Head, Procurement

Job Purpose

The Head of Procurement is responsible for leading and transforming the organisation’s procurement function into a strategic enterprise enabler that supports both internal operational excellence and external business growth and revenue generation.

This role positions procurement as a dual-value driver by enhancing cost efficiency and service delivery across business units, while improving bid competitiveness and enabling successful execution of revenue-generating contracts.

The incumbent will balance commercial agility, operational effectiveness, and robust governance, ensuring procurement delivers value across the full spectrum of business needs while upholding compliance, transparency, and audit integrity.

Responsibilities

1.    Strategic Leadership & Governance
•    Develop and execute a group-wide procurement strategy aligned with both operational priorities and revenue growth objectives.
•    Establish procurement policies and frameworks that support business agility while maintaining strong governance, control, and compliance standards.
•    Provide strategic advisory to senior leadership on operational efficiency, cost optimisation, commercial risks, and supply market dynamics.
•    Ensure procurement frameworks are fit-for-purpose to support internal service delivery and external commercial competitiveness.

2.    Commercial & Business Partnership 
•    Partner with business units to understand internal operational needs, demand drivers, and service requirements, as well as external customer and tender requirements.
•    Translate both internal and external needs into effective sourcing, contracting, and supplier strategies.
•    Support business units in achieving cost efficiency, service reliability, and operational continuity for internal operations.
•    Support bid and proposal development by ensuring cost competitiveness, pricing certainty, and supply chain readiness for external opportunities.
•    Drive early procurement involvement to shape both internal demand planning and external commercial outcomes.
•    Balance speed, flexibility, and governance to meet operational timelines and competitive bid requirements.

3.    Category & Strategic Procurement Management 
•    Lead category management strategies across diverse procurement categories, addressing both internal spend optimisation and external project requirements.
•    Drive strategic sourcing initiatives including aggregation, demand planning, and innovative sourcing approaches to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
•    Align category strategies to deliver cost savings, value creation, and support revenue-generating opportunities.
•    Leverage enterprise-wide demand to optimise scale benefits while supporting business-specific needs.

4.    Vendor & Partnership Management
•    Lead category management strategies across diverse procurement categories, addressing both internal spend optimisation and external project requirements.
•    Drive strategic sourcing initiatives including aggregation, demand planning, and innovative sourcing approaches to enhance efficiency and competitiveness.
•    Align category strategies to deliver cost savings, value creation, and support revenue-generating opportunities.
•    Leverage enterprise-wide demand to optimise scale benefits while supporting business-specific needs.

5.    Stakeholder Engagement
•    Collaborate closely with stakeholders across business units to ensure alignment between operational needs, procurement strategies, and external customer expectations. 
•    Influence decision-making on sourcing strategies, contract structures, and supplier selection to optimise outcomes across cost, performance, and risk.
•    Act as a trusted advisor in initiatives involving operational improvements, business growth, and transformation.

6.    Operational Excellence 
•    Oversee procurement operations to ensure efficiency, reliability, and responsiveness to internal business needs.
•    Drive process improvements and digitalisation to enhance service delivery, turnaround time, and user experience.
•    Implement data-driven procurement practices to support operational planning, spend visibility, and decision-making.

Qualifications & Work Experience

•    Degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, or related discipline (Master’s or professional certifications such as CIPS advantageous). 
•    Significant senior-level procurement experience, ideally across multiple industries. 
•    Proven track record managing procurement functions in both public sector and commercial environments. 
•    Experience in regulated industries and/or complex, multi-business organisations is highly desirable.
•    Strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach to decision-making.
•    Experience in digital transformation, e-commerce, and customer experience strategies is a plus.
•    Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills.
•    Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with a strategic mindset.

Skills

•    Strong commercial acumen with ability to balance internal cost efficiency, external revenue growth, and governance requirements.
•    Deep understanding of internal operational needs, service delivery models, and external customer/tender environments.
•    Ability to operate effectively in both steady-state operations and fast-paced, bid-driven environments.
•    Strong strategic thinking with ability to align procurement decisions to enterprise-wide objectives.
•    Exceptional stakeholder management and influencing skills across operations, corporate functions, and business development teams.
•    High level of integrity, ensuring robust governance while enabling business outcomes.