The role of Expatriate Head of Procurement requires a highly experienced professional fluent in both Gujarati and Hindi to lead and execute the group procurement strategy across multi-site manufacturing operations in Kenya, specifically mentioning Thika, Ruiru, and Nakuru, with the primary location being Kiambu. This senior leadership position focuses on defining and executing strategy, driving cost efficiency, achieving commercial excellence, managing and developing suppliers, and leading digital transformation within the procurement function. The ideal candidate must have specific experience within the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) manufacturing setup of edible oil and beverage production.
Key Responsibilities
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Ideal Candidate Profile
Education
- Bachelor’s in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business or equivalent.
- MBA / Master’s preferred.
- CIPS / CPSM / equivalent certification highly desirable.
- Fluent in Gujarati/Hindi.
Experience
- 12–15 years of procurement / sourcing experience.
- Minimum 5 years in senior leadership role.
- Proven FMCG or manufacturing footprint.
- The ideal candidate must have experience of procurement in FMCG manufacturing setup of edible oil and beverage manufacturing.
- Multi-site or regional procurement leadership preferred.
- Demonstrated success in cost reduction, supplier management and digital transformation.
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