Head of Procurement

Procurement Strategy and Delivery Planning

• Support Director of Operations in translating corporate and delivery requirements into sourcing strategies aligned with development timelines, operational requirements, approved budgets, and stakeholder expectations
• Partner closely with Account Leads and other operational departments to understand requirements and ensure procurement activities support overall project delivery objectives
• Lead planning of procurement activities required to establish Account projects, covering design, construction, fit out, technology, operations, staffing support services, curriculum providers, and specialist educational requirements
• Contribute to development of scalable procurement approaches that can support multiple across different stages of design, build, launch, and operations
• Act as primary procurement liaison between Account and Central Procurement, ensuring procurement activities align with enterprise policies, governance requirements, delegated authorities, and approved processes

Procurement Execution and Supplier Management

• Lead end-to-end procurement processes, incl. market engagement, procurement documentation, sourcing, due diligence, tendering, evaluation, negotiation, contract award, and supplier onboarding
• Monitor supplier performance and contract compliance, identifying risks, issues, and opportunities for improvement and escalating significant matters through appropriate governance channels
• Proactively manage contract management and administration, ensuring contractual obligations, deliverables, payments, and renewals/terminations are effectively managed and communicated throughout contract lifecycle
• Manage strategic supplier relationships, promoting high standards of quality, service delivery, responsiveness, and value for money
• Coordinate procurement dependencies across multiple work streams to help maintain delivery schedules and operational readiness milestones

Technology-Enabled Procurement Enhancement

• Support continuous improvement initiatives that strengthen procurement capability, processes, and stakeholder experience across portfolio
• Contribute to development of procurement policies and procedures, reporting, dashboards, and management information to support leadership oversight and decision-making
• Leverage market intelligence, supplier insights, and spend analysis to identify opportunities for operational improvement and enhanced value engineering
• Promote use of digital procurement platforms, data analytics, and AI-enabled tools to improve procurement effectiveness and decision-making

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree (B.A.) or equivalent in Business Administration or a relevant discipline

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive work experience in procurement, of which a minimum 4 years were spent in a Senior Manager role or higher
• Minimum of 5 years of experience working in procurement in the UAE
• Demonstrated experience supporting operational readiness and launch of complex entities (e.g., schools, healthcare, large facilities, or multi-site operations)
• Experience managing multi-stakeholder environments, incl. external and internal
• CIPS certified or working towards certification

Preferred

• Experience working in or with government entities and public sector organizations preferred
• Experience working in high-quality K-12 school environments preferred