Procurement Sourcing Strategy and Projects Lead

Purpose

Leading Procurement Sourcing Strategy and Projects, you will be the custodian for creating, managing and governing strategic supplier sourcing and contracting plans, on behalf of the function. Working closely with key functional stakeholders, you will assume accountability for carrying out market and supplier analysis, commodity and supplier segmentation, supplier feasibility studies and supplier assessments, to aid in evolving, governing and deploying the sourcing strategy and relevant contracts.

Aligning supplier sourcing strategy to the needs of the business will be critical, accounting for complexities in differing technical and economical operating environments of OEM Production (ACS UK / Sister company “Fesher”) and Aftermarket (ACS UK). This is against a backdrop of balancing supplier cost, lead-time, quality, reliability and responsiveness performance measures, across a varied range of commodities and in challenging OEM NPI settings, whereby supplier inclusion into design for manufacture (DFMA) is essential.

In support of strategic supplier sourcing activities, the role will set the standards for, and govern, the Strategic Sourcing Board on behalf of the function, as well as maintaining and governing supplier contracting plans, collaborating with Procurement Buyers to support and assist in contract adherence and deployment.

In addition, the role will lead and own the Procurement digital strategy, project managing various continuous improvement initiatives aimed at enhancing cross-functional collaboration and / or enhancing functional capacity, through removing waste and increasing efficiency in key functional processes.

Key Responsibilities

·Utilise tools and methods to analyse, critique and segment the current supplier base into strategic categories (eg. Grow, Maintain, Exit, etc.)

·Collaborate with key stakeholders to assess potential suppliers based on various technical and commercial criteria (eg. pricing, quality, lead-time, etc.) and Total Cost of Acquisition (TCA)

·Analyse purchasing spend, cost data, market research and supplier performance, to identify trends and opportunities for supplier sourcing initiatives

·Create and develop supplier sourcing strategies that are shaped and aligned to the needs and requirements of the business / group, in key operating environments (OEM NPI, OEM Production, Aftermarket)

·Regularly review and adapt the sourcing strategy through capturing and integrating changing market conditions and new business requirements

·Provide oversight on supplier selection through co-ordinating and governing the Strategic Sourcing Board process (for RFI, RFQ and Contract Award), with a focus on sourcing, evaluation (against commercial and technical criteria) and down-selection of suppliers

·Prepare data and reports on contract / sourcing activities to inform management decisionmaking and status updates

·Create and develop robust supplier contracts and support supplier negotiations, with a focus on protecting the business, supporting operational delivery and reducing commercial risk

·Provide guidance on supplier agreements, pricing structures and contractual matters

·Management of a supplier contract database, tracking contract expiry dates and scheduling RFQ

·activities

·Drive supplier integration in the NPI lifecycle, with inclusion in key NPI milestones (eg. DFMA).

·Identify opportunities for efficiencies and measurable cost savings / avoidance in the supply chain

·Create and leverage a Procurement digital strategy through leading and project managing continuous improvement initiatives to enhance collaboration and / or functional capacity

• Adhere to internal and external compliance / governance requirements

Key Performance Measures

·Availability of sourcing strategy and contracting plans

·Contracting adherence % to planned schedule

·Contracting ratio vs spend

·Cost savings through contracting (target vs actual)

·Blanket vs discrete P/O ratio (spend)

·Completion of functional projects to cost, quality and delivery requirements

Knowledge, Education, Skills and Experience

Knowledge:

·Strong working knowledge of supplier sourcing and Procurement principles

·Knowledge of end-to-end Supply Chain concepts (demand and supply planning)

·Knowledge of Supplier Relationship Management (SRM)

·Foundational knowledge of Microsoft Excel, Power BI and Microsoft Project

·Understanding of operating within MRP / ERP systems

·Knowledge of operating within the Engineering / Manufacturing sector is desirable

Education

·Educated to degree level although experience and / or vocational qualifications are also valued

·CIPS qualification / Advanced Practitioner or equivalent is encouraged

·Ability to demonstrate continuous personal development

Skills and competencies required

·Strong negotiating, influencing and communication skills (verbal, written, listening)

·Proficient technology skills (ERP, PowerBI, Microsoft Office)

·Meticulous attention to detail, comfortable with creating, analysing, interpreting and summarising complex information using large volumes of data

·Adept at maintaining business relationships and collaborating confidently with internal and external stakeholders, even in geographically dispersed teams

·Able to proactively identify and evaluate issues, and problem solve with creative and innovative thinking, in complex and ambiguous situations

·Ability to develop and concisely deliver data, reports and presentations to internal and external stakeholders

·The ability to create a shared vision and influence decision making using facts and data

·Strong initiative and project management expertise, with a commitment to organizing, prioritizing and accomplishing work and achieving results / deadlines

·Demonstrates exceptional customer service to both internal and external customers

·Offers new ideas and creative suggestions for continuous improvement

·Self-motivated and actively participates in professional development and training opportunities

·Leader or influencer of change (processes, projects, procedures)

·Highly self-motivated and able to work on own initiative

·High degree of integrity, as data confidentiality is paramount

Professional experience

·Demonstrated experience in Procurement and / or Supply Chain (>7 years)

·Experience of creating supplier contracts and negotiating pricing agreements (>5 years)

·Demonstrated experience of supplier segmentation and development of supplier sourcing strategies, across varied commodities (>5 years)

·Experience operating in an NPI environment, and integration of suppliers into key NPI milestones (eg. DFMA) (>3 years)

·Demonstrated experience in a manufacturing environment – Aerospace or highly regulated industry is preferred

·Demonstrated development and creation of data analytics and performance measures

·Experience in Global Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and risk management

·Demonstrated experience of tracking and managing savings against budgeted spend

·Sound experience of end-to-end supply-chain planning and MRP systems

·Project management experience is desirable