Office Assistant / Sales & Purchasing Assistant
- Southwell, United Kingdom
Posted 4 days ago
About the role
We're Hiring: Office Assistant / Sales & Purchasing Assistant The proactive right-hand to our Sales & Purchasing Manager who keeps quotes moving, suppliers on track, and ABCo running like clockwork—using every smart tool available to do it better. Location: Southwell, Nottinghamshire (on-site) Salary: £24,000-£27,000 per annum (DOE) Hours: 35 hours/week - Mon-Fri 08:30-16:00
About Us At ABCo Engineering Hydraulics, we build and supply precision engineered gear—hydraulic cylinders, custom machined parts, and heavy-duty components that keep real industries moving. We work fast, hold ourselves to high standards, and value real quality over fluff. But here’s the most important part: we only hire people who bring good energy. If you’re practical, sharp, like to laugh, and get a kick out of getting things done right, you’re going to fit right in here.
The Role We need an Assistant who thrives on variety and doesn’t get flustered when priorities pivot. You will be the right hand to our Sales & Purchasing Manager, providing the daily administrative muscle that keeps our entire sales, buying, and production operation moving smoothly. You’ll handle everything from customer enquiries and quote preparation to raising POs, tracking down late supplier deliveries, and making sure shop-floor job packs are accurate and ready to go. We’re also big on working smart. If you’re someone who actively uses AI and digital shortcuts to smash through routine admin, organise data, and write better emails in half the time—we want to hear about it.
What You’ll Be Doing:
- Being the warm, professional voice on the telephone and the sharp manager of our shared inboxes;
- Turning sales enquiries into accurate quote drafts, firing off order acknowledgements, and keeping customers looped in on lead times;
- Raising purchase orders, double-checking supplier confirmations, and relentlessly chasing down overdue deliveries before they become bottlenecks;
- Building job files, prepping workshop paperwork, and updating our electronic production systems so the shop floor never has to guess;
- Keeping our general office admin, digital filing, courier bookings, and basic ISO 9001 quality paperwork immaculately organised;
- Keeping your eyes open for manual, slow processes—and helping us fix them.
About You You’re naturally switched-on. You notice the small details that others miss, and you hate leaving things half-finished. You don't wait to be micromanaged—you see what needs doing and grab it. Engineering or hydraulics knowledge? Not required. We can teach you the parts and jargon. What we can’t teach is curiosity, common sense, and a top-tier work ethic.
What You Bring:
- Solid hands-on experience in a fast-moving office or admin environment;
- Confidence with computers—especially Microsoft Outlook, Word, and Excel;
- Top-notch communication skills (written and spoken) and strong practical numeracy;
- A knack for staying cool, calm, and accurate when three things happen at once;
- A genuine desire to learn, ask questions, and support a tight-knit team.
Bonus Points For:
- Prior time spent in sales administration, buying support, or order processing;
- Exposure to ERP, MRP, or stock management systems;
- Any background working alongside engineering, manufacturing, or industrial teams.
What’s In It For You?
- £24,000-£27,000 depending on the experience and energy you bring;
- Real variety—no two days looking out the window waiting for four o'clock;
- Direct impact—you will directly free up management capacity, and your contribution will be noticed every single day;
- A positive, down-to-earth team that appreciates people who fix problems rather than complain about them.
How to Apply Apply via Indeed with your CV and answer all 3 questions.
Attention to detail check: Applications submitted without answering all questions will be skipped—because if you don't read the instructions now, you won't read the job cards later!
If this sounds like your kind of environment, hit apply. We'd love to chat.
Pay: £24,500.00-£27,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Casual dress
- On-site parking
Application question(s):
- Will you be able to reliably commute or relocate to Southwell, Nottinghamshire NG25 0ET for this job?
- Tell us why you think you're the best person for this role?
Experience:
- Administrative: 3 years (preferred)
Work Location: In person