Our Stories

Sianne Noor

Buyer

Qualifications: Business & Admin Apprenticeship, NVQ Level 3 Customer Service, Chartered Institute of Purchase & Supply Foundation Diploma

Sianne is a Buyer working for untypical’s Central region. 

Career inspiration can come from many places, and for Sianne, it was her passion for renovating homes and working closely with tradespeople that led her into construction.

Having started her career in buying, Sianne took a career break to raise her two daughters, during which time she worked part-time in administration for a kitchen fitting company while also volunteering within her local community. She later returned to full-time work with a local advertising company, building strong relationships with trusted tradespeople across a range of industries. When the opportunity arose to combine her commercial experience and buying background with her passion for housebuilding, joining the industry felt like a natural next step.

From a renovation hobby to my dream career

What started as a love of doing up homes has taken Sianne Noor into the commercial heart of housebuilding. As a Buyer at untypical’s Central region, she negotiates with suppliers, manages budgets and helps bring new developments to life - skills she has built up entirely from within the industry. Here, she shares her story, explains what a buyer actually does, and makes the case for why construction deserves far more attention from job seekers.

How I got here

My husband and I have always loved renovating homes. We built up a rental portfolio together and it became a real passion. That passion made me ask myself: why not build a career in the industry I love?

Having worked as a buyer earlier in my career, I joined Tilia Homes in December 2020 as a Commercial Administrator keen to get my foot in the door and bring those earlier skills back to life. I embraced every opportunity that came my way.  Early on, I had the privilege of working closely with a senior female leader who became an incredible mentor to me. As her right-hand person, I gained valuable exposure across the full commercial function, building the confidence and experience that later enabled me to move into a buying role.

As the business evolved into untypical, we experienced a period of significant transformation and change.  While change can often feel unsettling, I chose to embrace it as an opportunity for growth, learning and personal development.

Hearing Guy Hands, our owner, speak was particularly inspiring. His story of overcoming setbacks, combined with his genuine passion for both housebuilding and supporting the homeless, really resonated with me as causes I care deeply about. Motivated by this, I made the most of every opportunity available, taking part in the Women in Construction initiative and attending as many training courses as possible through the group.

That commitment to learning and development has now led to my promotion to Buyer, where I am solely responsible for five sites.

Buyers in construction are responsible for sourcing and purchasing all the materials needed to build homes - from bricks and timber to fixtures and fittings. But it’s much more than placing orders.

My role starts at land acquisition, before a single brick is laid. From there, I’m involved in budgeting, supplier negotiations, legal matters and insurance. Day to day, I track deliveries, manage supplier relationships and monitor spend to make sure projects stay on time and on budget.

No two days are the same. The role combines analytical thinking with people skills.  I’m constantly looking for trends and patterns in spend data, while also managing relationships with everyone from groundworkers on site to solicitors in the boardroom.

One of the things I love about this role is how varied the skillset is. No formal qualifications are required to become a buyer in construction. What matters most is commercial curiosity, strong people skills and a willingness to learn.

Here are the key capabilities I draw on regularly:

•         Negotiation & commercial awareness - getting the best value from suppliers while maintaining strong long-term relationships.

•         Analytical thinking - spotting trends in spend and procurement data to identify efficiencies and prevent problems recurring.

•         Problem-solving - construction rarely goes exactly to plan. Understanding root causes and finding solutions quickly is essential.

•         Communication & stakeholder management - working effectively across very different audiences, from site teams to legal professionals.

•         Project awareness - understanding the full build programme so procurement decisions support the wider construction schedule.

•         Attention to detail - managing supplier contracts, budgets and delivery schedules where accuracy really matters.

Site visits are an important part of the job. I go out to build relationships, see the practical impact of procurement decisions first-hand, and communicate directly with the teams doing the work.

As a woman in construction, site can sometimes feel male-dominated, but when you show up knowing your stuff, you earn respect quickly. A good sense of humour helps, but so does knowing where the line is and being confident enough to call it out when it’s crossed.

We need to look at schools, colleges and universities and the opportunities that exist there to influence people and catch young people when they don’t know what to do.

For women especially, there’s often a lack of visibility and encouragement. But the problem is broader than gender. Trades and construction careers simply aren’t promoted with the same energy as law, finance or tech even though the financial rewards can be just as strong, if not stronger.

Seeing female leaders in the business matters too because the more visible they are, the more normalised it becomes.

This is the best place I have ever worked. It’s diverse, it’s interesting, and no two days are the same. You might be working on the same type of project, but the people, the sites and the challenges are always different.

And there’s something deeply satisfying about knowing that what you do every day helps put a roof over someone’s head. That’s not something you get in every industry.

If you’re curious about construction and wondering whether there’s a place for you, there almost certainly is. Explore the roles available, speak to people already in the industry, and don’t underestimate how transferable your existing skills might be.