Procurement Manager

Are you motivated by the idea of helping to deliver one of the most ambitious scientific projects in the world?

We’re looking for a Procurement Manager who will be a senior representative for Procurement Services in the UK reporting directly into the Head of Procurement and Insurance who is also based in the UK. The Procurement Manager will be responsible for leading and shaping procurement strategy whilst ensuring both local and global procurement activity is compliant with the SKAO’s defined policies and procedures.

At the Square Kilometre Array Observatory (SKAO), we’re building something extraordinary — not just in science and engineering, but in the way we work together. Our procurement team plays a central role in turning vision into reality, ensuring that every contract, partnership, and purchase supports our mission to build and operate the world’s most advanced radio telescopes.

In South Africa, SKAO is collaborating with the South African Radio Astronomy Observatory (SARAO) to support the construction and operations of the SKA-Mid Telescope. In Australia, SKAO is collaborating with CSIRO, the national science agency, to support the construction and operations of the SKA-Low Telescope.

In this role, you will lead procurement planning and delivery, working closely with senior stakeholders, international research organisations, suppliers, and the wider procurement team. You will lead the SKAO Procurement Team in the UK and be responsible for overall team performance and development, with direct line management of a small team.

You will bring a strong combination of commercial acumen, strategic insight, and leadership, ensuring that every contract, partnership, and procurement activity aligns with SKAO’s mission, values and Procurement Policy and Manual. You will oversee the end-to-end procurement of various contracts, both high and low value and complexity, ensuring compliance, transparency, and demonstrable value for money.

The role requires strategic leadership and is expected to drive forward broader procurement initiatives that help to champion SKAO’s values and support the transition from a focus on high-value, complex construction and engineering contracts towards a high-volume transactional procurement environment. SKAO has recently implemented Proactis as its sourcing, supplier relationship management and contract management software, to enable greater efficiency of low-value, high-volume procurement actions and as a senior team member you will be required to optimise procurement’s use of the system.

This will be a hands-on procurement role, requiring you to allocate work effectively amongst the UK team whilst personally overseeing a range of end to end procurement actions from low to high complexity and value. This includes procurement actions across all procurement categories (from IT right through to Construction) and includes supporting international tenders as required for both Australia and South Africa.

This provides an excellent opportunity to lead a broad range of procurements across multiple sectors and regions.

As a senior member of the SKAO procurement function, you will champion continuous improvement, contribute to the development of procurement policies and frameworks, and support the professional growth of team members. You will promote best practice in supplier engagement, tendering, and contract management, supporting SKAO’s commitment to excellence, collaboration, and sustainability.

The role plays a key part in managing SKAO’s external stakeholders, with key contact points being the SKAO Member countries’ Industry Liaison Officers, government departments and major government funded research bodies. SKAO’s procurement practices must take into account the…