Sales, marketing and related associate professionals

How to become a buyer or procurement officer

Official title: Buyers and procurement officers

Also called: Media buyer, Print buyer, Space buyer, Store buyer, Fashion buyer, Supply officer, Salesman-buyer, Contract officer, Supplies officer, Advertising buyer, Contracts officer, Purchasing officer

Buyers and procurement officers organise and undertake the buying of raw materials, equipment and merchandise from manufacturers, importers, wholesalers and other sources for distribution, resale or for own internal use.

Main tasks

Attends trade fairs, shows and demonstrations to research new product lines and suppliers, checks catalogues
Keeps up with market trends and chooses products/services
Assesses budgetary limitations and customer requirements and decides on quantity, type, range and quality of goods or services to be bought
Assesses bids from suppliers, finds suppliers and negotiates prices
Helps negotiate contract with supplier and specifies details of goods or services required
Looks at ways to improve supply networks, presents new ideas to senior management team
Ensures that delivered items comply with order, monitors quality of incoming goods and returns unsatisfactory or faulty items, monitors performance and makes sure targets are met
Supervises clerical, administrative and warehouse distribution staff, deals with recruitment and training

How to become one

There are no formal academic requirements although some employers expect A levels/H grades, BTEC/SQA awards or degrees. Employers may ask for specific experience for a particular role. Professional qualifications and vocational qualifications in Procurement at levels 3, 4 and 5 are available.

Ways in

Apprenticeship (England): Procurement and supply assistant (level 3). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0810.
Apprenticeship (England): Procurement and supply chain practitioner (level 4). England. Typically 18 months. Skills England standard ST0313.
University: Arts & Humanities degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK
University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 27 universities in the UK

Pay · Outlook

Median full-time pay: £37,306 a year The middle half earn £30,065 to £46,937.
About 81,600 people work in this job now, and about 85,400 are projected by 2035. (+4.6%)

Questions people ask

How do I become a buyer or procurement officer?

How much does a buyer or procurement officer earn in the UK?

Median full-time pay is £37,306 a year (Office for National Statistics). The middle half earn £30,065 to £46,937.

Is a buyer or procurement officer a growing career in the UK?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 5% by 2035, from about 81,600 to about 85,400 people (Department for Education).

Do you need a degree to become a buyer or procurement officer?

Not always. 48% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Arts & Humanities degrees; Business & Commerce degrees; Procurement and supply assistant (level 3).

Sources

Office for National Statistics: Annual Population Survey: employment by occupation (April 2025 to March 2026), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions (2026-08-27 edition), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Department for Education: Skills Imperative 2035: employment projections by occupation (2021 to 2035 (Warwick IER / Cambridge Econometrics)), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14 (2025 provisional), OGL v3.0, retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

Graduate outcomes: Discover Uni dataset, HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Aggregated by subject and adapted by Peernovo.