Head of Direct Procurement

£65,000 - £75,000 DOE | Plymouth area

Cathedral Appointments is recruiting on behalf of a well-established, high-end manufacturing business for a Head of Category (Direct) to lead its direct procurement function. Reporting to the Procurement Director, this senior appointment carries responsibility for a substantial, multi-million-pound direct spend portfolio and the team that manages it. The focus is on delivering sustainable value, reducing supply chain risk and building a high-performing category management function.

The Role:

This is a strategic leadership role for an experienced category management professional who is as comfortable shaping strategy as they are working through the detail. You will lead the Direct Category team across the full source-to-contract cycle, while making sure category plans connect with planning, purchasing and delivery. The role will suit someone who leads with data, thinks in outcomes and builds credibility with stakeholders at every level.

Responsibilities for the Head of Direct Procurement:

• Lead, coach and develop the Direct Category team, building their expertise as specialists in their areas of spend.
• Create and deliver category strategies agreed with the business, with clear plans for savings, value and risk reduction that are tracked and reported against targets.
• Oversee sourcing and RFx activity, including supplier selection and negotiation, to secure the strongest commercial outcomes.
• Increase contracted spend and manage the full contract lifecycle, including deliverables and dispute resolution.
• Drive supplier relationship management through segmentation, performance management across safety, quality, cost, delivery and environment, and proactive mitigation of supply chain risk.
• Work with planning, development and purchasing colleagues to align demand and supply, and own the resolution of order book and master data escalations.

Requirements for the Head of Direct Procurement include:

• At least 8 years' category management leadership experience, delivering results across the source-to-contract model in a manufacturing or engineering services environment.
• A business or engineering qualification, together with CIPS.
• Advanced commercial and contractual acumen, with a strong understanding of budgets and finance in a manufacturing setting.
• Experience using and deploying ERP and source-to-pay systems, with strong Microsoft Office skills, particularly Excel.
• A track record of applying continuous improvement methodologies and using data, analytics and insight to drive decisions.
• Proven leadership, stakeholder and change management skills, with the ability to influence across functions including engineering, production, finance and legal.

Benefits:

• £65,000 - £75,000 DOE
• A senior leadership role with ownership of a significant direct spend portfolio and the team that delivers it.
• The opportunity to shape and strengthen people, process and systems capability across the category function.
• Broad cross-functional exposure, working closely with commercial, design, engineering, production and finance teams.

Note on Sponsorship:

We regret to inform you that at this time, we are unable to offer sponsorship for work authorisation for this role. Therefore, candidates must possess valid authorisation to work in the UK without requiring visa sponsorship.