Buyers and procurement officers: pay and what the work involves

Occupation 3551 · Associate professional occupations

Buyers and procurement officers

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.

How people enter it

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.

What the work involves

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
works closely with merchandisers who allocate stock and develop sales forecasts
maintains records and prepares reports as necessary

Also called

Bid writer · Buyer · Procurement officer · Purchasing consultant · Supply planner

What it pays

Measure	Hours	Basis	Period	Value	Source
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	53,700.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	57,100.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	62,800.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	1,300.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	5,700.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	64,100.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)
3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	None	2026-03	3,400.00	ONS, Annual Population Survey - employment by occupation (SOC 2020)

Every regional figure

ONS does not publish occupational pay below region. Cells the survey could not support are shown as withheld, with its reason — adding a region split to a specific occupation leaves roughly a tenth of cells publishable.

Region	Measure	Hours	Value	Period
East	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	3,800.00	2026-03
East Midlands	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	6,100.00	2026-03
London	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	5,500.00	2026-03
North East	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	1,400.00	2026-03
North West	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	5,700.00	2026-03
Northern Ireland	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	1,300.00	2026-03
Scotland	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	5,700.00	2026-03
South East	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	11,800.00	2026-03
South West	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	6,400.00	2026-03
Wales	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	3,400.00	2026-03
West Midlands	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	6,100.00	2026-03
Yorkshire and The Humber	3551 : Buyers and procurement officers	None	6,900.00	2026-03

Common questions

Does pay for buyers and procurement officers vary by region?

ONS publishes regional pay for this occupation where the survey sample supports it — 12 of 12 cells on this page. The rest are withheld by ONS, and are shown as withheld with the reason, rather than left out.

Where do these pay figures come from?

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office for National Statistics. Figures are shown exactly as ONS publishes them — we do not adjust, model or fill them in, and every number on this page carries the series and period it came from.

Classified alongside this

Advertising and marketing associate professionals · Business sales executives · Estate agents and auctioneers · Events managers and organisers · Merchandisers · Sales accounts and business development managers