STRATEGIC CATEGORY BUYER/MANAGER – PRECISION ENGINEERING & PROCESS TECHNOLOGY

“Exciting Transformational Change role for ambitious precision engineering and process technology procurement specialist with experience of large £multi million capital investment projects.”

£Very Competitive (Dependent Upon Experience) + Blue Chip Benefits Package

Location: North West

Commutable from Chester, Ellesmere Port, Mold, Wrexham, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Warrington, Runcorn, Widnes, Liverpool, Crewe, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Greater Manchester, Wigan, Newton le Willows, Leigh, Heywood, Skelmersdale.

Our client is a global player within the specialist energy, electricity and power generation sector. 

As part of a strategic transformation of the procurement function moving to a shared service and category management model across its global operating units, our client seeks to strengthen its team with the appointment of an ambitious, innovative and creative Strategic Senior Category Buyer/Manager – Precision Engineering and Process Technology. 

You will be a university degree educated strategic category and procurement management professional with experience of precision engineering equipment including tooling, valves, vacuum pumps and automated process technology.

We are looking for a highly motivated change orientated individual who can contribute to the development of our client’s procurement capability.

You will be skilled at working collaboratively across different cultures and will be able to bring significant change in a regulated environment. Meeting these sometimes-competing objectives while driving a value delivery agenda provides a stimulating and challenging environment which will test you every day.

The Role:

• Delivery of new strategic procurement options for the precision engineering and process technology category.
• Category development and delivery, setting out the value drivers for the category and the roadmap of actions for delivery.
• Commercial interface with all other process facilities within the process technology division ensuring technical and regulatory compliance;
• Detailed risk analysis of the supply chain and asset base to establish a demand pipeline and to drive value delivery.
• Shaping and management of supplier relationships to ensure value is delivered including value definition, value creation including opportunity development and supply chain execution process; value capture including governance and compliance management and value protection to mitigate risk.
• Management and development of robust business partner relationships will be critical to success in the role. You will be expected to leverage experience of procurement strategy and delivery in your field of expertise to build these relationships. The strength of your relationship will enable you to confidently challenge business partners to think and act differently, to be creative and open to new ideas and to explore new supply chain possibilities.
• Acceptance of responsibility for delivering the value set out in your sub-category strategy.
• Experience of influencing and shaping contracts, supplier relationships and contract management will ensure you deliver the expected business benefits from the spend you are managing.
• Contribution to the development of the Procurement function’s capability bringing experience of best practice from other industries and employers.

The Ideal Person will possess the following qualifications, experience, skills and competencies:

• A university degree and ideally CIPS (or equivalent) qualification
• Experience of working across global operations or multi-site environments and a keen sense of cultural awareness.
• Experience ideally gained within energy, power generation, oil and gas or defence related sectors including NEC3 or EPC construction contracts would be highly advantageous.
• Understanding of the nuances of Precision Engineering and Automated Process Technology contracts and knowledge and skill in the development of category specific contracts which secure value for our client and mitigate risk as much as possible.
• A proven track record in value delivery, improvement activity and best practice development in Precision Engineering and Process Technology procurement.
• Understanding Precision Engineering and Process Technology markets, suppliers and technologies and how to leverage them for value for our client
• Building Precision Engineering and Process Technology sub-category and category strategies to describe how value will delivered in the short, medium and long term
• Negotiating with Precision Engineering and Process Technology suppliers to drive the right commercial and contractual outcomes
• Building relationships internally and externally to enable you to be successful in your role and to contribute to the development of our client as a world-class procurement organisation
• A thirst for knowledge, an inquisitive mind-set and drive for results.
• A knowledge of Procurement systems and technologies and the ability to put operational measures in place to ensure contracts deliver brilliantly.

In return our client offers a very competitive salary and blue-chip benefits package and the opportunity to develop your career within a market leader.

SENIOR OPERATIONS DIRECTOR – RETAIL LOGISTICS OPERATIONS

“3PL Grocery Retail Logistics operations.  A fantastic opportunity for experienced grocery logistics professional with excellent multi-site, grocery retail DC operations management expertise to take the lead on high profile retail account”

£Competitive + Car Allowance + Bonus + Benefits

Actual Job Location: Thailand    

Our client is one of the world’s most successful third party logistics service providers with an impressive portfolio of blue chip multinational accounts across a range of industry sectors. 

This role is a high profile one, taking the lead in the further development and optimisation of multi –site logistics operations for one of Thailand’s largest grocery retailers.

As an experienced Grocery Logistics Distribution Centre Operations/General Manager, ideally with both 3PL and in-house experience, you will work closely with the client and will take the strategic and operational lead for multiple, automated and semi-automated DC’s in the Bangkok area. You will be responsible for strategic growth, operational development and performance covering both warehousing and transport logistics operations.   You will also to continue to engage and develop an excellent key account focused, client relationship at VP level.  The focus will be on the further development and growth of the business, against a stringent SLA and challenging KPI’s.  You will lead, coach and develop your team of DC General Managers to create a best in class and high performing country operation.

To succeed in this role, you will be university degree educated, and will perhaps have benefitted from an in-depth management development programme either with a large 3PL or a food/grocery retailer.  This will have encompassed a series of operational leadership roles covering both warehousing and transport (including acquisition of a CPC) interspersed with project work culminating in your current or most recent senior operational role, running either one or several large scale multi temperature FMCG retail NDCs or RDCs employing at least 900-1000 + staff, as a DC GM/Regional Manager or Director.  

Your 3PL experience will have included extensive contract account management and client stakeholder engagement.  Either in house or within a 3PL you will have built upon your project management and continuous improvement skills to reduce costs and increase efficiencies. You may already have been involved in new site openings, through to large scale physical and systems redesigns.  This will all have been achieved whilst ensuring that operations remain fully functional delivering high levels of accuracy and on time delivery within a retail DC.

You will be strategic and commercially minded, with experience of shaping strategic plans and implementing cost saving initiatives in complex, large retail FMCG operations. You will be experienced in coaching and leading teams through numerous periods of change and growth, producing high performing teams. You will be ambitious, with a track record of successful performance improvement and results delivery, as you build your expertise in this exciting role, to eventually take on a senior executive leadership role at VP level in a developing international market. 

The ideal applicant will be university degree educated perhaps in logistics or business or engineering. You will be a high energy, resilient person, with a warm personality and a real passion for developing people and driving a logistics business to succeed.  Your talent and development reviews to date will already have earmarked you as a high potential talent.   

From an operational perspective you must be adept at running a retail warehousing pick pack and despatch operation as well as a multi drop primary and secondary transport function.  In terms of budgetary responsibility my client’s business is big - in the range of £60 million plus revenue so your financial management and planning skills will be excellent. Your attention to detail, self-control and drive will be of the highest levels.  You will be comfortable persuading, influencing and presenting at both shop floor and director level internally and externally to the client.  

Previous experience of working abroad or extended periods of travel to the Far East or other developing markets will be highly advantageous, but not a prerequisite, however you will need to be able to quickly adapt to a different cultural style and your personal people management and leadership approach will be one that respects loyalty and engenders trust whilst remaining highly results driven and focused on success.  In return our client offers a competitive salary (low tax) and benefits such as car, bonus, pension, healthcare and fantastic career development.   Relocation assistance will be provided including short term rental support and school fees.

EUROPEAN P2P/PROCURE TO PAY PROCUREMENT OPERATIONS MANAGER

“Excellent opportunity for graduate calibre SAP eProcurement specialist to develop a high performing team to drive P2P process improvement and best practice.”

£50-55000 + Blue Chip Benefits Package 

Location: North West (with UK and Mainland European travel)

Commutable from Ellesmere Port, Mold, Wrexham, Birkenhead, Wallasey, Chester, Warrington, Runcorn, Widnes, Liverpool, Crewe, Knutsford, Macclesfield, Greater Manchester, Wigan, Newton le Willows, Leigh, Heywood, Skelmersdale.

The Client
Our client is a global multinational undergoing a period of transformation and change.
As part of a strategic transformation of the procurement function moving to a shared service and category management model across its global operating units, our client seeks to strengthen its team with the appointment of an ambitious, university degree educated SAP P2P/Procure to Pay Procurement Operations Manager.   

Specifically, our client would like to significantly enhance its procurement capabilities and visibility, control and management of procurement spend through greater utilisation of its SAP and SAP P2P procurement technology.  The focus will be on delivering efficiencies, centralised billing, market analysis, price checking, spend analytics and reporting, transparency and control, strategic cost management ultimately delivering maximised value and improved financial performance for the organisation.  

As European SAP P2P/Procure to Pay Procurement Operations Manager you will be responsible for People Management, Process Ownership and Stakeholder Engagement. Accordingly, you will be expected to travel to work with your team and stakeholders located at two sites in the UK and two sites in mainland Europe.

The Role:
As SAP P2P/Procurement Operations Manager your role will be to:

• Lead a team of P2P Procurement Coordinators located in the UK and mainland Europe.
• Shape and sustain an effective and motivated team that delivers desired results (KPIs, internal customer satisfaction) by providing direction, coaching and developing team members, leveraging individual abilities and ensuring best practices are utilized.
• Coach your team to influence internal stakeholders to ensure that contracted suppliers are utilised wherever possible to ensure global efficiency.

As a Process Owner:

• Lead the initiation and delivery of transactional procurement activities within an international remit and constraints. 
• You and your team will provide SAP P2P Procurement initiation across all categories of spend.
• Create and maintain SAP P2P Procurement procedures to ensure process excellence and standardisation. 
• You will drive consistency and best practice across all European P2P locations.
• Through your team act provide first level support to internal operations in relation to supplier performance, working closely with Senior Buyers and Category Management to drive improvements.
• Manage and present performance indicators in internal operational reviews, analyse data & trends, implement continuous improvement.

As a Business Partner, working with key stakeholders and suppliers you will:

• Build and maintain a fluent relationship with key stakeholders such as Procurement and Category Management, IT, Plant managers, Governance and Control, to make sure that you understand their needs and work together to identify operating issues/non-efficiencies.
• Proactively assist with the ongoing roll out and management of Card Payments and other automation projects to reduce the number of SAP P2P transactions whilst also improving SAP P2P approval flows.
• Proactively contribute to the ongoing development of SAP P2P Procurement functional capabilities, ensuring sustainable value delivery and continual improvement of procurement effectiveness and efficiency.
• Interact with Senior Executives/Leadership teams to share performance updates, identified risks, issues or concerns, and helping drive best practices.

To be successful in this role you will need to possess:

• A university degree from a UK or European University.  A Masters level would be highly advantageous.
• Plus CIPS qualification (minimum level 4) or equivalent.
• Previous experienced team leadership experience gained within a SAP P2P/Procure to Pay or Procurement or Finance Shared Services environment.
• A track record of mentoring, coaching, motivation and development of a SAP P2P procurement/finance shared services team.
• Experience of working across global operations or multi-site environments and a keen sense of cultural awareness.
• Excellent knowledge of SAP P2P gained from a procurement perspective.
• Extensive knowledge of procurement in a Buyer or Category or Purchasing role.
• A proven track record in value delivery, improvement activity and best practice development in SAP P2P Procurement processes.
• Outstanding capabilities in building relationships internally and externally to enable you to be successful in your role and to contribute to the development of our client as a world-class procurement organisation
• A thirst for knowledge, an inquisitive mind-set and drive for results. 
• Resilience, energy and willingness to travel nationally and into Europe in order to engage with your team and key stakeholders in your quest to drive and deliver SAP P2P Procurement Process Excellence.
• Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills.