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
