Chief Procurement Officer

The Chief Procurement Officer (CPO), reporting to the Chief Financial Officer, is an enterprise leadership role responsible for transforming Procurement into a strategic enterprise capability that delivers sustainable value, competitive advantage, organisational agility and enterprise resilience.

As executive owner of Centrient’s global procurement transformation agenda and future procurement operating model, the CPO is accountable for procurement performance and governance across all regions, businesses and spend categories, ensuring Procurement contributes directly to business performance, growth, operational excellence and long-term strategic success.

The CPO leads Centrient’s global procurement function, encompassing procurement strategy, strategic sourcing, category management, supplier relationship management, governance, digital enablement and enterprise transformation.

The role partners with Operations, Supply Chain, Quality, Commercial, Finance, IT and R&D to align procurement priorities with enterprise needs and deliver shared business outcomes.

Operating at executive level, the CPO is a trusted adviser to the CFO and senior leadership on third-party spend, supplier strategy, investment priorities, risk exposure and value creation.

The role provides constructive challenge, influences strategic decisions beyond Procurement, sets enterprise procurement standards and ensures that material sourcing and supplier choices support Centrient’s strategy, financial objectives and long-term resilience.

Key Responsibilities

• Procurement Strategy
• Set and execute a multi-year global procurement strategy and operating model aligned with Centrient’s enterprise priorities, financial objectives, operational requirements, growth ambitions and transformation agenda.
• Define enterprise procurement objectives, value targets, risk tolerances and performance measures; establish clear enterprise decision rights for category strategy, sourcing governance, supplier selection and procurement standards; and provide transparent reporting on delivery, emerging risks and corrective actions to the CFO and senior leadership.
• Ensure procurement activities support long-term business growth, competitiveness, organisational agility, operational resilience and strategic transformation objectives.
• Own the enterprise procurement value agenda, delivering realised savings, cash, working capital and broader business value, with Finance providing the single source of truth and validating outcomes, while protecting quality, service and supply continuity.
• Enterprise Transformation and Change Leadership
• Lead the design, implementation and sustained adoption of Centrient's future procurement operating model, creating a globally aligned capability that delivers consistency, transparency, agility and value.
• Act as an enterprise transformation leader and change agent, driving organisational, behavioural, process and technology change across Procurement and its interfaces with the business.
• Challenge established ways of working and embed leading procurement practices, clear accountabilities and standard processes that improve organisational effectiveness and business performance.
• Build the capabilities, leadership commitment and change discipline required to sustain new ways of working and realise measurable transformation outcomes.
• Partner with executive leadership to align procurement transformation with broader corporate transformation objectives and establish a culture of innovation, continuous improvement and accountability.
• Strategic Sourcing and Category Management
• Lead category management across direct and indirect spend categories, setting clear strategies, accountabilities and value objectives.
• Develop and execute category and supplier strategies that optimise total cost of ownership, quality, service and risk while providing flexibility to respond rapidly to changing markets, customer requirements and business priorities.
• Lead significant sourcing programmes and complex commercial negotiations, using market intelligence and cross-functional insight to deliver sustainable enterprise value.
• Ensure supplier portfolios support business continuity, innovation, growth and strategic optionality.
• Supplier and Contract Management
• Build a portfolio of strategic supplier partnerships that provides access to innovation, capacity, market intelligence and capability, and creates mutual value beyond the terms of individual transactions.
• Establish supplier performance management frameworks and governance.
• Monitor supplier performance through agreed KPIs and improvement plans.
• Lead executive-level supplier reviews and strategic partnerships.
• Ensure commercial agreements appropriately balance value creation, risk and compliance.
• Risk Management and Supply Continuity
• Build enterprise resilience by identifying and mitigating procurement and supply risks, reducing critical supply dependencies and increasing sourcing flexibility and strategic optionality.
• Lead cross-functional alignment with Operations, Quality and Supply Chain on supplier strategy, risk reduction, resilience, supplier qualification and the qualification of new raw materials, ensuring decisions are made in the best interests of One Centrient.
• Establish contingency, scenario and business continuity plans for critical suppliers and materials, with clear accountabilities and tested response actions.
• Proactively monitor and prepare for geopolitical, regulatory, economic, market and operational disruption that may affect supply, cost or business continuity.
• Provide procurement and supplier‑market insight to enterprise risk management and enable rapid responses to changing market conditions, customer requirements and business priorities.
• Procurement Governance and Compliance
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, delegated authority requirements and applicable regulations.
• Promote ethical sourcing and responsible procurement practices.
• Maintain robust procurement controls and audit readiness.
• Support sustainability, ESG and responsible sourcing programmes.
• Stakeholder Management
• Serve as a trusted executive adviser to the CFO and senior leadership, bringing external market insight, constructive commercial challenge and fact-based recommendations to enterprise planning, investment and operating decisions.
• Influence strategic decisions beyond Procurement, including sourcing strategy, supplier selection, commercial arrangements and the enterprise implications of third‑party spend and risk.
• Align procurement priorities with operational, commercial, financial and transformation objectives across functions and regions.
• Shape and influence major capital investments, strategic business initiatives and enterprise transformation programmes, ensuring procurement expertise contributes to executive decision‑making and value creation.
• Leadership and People Development
• Build, lead and develop a high‑performing procurement leadership team capable of sustaining transformation and delivering enterprise outcomes.
• Strengthen organisational capability through clear roles, robust talent and succession plans, targeted capability building and development of future enterprise leaders.
• Create a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, continuous improvement and constructive challenge.
• Foster diversity, inclusion, ethical leadership and responsible decision‑making throughout the procurement organisation.
• Digital Enablement, Analytics and Continuous Improvement
• Embed continuous improvement within the procurement operating model, using performance data, process ownership, external benchmarks and cross‑functional feedback to identify, prioritise and sustain measurable improvements.
• Improve Source‑to‑Contract and Procure‑to‑Pay processes with Finance, IT and business stakeholders, simplifying workflows, strengthening controls, improving user experience and reducing cycle time and cost.
• Define and deliver a digital, data and responsible artificial intelligence roadmap that enables the target procurement operating model and enterprise transformation, improving spend visibility, forecasting, sourcing, contract management, supplier risk monitoring and transactional efficiency.
• Establish governance for procurement data, analytics, automation and artificial intelligence so that solutions are secure, compliant, explainable, supported by appropriate human oversight and adopted through effective change management and capability building.

Requirements

Experience

Essential

• Extensive progressive experience in procurement, sourcing or supply chain, including substantial accountability for enterprise procurement strategy, global spend, business performance and executive stakeholder engagement.
• Substantial experience leading a global or multi‑country procurement function at executive or enterprise leadership level, with accountability for strategy, governance, value delivery, risk and organisational capability.
• Demonstrated success leading significant procurement or operating‑model transformation, including organisational redesign, process transformation, digital enablement, capability building and sustainable adoption, with measurable organisational, financial and operational outcomes.
• Experience operating as a trusted adviser to executive leadership, providing constructive challenge and influencing enterprise decisions beyond the Procurement function.
• Experience in multinational and multi‑country business environments and in securing alignment across functions, regions and competing priorities.
• Experience leading strategic sourcing and category management programmes and negotiating complex commercial agreements.
• Experience managing strategic supplier performance, critical supply risk and business continuity.
• Experience building and developing high‑performing procurement teams, leadership capability and succession.
• Preferred
• Experience applying executive procurement leadership in complex matrix organisations with diverse regional, functional and business priorities.
• Experience in pharmaceutical, chemical, biotechnology, life sciences or regulated manufacturing environments.
• Experience implementing procurement systems, digital procurement solutions, advanced analytics, automation and responsible artificial intelligence.

Education and Professional Qualifications

Essential

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Procurement, Supply Chain Management, Operations, Finance, Engineering or a related discipline, or equivalent experience.
• Professional proficiency in English sufficient to lead negotiations, executive discussions and written business communications.
• Preferred
• MBA or equivalent postgraduate qualification.
• Master's degree in Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, Business or related discipline.
• MCIPS, FCIPS, CPSM, ISM certification or equivalent procurement qualification.
• Additional training or certification in Category Management, Strategic Sourcing, Contract Management, Supply Chain Risk Management or Sustainability / ESG.

Benefits

• What we offer: meaningful work, development and a locally competitive package
• We offer a competitive senior‑level remuneration package, including base salary, pension provisions and a comprehensive benefits package.

The final package will reflect the employing country, the scope of the role and the applicable company plans, and will be discussed transparently during the recruitment process.

• We support a flexible and remote‑working‑friendly environment built on trust, accountability and outcomes.

For this role, we will agree a working pattern that enables effective global leadership and collaboration while providing meaningful flexibility to balance professional and personal commitments.

Some travel and in‑person engagement will remain important given the international scope of the position.

• Beyond the financial package, the role offers the opportunity to make a visible enterprise‑wide impact, work closely with senior leaders across an international organisation and build a function with lasting value.

We support continued professional growth through challenging responsibilities, broad exposure and opportunities to develop as both a functional and business leader.

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