"visa":[{"country":"GB","licensed_sponsor":true,"adverts_offering_sponsorship_24m":0,"sanctioned_now":false,"evidence":"Licensed UK visa sponsor (Senior or Specialist Worker, Skilled Worker, Graduate Trainee)","filings_12m":null,"filings_prev_12m":null,"green_card_filings_12m":null,"median_offered_wage_usd":null,"route":"Global Business Mobility: Senior or Specialist Worker; Skilled Worker; Global Business Mobility: Graduate Trainee","cap_exempt":false,"checked_at":"2026-11-10T11:34:35+00:00","sources":["UK Home Office: register of licensed sponsors (workers)"],"filings_for_role_12m":0}],"liveness":{"score":86,"band":"hot","label":"Hiring now","p_open":1,"p_active":0.86,"p_room":1,"age_days":5,"expected_fill_days":27,"reasons":["conf:2","win:early","comp:brand"],"computed_at":"2026-11-11T02:00:49Z"},"pay":null,"html_url":"https://alion.io/job/gkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead","json_url":"https://alion.io/job/gkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead.json","meta":{"generated_at":"2026-11-11T02:00:49Z","cache_seconds":300,"methodology":"https://alion.io/methodology","terms":"https://alion.io/terms","contact":"https://alion.io/contact","api":"https://alion.io/developers","about":"Alion is a live layer of people, companies and AI agents: who they are, whether they are real and active right now, what they do and how to work with them, readable by people and by agents and paid per call.","catalog":"https://alion.io/catalog.json","usage":{"tier":"crawler_verified","counted_by":"address","units_charged":1,"used_today":654,"day_limit":null,"remaining_today":null,"minute_limit":300,"resets_at":"2026-11-12T00:00:00Z"}},"offers":[{"id":"company.slices","title":"One company in depth, by slice","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01,"plus_per_slice":{"credits":0.05,"usd":0.005}},"unit":"per company, plus each slice with data","note":"the employer in depth","call":{"mcp_tool":"get_company","arguments":{"id":1833182},"rest":"https://alion.io/mcp/rest/get_company?id=1833182"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.slices&for=job%2Fgkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead"},{"id":"market.stats","title":"A market slice: pay, demand and time to fill","status":"live","price":{"credits":2,"usd":0.2},"unit":"per slice","note":"pay, demand and time to fill for this role and place","call":{"mcp_tool":"market_stats"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=market.stats&for=job%2Fgkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead"},{"id":"job.search","title":"Open jobs by role, technology, place, pay and visa","status":"live","price":{"credits":0.1,"usd":0.01},"unit":"per posting in a list","note":"similar open postings","call":{"mcp_tool":"search_jobs"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=job.search&for=job%2Fgkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead"},{"id":"company.verify","title":"Is this company real and active right now","status":"pilot","price":null,"unit":"per company","request":{"url":"https://alion.io/catalog/request","method":"POST","body":"{\"offer\": \"company.verify\", \"for\": \"job/gkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead\", \"note\": \"what you need it for\"}"},"human":"https://alion.io/catalog?offer=company.verify&for=job%2Fgkn-aerospace-supplier-development-lead"}],"agent":{"mcp":"https://alion.io/mcp/jobs","mcp_open":"https://alion.io/mcp/open","next":[{"tool":"get_job","arguments":{"id":4043535}},{"tool":"search_jobs","arguments":{"company":"gknaerospace.com","detail":"compact"}},{"tool":"match_people","arguments":{"job_id":4043535},"note":"people open to offers who fit this vacancy"}],"note":"The same data through MCP tools: https://alion.io/mcp/open needs no sign-in (compact searches, postings, people); https://alion.io/mcp with an Alion account has everything. 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