Purchasing

Degree disciplines:  Any

Purchasing is a discipline of immense importance to AstraZeneca. A vital cornerstone of our global business, it assures best value and underpins our performance in the market place.

One of the top five ethical pharmaceutical companies in the world, we are committed to developing and marketing innovative drugs.  Clearly, such a challenge means that we have to interact with a large number of external suppliers, from engineering specialists and bulk drug manufacturers to laboratory supplies companies, clinical researchers and conference organisers.

By operating a world-class level our purchasing teams help to ensure that the company is able to take products to market at greater speed and with maximum cost-effectiveness.

People with careers in purchasing, are located in our core facilities around the world. In the Sales and Marketing area your skills would generate efficiencies, which would release funds for reinvestment in brand activities and also increase our speed to market.

In Operations and Supply-Chain, one of your goals would be to reduce lead times so that materials and components are available more quickly. Another aim could be to help drive the standardisation of machinery world-wide in order to allow us to transfer production between sites, optimise capacity and gain commercial leverage.

In Discovery and Development, one focus would be on building proactive supplier relationships to increase the number and quality of activities performed for an equivalent level of investment.

Although AstraZeneca is a global organisation, we have a particularly strong presence in the UK, Sweden and the USA.  Regardless of location, our purchasing professionals network at national, regional and global levels to leverage best value for the company.

We are keen to meet graduates with excellent communication skills, project management knowledge and analytical skills, and who are inspired by the chance to influence the future of one of the worlds leading pharmaceutical companies.

As a new graduate recruit, you'll have the chance to gain experience across our entire purchasing portfolio. We'll support you as you study towards a professional purchasing qualification, and supplement this with our own internal training programme, which is designed to give you a more practical insight into the purchasing issues we face.

Your first role will take account of your existing skills and experience and could involve the purchasing of capital equipment, professional services or consultancy support. As you extend your capabilities and your confidence grows, you can branch out to different areas of the business and build your understanding of the organisation as a whole.

Application Process:

For Purchasing roles based at our Alderley Park, Macclesfield and Charnwood sites the selection process is likely to include a combination of interviews, problem-solving exercises and psychometric tests.