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