Procurement Assistant Apprentice
ALCATEL SUBMARINE NETWORKS LTD
LONDON (SE10 0AG)
Closes in 21 days (Friday 14 August 2026 at 11:59pm)
Posted on 22 July 2026
Contents
Summary
Assist the Indirect Purchasing Organisation (IPO) team at Greenwich, with general day to day procurement activities.
Undertaking supplier research, obtaining quotes and maintaining pricing for manufacturing consumables required for effective company operation.
- Wage
-
£25,000 a year
- Training course
- Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)
- Hours
-
Monday to Friday 0900-1700.
37 hours 30 minutes a week
- Start date
-
Sunday 1 November 2026
- Duration
-
1 year 7 months
- Positions available
-
1
Work
Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.
What you'll do at work
- Obtain quotes for manufacturing consumable items
- Source replacements where parts are obsolete
- Load agreed prices and T&C’s (lead time, MOQ etc.) into SAP to allow ordering function to place orders in a timely manner
- Develop knowledge of manufacturing consumables and associated supplier base to ensure proper competitiveness of procurement in line with company values (e.g. CSR)
- Develop manufacturing consumable supplier relationships
- Process purchase requisitions into purchase orders for validation by responsible buyer
- Follow up with suppliers, as needed, to confirm or change orders
- Assist with research into potential suppliers
- Assist with new supplier onboarding/existing supplier modification process and Supplier Relationship Management database maintenance
- Manage account queries including payment/invoice queries
- Assist in generation/compilation of reports
- Management of supplier online e-buy portals
Where you'll work
TELEGRAPH HOUSE
10 TELCON WAY
LONDON
SE10 0AG
Training
Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.
Training provider
CIPS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED
Training course
Procurement and supply assistant (level 3)
Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)
What you'll learn
Course contents
- Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
- Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
- Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
- Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
- Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
- Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
- Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
- Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
- Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
- Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
- Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
- Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
- Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
- Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
- Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
- Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.
- Monitor and order products, stock, equipment and services at appropriate times using the appropriate procurement method.
- Communicate to procurement's internal stakeholders, suppliers and other stakeholders in order to develop effective relationships and networks
- Create, maintain and amend purchase order and contract records.
- Interpret, evaluate and compare procurement information such as historical spend and usage using databases and spreadsheets.
- Present findings and data in all formats e.g. mathematically, written and oral.
- Determine value for money (VFM) and added value through the use of Total Cost of Ownership during the evaluation process, and apply the most economically advantageous tender (MEAT) criteria to the evaluation of quotes and tenders to support the recommendation at award. This may include the inclusion of green, low carbon, sustainability, and ethical criteria.
- Utilise relevant Procurement computer systems or internal databases.
- Select the supplier of the most appropriate products and services for purchases within their remit and place purchase order.
- Undertake appraisal of adhoc and low spend suppliers including setting them up on the purchasing system.
- Effectively research and analyse demand, spend, trends, potential suppliers and industries utilising qualitative and quantitative methods.
- Develop specifications of requirements and requests for quotes/tenders in line with organisational requirements.
- Apply considerations of responsible procurement in evaluating potential suppliers, quotes and tenders.
- Investigate and resolve purchase order, delivery and invoice queries.
- Own low risk value projects such as supply contracts for stationery, personal protective equipment (PPE) or other consumables, and contribute to higher risk activities such as contracts for building services or machinery, and track, log, expedite and review outstanding orders and stock availability where applicable.
- Maintain knowledge on all open orders and their status' and provide assistance to all purchasing staff e.g. expediting and feeding information back to the relevant stakeholders.
- Able to consider the impact of the decision making process when interacting with the supply chain.
- Able to support the contract negotiations and mini competitions with suppliers.
Training schedule
- On successful completion of the apprenticeship, individuals will have achieved the CIPS Level 3 Advanced Certificate in Procurement & Supply, a globally recognised qualification
- Training will be a combination of on the job and off the job
- The off the job element will include classroom style learning and revision days as well as one to one tutor sessions
- Study guides, eBooks and eLearning will be provided
Requirements
Essential qualifications
GCSE in:
- English (grade Level 5 or above)
- Maths (grade Level 5 or above)
Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.
Skills
- Communication skills
- IT skills
- Attention to detail
- Organisation skills
About this employer
Alcatel Submarine Networks is a French company and one of the three world leaders in the manufacture and installation of submarine cables. We stand as an industry leader with over 850,000 km of optical submarine systems globally – that’s nearly 21 times the Earth’s circumference.
We cater to a wide range of needs: from traditional telecom applications and webscale service provider infrastructures to offshore oil and gas projects.
After this apprenticeship
Your earnings can increase over time with an apprenticeship. Find out about potential future pay (opens in new tab).
Further CIPS Qualifications moving up into a Practitioner role.
Ask a question
The contact for this apprenticeship is:
CIPS CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED
The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC2000044035.
Apply now
Closes in 21 days (Friday 14 August 2026 at 11:59pm)