Head of Global Procurement & Sourcing – Expatriate

Job Title: Head of Global Procurement & Sourcing – Expatriate Location: Thika, Kenya Reporting to: Director Function: Strategic Procurement, Sourcing and Supplier Management Sites Covered: Thika, Ruiru, Nakuru, and Regional Operations Our client is seeking an expatriate candidate for the position of Procurement Head, with strong global exposure. The ideal candidate should have international procurement experience, including sourcing from multiple countries, and a proven track record of having lived, worked, or travelled extensively across different markets. Job Purpose The Head of Procurement will lead the Group’s end-to-end sourcing and procurement strategy across all manufacturing sites and categories. This role is responsible for procurement of raw materials, packaging, indirect materials, services, and capital goods (both local and imports), delivering supply assurance, cost leadership, governance, and supplier performance in line with the company’s growth and profitability goals. The role calls for a strategic leader and commercial negotiator who builds strong supplier partnerships, drives analytics-led sourcing, and establishes world-class procurement governance. Key Responsibilities 1. Strategic Procurement Leadership • Define and execute group procurement strategy aligned to business priorities. • Create category strategies covering raw materials, packaging, indirects, services and Capex. • Drive cross-site sourcing efficiencies and standardization across Thika, Ruiru and Nakuru. • Lead supplier footprint optimization (localization, consolidation, diversification). • Own sourcing governance from strategy through contracting and execution. 2. Cost & Commercial Excellence • Deliver measurable cost savings and value-creation through negotiations, contracts and sourcing initiatives. • Implement Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and category management frameworks. • Lead spend analytics, cost modelling and price benchmarking. • Partner with Finance to convert savings into P&L impact and monitor budget control. 3. Supplier Management & Development • Build high-performing supplier ecosystem across local and global vendors. • Run structured supplier evaluations, scorecards and quarterly performance reviews. • Drive supplier innovation, quality improvement and sustainability programs. • Enforce ethical sourcing and compliance with Group Code of Conduct. 4. Governance, Systems & Process Excellence • Own procurement policies, SOPs, control frameworks and delegation of authority. • Oversee contract management, compliance adherence and audit readiness. • Lead digital procurement transformation (SAP S/4HANA, Power BI, process automation). • Improve data discipline, vendor master integrity and reporting. 5. Cross-Functional Partnership • Serve as procurement business partner to Manufacturing, Engineering, Finance, R&D, Quality and Logistics teams. • Support transformation initiatives including Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB) and working-capital optimization. • Act as escalation owner for site-level supply and supplier issues. 6. Leadership & Capability Building • Build and lead a high-performance procurement organization across sites. • Develop capabilities in negotiations, analytics, category management and supplier engagement. • Establish performance management cadence and succession pipeline for critical roles. • Foster culture of accountability, ethics and continuous improvement. Requirements Ideal Candidate Profile Education • Bachelor’s in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business or equivalent. • MBA / Master’s preferred. • CIPS / CPSM / equivalent certification highly desirable. Experience • 12–15 years of procurement / sourcing experience. • Minimum 5 years in senior leadership role. • Proven experience in the FMCG or manufacturing sector, specifically within the edible oils and/or beverage industry. • Multi-site or regional procurement leadership preferred. • Demonstrated success in cost reduction, supplier management and digital transformation. Competencies • Strategic leadership and execution excellence • Commercial negotiation mastery • Financial acumen and cost modeling • Stakeholder influence • Governance discipline and integrity • High resilience and decisiveness • Data-driven mindset