Director Strategic Procurement & Category Management

Director – Strategic Procurement & Category Management

Al Khobar, Saudi Arabia

Confidential Gov't Client

Overview

This is a senior leadership role responsible for shaping and executing the procurement and category management strategy across a high value complex, multi-site operation.

The position sits at the centre of commercial performance — ensuring that all third-party spend delivers maximum value, supply continuity, and operational reliability. The mandate is clear: move beyond transactional purchasing and build a disciplined, category-led procurement function that drives margin, resilience, and long-term supplier advantage.

The Mandate

You will lead the transformation of procurement into a strategic, data-driven function , responsible for:

• Defining category strategies across direct and indirect spend
• Driving cost optimisation and total cost of ownership improvements
• Building high-performing, scalable supplier partnerships
• Embedding governance, compliance, and commercial discipline
• Aligning procurement decisions with growth, margin, and operational priorities

Core Responsibilities

Procurement & Category Strategy

• Define and execute a group-wide procurement strategy aligned to business objectives
• Establish a robust category management framework including spend segmentation, sourcing pipelines, and governance
• Develop multi-year category plans focused on savings, performance, and risk mitigation
• Drive demand management, standardisation, and specification optimisation

Strategic Sourcing & Commercial Delivery

• Lead complex sourcing initiatives, negotiations, and contract awards
• Implement best-in-class sourcing methodologies (RFx, benchmarking, should-cost modelling)
• Ensure commercial terms protect value, service levels, and supply continuity
• Approve sourcing strategies and key supplier selections

Supplier Strategy & Performance

• Define supplier segmentation across strategic, preferred, and transactional tiers
• Establish structured supplier relationship management for critical partners
• Drive performance through clear KPIs across cost, quality, service, and delivery
• Lead supplier optimisation and capability development programmes

Transformation & Analytics

• Transition the function from reactive purchasing to proactive category leadership
• Improve systems, reporting, and data visibility to enable better decision-making
• Implement dashboards tracking savings, compliance, supplier performance, and risk
• Leverage market intelligence to inform sourcing strategies and pricing decisions

Business Partnering

• Act as a strategic partner to commercial, operations, and finance teams
• Challenge demand, influence specifications, and align procurement to business needs
• Embed procurement early into budgeting, planning, and major initiatives
• Drive adherence to sourcing strategies and approved supplier frameworks

Risk & Governance

• Strengthen procurement policies, controls, and approval frameworks
• Ensure robust sourcing, contracting, and supplier onboarding processes
• Identify and mitigate supply, commercial, and operational risks
• Maintain strong audit, compliance, and ethical sourcing standards

Leadership & Capability

• Build and lead a high-performing procurement and category management team
• Develop capability across sourcing, negotiation, analytics, and stakeholder management
• Drive a culture of accountability, performance, and continuous improvement
• Set clear expectations and deliver measurable business impact

Candidate Profile

• 15+ years’ experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or supply chain
• Proven track record leading category management in complex, multi-entity environments
• Strong commercial acumen with demonstrated delivery of cost savings and value creation
• Deep experience in supplier strategy, contract negotiation, and stakeholder engagement
• Background within trading, distribution, FMCG, industrial, retail, or similar sectors
• Degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering or related field; MBA or professional certification advantageous

Why This Role

This is a high-impact, transformation-led position with direct influence over cost base, supplier strategy, and operational performance.

You will play a central role in building a procurement function that is:

• Commercially rigorous
• Operationally embedded
• Strategically aligned