Head of Procurement – North America

Overview

We are seeking a visionary and strategic procurement leader to head our North America operations. This role is critical in shaping the future of procurement across the region, driving transformation, and building a high-performing team. The successful candidate will bring deep category management expertise, strong leadership capabilities, and a passion for innovation—including the application of AI and digital tools. This position is designed as a succession pathway to the Global VP role within 5–6 years.

• Lead, inspire, and develop a small but high-impact procurement team across North America.
• Build a culture of empowerment, accountability, and continuous learning.
• Identify and nurture future leaders through structured development plans and coaching.
• Promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in team building and decision-making.

• Own and optimize key spend categories at Global or Regional level.
• Monitor geopolitical, environmental, and regulatory risks affecting supply continuity and develop mitigation plans.
• Develop and execute sourcing strategies aligned with global objectives.
• Drive supplier innovation, performance, and sustainable cost savings.
• Develop supplier segmentation strategies to tailor relationship management based on strategic importance and risk profile.
• Integrate sustainability criteria into supplier selection and evaluation processes.
• Champion circular procurement practices and low-carbon sourcing initiatives.
• Collaborate with sustainability teams to align procurement with corporate ESG goals.

• Co-lead the global procurement transformation agenda, with a focus on agility, scalability, and value creation.
• Champion the adoption of digital procurement tools, automation, and AI-driven insights.
• Reimagine procurement processes to enhance speed, transparency, and stakeholder experience.
• Collaborate with IT and data teams to embed analytics and predictive capabilities into procurement operations.
• While leading the transformation, continue to drive savings delivery and manage tactical spend effectively to ensure ongoing value realization.

• Represent North America in global procurement forums and initiatives.
• Partner with cross-functional teams (Finance, Operations, Legal, Sustainability, etc.) to align procurement strategies with business goals.
• Ensure compliance with global policies while adapting to regional market dynamics.

• Demonstrate executive presence and strategic foresight.
• Engage in long-term planning and capability building to prepare for future leadership succession.
• Act as a trusted advisor to the Global VP and contribute to shaping the global procurement vision.

• Leverage AI-powered spend analytics and predictive tools to identify cost-saving opportunities and mitigate supply chain risks.
• Implement and manage e-procurement platforms to streamline purchasing workflows and improve compliance.
• Use data visualization and dashboards to communicate procurement performance to executive leadership.

• Act as a strategic advisor to senior leadership on procurement-related matters.
• Build coalitions across business units to align sourcing strategies with enterprise-wide goals.
• Influence internal stakeholders to adopt procurement best practices and drive change.

• Foster a culture of innovation within the procurement team by encouraging experimentation with new sourcing models and technologies.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives using Lean, Six Sigma, or Agile methodologies.
• Benchmark procurement performance against industry standards and implement corrective actions.

• Ensure regional procurement strategies are harmonized with global category strategies.
• Participate in global sourcing councils and contribute to enterprise-wide procurement transformation.
• Support global supplier onboarding and compliance with international trade regulations.

Other accountabilities as assigned.

• 10 years of progressive…