Head of Procurement & Supply Planning

A fantastic opportunity for a Head of Purchasing & Supply Planning to join a leading independent importer and distributor of Ambient Food Products as they continue to grow both their customer and product base. The Head of Procurement leads the Supply Planning & Procurement team and is accountable for ensuring secure, cost-effective and responsible supply across the product portfolio. The role sets procurement and supply-planning direction, develops strategic supplier relationships, oversees sourcing and negotiation, and ensures inventory and availability decisions support customer and business requirements.

As a senior leader, the role works closely with Commercial, Technical, Demand Planning, Operations, Logistics and Finance to manage risk, support growth and build a high-performing procurement function.

This position is fully onsite with 5 days in office in Reigate

Key responsibilities of the Head of Procurement & Supply Planning

• Procurement strategy: Work alongside the MD to develop and deliver a procurement and supply-planning strategy aligned with business priorities, customer requirements, growth plans and risk appetite.
• Team leadership: Lead, develop and organise the Procurement team, setting clear accountabilities, priorities, objectives and standards for performance.
• Strategic sourcing and negotiation: Lead sourcing strategies, supplier selection, commercial negotiations and contracting for key categories and strategic suppliers
• Supplier relationship management: . Lead senior supplier reviews, resolve escalated issues and ensure agreed performance and improvement actions are delivered.
• Supply assurance and resilience: Oversee supply risk management, business continuity and contingency planning across the portfolio.
• Inventory and availability governance: Set direction for stock policies, ordering parameters and inventory controls. Review service, stock cover, excess, ageing and slow-moving inventory.
• Commercial and customer support: Partner with Commercial teams on tenders, customer proposals, pricing inputs, product changes and growth opportunities.
• Responsible sourcing and compliance: Ensure supplier selection and management support food safety, legality, quality, ethical sourcing and sustainability requirements.
• Market and supplier intelligence: Maintain a clear view of commodity, currency, capacity, freight, regulatory and supplier developments.
• Governance and management information: Maintain appropriate procurement controls, approval routes, documentation and contract records.
• Cross-functional leadership: Contribute to senior management decision-making and lead cross-functional resolution of major supply, inventory, supplier and sourcing issues.
• Continuous improvement: Improve procurement processes, systems, data quality, reporting and ways of working.

Leadership accountabilities of the Head of Procurement & Supply Planning

• Set a clear operating rhythm for procurement planning, supplier reviews, risk management and performance reporting.
• Create an environment of accountability, constructive challenge, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Ensure workloads, category ownership and escalations are allocated effectively across the team.
• Represent Procurement in senior management and cross-functional forums, with clear ownership of agreed actions.

Skills and experience of the Head of Procurement & Supply Planning

• Significant senior procurement, sourcing or supply-chain experience, within food, similar FMCG or an international product business.
• Proven leadership of a procurement, purchasing or supply-planning team, including objective setting, coaching and performance management.
• Strong commercial and negotiation capability, with experience of strategic sourcing, supplier selection, contracts and complex supplier relationships.
• Demonstrable experience managing international supply, long lead times, inventory exposure and business continuity risk.
• Excellent financial and analytical acumen, with the ability to interpret cost, margin, inventory, service and market data and make balanced decisions.
• Strong understanding of inventory management, forecasting interfaces, purchase planning and supplier performance management.
• Credible senior stakeholder management and communication skills, including the ability to present clear options and recommendations.
• Experience working cross-functionally with Commercial, Technical, Operations, Logistics, Finance and Demand Planning.
• Strong governance, project management and change leadership skills.

This position would suit someone with experience in the Food or similar FMCG sectors who has held a position as a Head of Procurement, Head of Purchasing, Procurement Director, Purchasing Director, Procurement Manager, Purchasing Manager, Head of Supply Chain, Supply Chain Manager or Supply Chain Director.

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