Sr. Supplier Development

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN 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 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Job Summary

Reporting to the Global Supplier Management Director, the Supplier Development Engineer will form part of a newly launched Global Supplier Support team deploying internationally to solve acute and impactful problems within the supplier base.

The SDE will work closely with their Operational Procurement colleagues in reacting to requests from the global team for acute supplier development support and will deliver rapid improvement plans to stabilize supply.

The SDE will utilise industry best practice to evaluate the core capability and capacity of the supplier and identify and solve constraints driving recovery and stabilisation of the supplier performance.

Job Responsibilities

• Evaluating capability of poorly performing suppliers and identifying key constraints within the operation
• Engaging and building relationships with key stakeholders including Operational Procurement teams and Program Management
• Building strong relationships with suppliers and achieving buy in to development initiatives
• Deploying industry best practice problem solving and LEAN Manufacturing principles to stabilize supply of direct material
• Advising and supporting Operational Procurement teams on best practice for Supplier Management and problem solving
• Advocating and advising on the global use of the Supplier Management Framework
• Delivering a capable and stable supply chain through effective supplier development activity
  
  

Required

Job Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in business or engineering or 3 plus years of procurement supplier experience
• Supplier Development Experience in high reliability/safety critical industries
• Aerospace experience
• LEAN Manufacturing understanding
• Practical Problem Solving knowledge (8D, RCA, PDCA, CI, Kaizen, LEAN etc)
• Excellent interpersonal skills and a high performance culture
• Strong background experience in complex, global value chain
  
  

Preferred

• GKN Aerospace experience
• Strong understanding of procurement and/or program management
• Engineering, Project Management, Quality or Procurement professional accreditation (CIPS, CEng, CQI etc)
• Lead auditor qualification
• History and knowledge of either Electrical, Composite or Metal Machining processes
  
  

We’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?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone 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.

We’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.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.