Procurement Lead - South West EMEA

We are DS Smith, together with International Paper, we are a global leader in sustainable packaging solutions and other fibre-based products. We believe a better, more sustainable tomorrow is possible with the right people, who challenge and support one another to enact positive change. We employ more than 65,000 colleagues in North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), who are experts in innovation, manufacturing, design, sales, sustainability, supply chain, and much more. Together with our customers, we make the world safer and more productive, one sustainable packaging solution at a time. Become part of a world-leading organisation and do your best work with us!

To fulfil our purpose of redefining packaging for a changing world, we aim to build a diverse, motivated, and engaged workforce. Our goal is to create a culture of inclusion where everyone is treated fairly, differences are valued, and everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. 
 
Our people come from diverse backgrounds, bring different perspectives, ideas, and experiences to generate unique solutions focused on present and future sustainability challenges. We welcome all candidates to apply, even those not meeting all criteria.

Procurement Leader Southwest EMEA

Reporting to the Group Procurement Director, the Procurement Leader Southwest EMEA is responsible for partnering with key business stakeholders to leverage, optimise, and implement innovative commercial procurement solutions across the Southwest EMEA region, comprising of Spain, Portugal and with our team in Morocco, and with a supplier spend exceeded £500K-1B. The role holder will also have a matrixed reporting line into the Packaging Managing Director of the sub-region for Southwest EMEA.

This position operates as a member of the Procurement Leadership Team in partnership with other leaders and will be a role model for DS Smith leadership behaviours.

As the most senior Procurement leader in the Southwest of EMEA, the role holder will be accountable for driving the maturity and effectiveness of Procurement across the Southwest, implementing category strategies and spend consolidation efforts, and delivering sub-regional and country specific value and cost savings. This includes leading and/or coaching the team in managing a portfolio of commercial sourcing, negotiation, contracting and supplier management activity.

The Group Procurement Function is accountable for:

• Shaping and aligning the Procurement strategy to support the achievement of business goals including growth, innovation, ESG (inc. Scope 3) and manufacturing excellence
• Partnering with stakeholders to ensuring the function competitively sources quality products and supplier services whilst maintaining and building strong relationships with strategic suppliers in line with group Innovation, ESG and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion goals
• Partnering differently across the value chain to create innovative business offerings that delight our customers and support business growth.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Strategy & Vision: In partnership with the central Category teams for logistics, energy, indirects and manufacturing/capex, leverage, optimise and implement innovative commercial procurement solutions to maximise value across the sub-region. Communicate, deliver and sell best for business strategies that represent best value for the sub-region. Feed South West business requirements into category strategies and support / champion the implementation of solutions. Lead and develop with a focus on improving operating effectiveness, efficiency and ensuring compliance to category strategies and relevant procure to pay policies across South West EMEA.
• Markets & Risk: Manage supplier procurement risk with business for key sites and countries within South West EMEA. Monitor, maintain and ensure compliance to legal requirements as per group policies e.g., anti bribery and corruption, modern slavery act etc. For all spend within scope, understanding and responding to market intelligence and economic fundamentals and engaging with the category teams to provide insight to key stakeholders at regional business forums and governance meetings.
• Sourcing, Negotiation and Contracting: Aligned to the segmentation model and Procurement’s strategy and priorities, ensure clear ownership of sourcing, tendering, negotiations and contracting. Ensuring appropriate supplier contracting strategies are in place across the South West EMEA area, to mitigate legal and regulatory exposure. Ensure alignment with stakeholders on how local contracts will be managed operationally and commercially. Ensure team have strategies across the region to embed relevant supplier KPIs into contracts in support of business requirements.
• Portfolio Initiative Management: Oversee the delivery of a portfolio of priority procurement initiatives by the team, in line with the agreed category strategies. These initiatives could apply a variety of strategies and levers including; tendering, e-auctions and cost negotiations, price benchmarking, supplier consolidation and rationalisation, make vs buy or lease, demand and policy levers, price negotiations to support changes and growth etc.
• Procure to Pay Collaboration: Ensure team is working with Shared Services and business stakeholders to communicate preferred supplier arrangements in a way the business can be guided to buy compliantly e.g., through procurement and purchase to pay systems. For the regional spend, partner with the Procurement Excellence team, Shared Services, IT, and category teams on strategies to improve the content and catalogue strategies for buying from current systems.
• Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) and Supplier Performance Management (SPM): Drive South West EMEA SRM/SPM activities with key suppliers to drive innovation, quality and supply improvements. Ensure supplier reviews are conducted at appropriate frequencies, as agreed with stakeholders, and in line with the category strategies.
• Stakeholder Engagement / Business Partnering: Ensure clear alignment with procurement and sites on ability for sites and business representatives to manage buying and purchasing decisions in a streamlined and effective way.
• Health & Safety: Accountable for Health & Safety within team, operating in line with company procedures to enable a safe working environment. Ensure H&S clauses are in supplier contracts and to manage supplier noncompliance issues or breaches, in line with Safety First company goals.

Office location: Madrid

Travel: 30% travel in the role.

About You

• Degree level or equivalent by experience. Bachelor's degree.
• Extensive procurement experience across a range of key spend categories – Manufacturing, Indirects, Logistics Commodities and Materials.
• Deep knowledge and experience in procurement. Proven experience at the same or similar level to this position in Iberia and or Morocco.
• Experience in developing and successfully implementing 1–3-year regional procurement strategies.
• Extensive experience in implementing and managing a range of complex procurement sourcing and contracting negotiations in a multinational business.
• Demonstrable track record in influencing in a matrix environment in a multinational organisation.
• Strong analytical and conceptual skills.
• Leadership skills with proven track record to convince others through written and spoken communications. Able to deal with resistance.
• Exceptional knowledge of Best-in-Class Procurement practices and ways of working.
• An individual with the broad business acumen and an ability to interact with general management at a senior level is critical.
• A management style/approach that puts diversity and inclusion at the heart of all interactions.
• Master negotiator, capable of delivering great outcomes when leading high value and complex deals.

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