Head of Indirect Procurement

Overview

In this role, you lead the Indirect Procurement function for the UK & Ireland, shaping strategy, governance and performance to deliver value, risk mitigation and operational excellence. You will partner with executive stakeholders to embed procurement as a strategic business enabler and drive cost savings, supplier innovation and resilience across high-spend categories. You will mentor the procurement team and lead complex sourcing programmes to create sustainable competitive advantage. This is a strategic, cross-functional leadership role with a strong focus on ESG and ethical procurement.

Responsibilities

• Provide strong functional leadership to the Indirect spend area and upskill the team
• Develop and maintain a comprehensive risk strategy with mitigation plans
• Drive procurement transformation focusing on margin improvement, risk reduction, supplier management and revenue generation
• Champion innovation, automation, digitalisation and AI within procurement
• Build senior stakeholder relationships to influence strategy and outcomes
• Ensure effective SRM to improve supplier performance and resilience
• Lead high-value sourcing initiatives, frameworks and contract renewals
• Deliver cost reduction, margin improvement and revenue generation in a commercially focused environment
• Develop strategic supplier partnerships delivering competitive advantage
• Lead complex sourcing programmes and negotiations
• Drive procurement performance across spend, governance, risk, and preferred supplier metrics
• Ensure sourcing and contracting meet governance, policy, audit and compliance standards
• Support major bids, mobilisations and client-facing opportunities
• Monitor ethical practices and ESG objectives within Indirect categories
• Comply with CIPS Code of Conduct and relevant laws and regulations

Key requirements

• Proven experience in a senior procurement leadership role in a complex, high-spend organization
• Demonstrable track record of significant cost reduction in an M&A environment
• Strong leadership of senior teams and organizational change
• Excellent commercial, financial and negotiation skills
• Deep understanding of supply chain management, risk, governance and compliance
• Strong stakeholder management with executive/board influence
• Experience driving performance across large spend portfolios
• Excellent verbal and written communication for executive engagement
• Ability to work under pressure and manage workload
• Strategic planning capability
• Integrity and dependability
• Experience with large-scale transformation or integration programmes (M&A)
• Knowledge of sustainability, ESG and responsible procurement frameworks

• leadership
• stakeholder management
• communication
• procurement strategy
• risk governance
• supplier relationship management (SRM)

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