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