Buyer, Business

Buyer

Company: COLAS ROADS UK

Job Location:

BIRMINGHAM, G

Type of

Contract:

Permanent

Posting

Start Date:

05/03/2026

Colas Ltd is a UK subsidiary of the global Colas Group, which operates in over 50 countries worldwide and employs over 55,000 people including over 1500 in the UK across multiple sites. We are specialists in highways construction and have been involved in large-scale UK and international construction projects within the highways, airfields, and marine sectors as well as offering highways maintenance services and manufacturing our own innovative surfacing products.

We hold a ‘Gold Investor in People’ award for continuously developing and rewarding our employees, offering excellent career potential.

We have an exciting opportunity for a Buyer to join the Procurement team within our Support Services business unit based at our head office in Solihull, B37 7YB
. Reporting to the Head of Procurement, this role supports the business by sourcing materials, plant, services and subcontractors in line with Colas procurement processes. The Buyer will play an important part in delivering value for money, ensuring supplier compliance and driving strong commercial outcomes across projects and bids. The position requires travel on a weekly basis.

The Buyer will build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers to support both strategic and project-specific procurement needs. A key focus of the role is to achieve cost savings and value improvements across allocated spend categories while contributing to the development and maintenance of category strategies and framework agreements. The role provides essential procurement input to contract and bid teams to support timely and commercially sound decision-making.

Day-to-day responsibilities include applying the Colas Limited Corporate Procurement Process and ensuring all suppliers meet required sustainability, compliance and safety standards. The Buyer will contribute to supplier performance reviews and continuous improvement initiatives and will maintain accurate procurement records to support audit requirements. The role also involves conducting commodity research and spend analysis, managing tender exercises for bids and live projects, and working closely with stakeholders across project teams.

The successful candidate will need to influence leaders and key decision-makers to ensure Procurement is engaged appropriately in all sourcing activities. Regular reporting and data analysis will also be an important part of the position.

The ideal candidate should have at least three years' experience in procurement or a commercial environment, with proven contract negotiation experience and strong problem‑solving abilities. They must be comfortable working independently, demonstrate professionalism and possess excellent attention to detail while managing multiple tasks simultaneously. A customer‑focused approach, flexibility and strong written and verbal communication skills are essential. Knowledge of procurement systems and proficiency with Microsoft Office 365 are required.

It is essential that they will have strong communication, negotiation and organisational skills, along with the ability to analyse market trends, commodities and supplier performance. A good level of market intelligence and existing industry contacts would be advantageous. We are looking for someone who brings creativity, a continuous improvement mindset and the ability to work under pressure while meeting tight deadlines.

Here at Colas, we offer a great total compensation package, including:

• A salary between £40,000 and £50,000 (dependent on experience) PLUS Company Car / Car Allowance
• Our Colas Pension Scheme has combined contributions of up to 10%
• Life Assurance Scheme which is x4 basic salary
• 25 days annual leave per year + Public Holidays
• Holiday Purchase & Selling Scheme
• Hybrid Working Scheme (dependent on the role)
• Opportunities to study towards a fully funded Professional Qualification
• Ongoing personal / professional development
• Discounts on car leasing, holidays, cinema tickets, restaurants…