Head of Direct Materials Procurement

Head of Direct Materials Procurement

About the Role

This is a senior leadership role responsible for leading several category teams, developing long-term sourcing strategies, strengthening supplier partnerships, managing commercial risks, and supporting business growth through procurement excellence.

The successful candidate will play a key role in building a high-performing regional procurement organization and driving transformation initiatives across the supply chain.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead multiple direct materials procurement teams across diverse sourcing categories.
• Develop and execute category strategies aligned with business objectives.
• Drive strategic sourcing, supplier selection, contract negotiation, and supplier performance management.
• Build long-term partnerships with global and regional suppliers.
• Identify cost optimization opportunities while ensuring supply continuity and quality.
• Lead procurement transformation and process improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with manufacturing, operations, engineering, finance, and business stakeholders.
• Develop procurement governance, policies, and best practices.
• Coach and develop procurement leaders and build organizational capability.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business or related disciplines.
• 15+ years of procurement experience, including leadership responsibilities within large multinational organizations.
• Strong background in direct materials procurement in heavy industrial sectors such as: Chemicals/Energy/Oil & Gas/Mining/Metals/Building Materials/Industrial Manufacturing or other process industries
• Proven experience leading multiple procurement categories and large cross-functional teams.
• Strong commercial acumen and supplier negotiation capability.
• Experience managing regional or global sourcing programs.
• Excellent stakeholder management and leadership skills.
• Fluent in English; Mandarin language capability is highly preferred due to frequent collaboration with regional stakeholders.