HEAD OF PROCUREMENT

Location

Newton-le-Willows
Discipline:

Operations - Procurement
Job type:

Permanent
Job ref:

004182
Published:

about 24 hours ago
We’re Nichols plc - the home of Vimto, and there is no other business quite like ours!
We have been making life taste better since 1908. As well as our refreshingly different Vimto taste, our varied brand portfolio spans the still, carbonated, post-mix and frozen drinks categories – so you will find us in your local supermarket, pub and leisure outlet. We also work with the UK’s leading food manufacturers to provide a truly unique range of products everyone loves.
At the heart of everything is our rich family heritage, an unrelenting ambition to keep innovating, and a true pride in who we are.
We’re well known for our famous purple drink it’s true, but it is our team of talented people that truly make us. We are actively always looking for difference and we are working hard to make sure all our practices are inclusive.

ABOUT THE OPPORTUNITY:

We are looking for a North-West based Head of Procurement to join our Head Office team in Laurel House, Newton-le-Willows. This is a hybrid role working 3 days in the office with some UK and International travel.

The role will provide leadership of the Nichols PLC Procurement Function and Procurement Team. It will control the influenceable procurement spend of circa £130m p.a. across direct and indirect categories. Key areas of focus:

• Reducing total cost of ownership - reducing the total Nichols cost base whilst simultaneously achieving appropriate levels of service and quality
• Supporting growth and innovation - ensuring supply base is innovative and has sufficient capacity and capability to support Nichols long term growth ambitions
• Managing Headwinds - protecting the Nichols business from risks, including reputational, surety of supply, ethical and environmental

Delivery will be through providing winning leadership to the Procurement Team and ensuring the procurement fundamentals of category management, supplier relationship management and cost base management are embedded within the function.
Nichols is an asset light business and therefore the building and developing of strategic partnerships across our supply base is critical to the delivery of our growth strategy. The Head of Procurement will play a significant role in developing the strategic partnerships across the business.

YOU WILL HAVE EXPERIENCE IN:

• Leading Procurement Teams within an FMCG environment
• Negotiating competitive supply and service contracts including ingredients and packaging
• Experience of working with a co-manufacturing model
• Managing budgetary controls
• Building and managing powerful supplier partnerships
• Influencing key Internal and External Stakeholders within a wider business environment

YOUR ROLE WILL INCLUDE:

• Developing, leading and inspiring a diverse, high performing Procurement team to deliver a best in class procurement service.
• Developing and maintaining robust relationships with UK and International supply partners to Nichols, and the relevant internal stakeholders, to deliver continuous improvement on cost, quality and service metrics.
• Developing and implementing policies and procedures to ensure that the Procurement function achieves its business objectives.
• Negotiating commercially competitive supply agreements across a procurement spend p.a. of circa £60m via co-packers, £40m on ingredients and packaging and £30m on indirects and logistics.
• Acting as the company’s main adviser on all issues relating to procurement spend and supply market information and keep abreast of latest external industry and economic developments to ensure Nichols maintains its competitive position.
• Evaluating risk exposure within the Nichols supply chain, developing and implementing appropriate mitigation strategies that reduce risk to an acceptable level of exposure.
• Delivering a successful contracting process with strategic suppliers by providing a high level of cross-functional engagement with Supply Chain and other functions
• Developing and managing the processes of supplier selection, contracting and evaluation.
• Telling the story - design and implement a robust periodic and quarterly measuring and reporting framework to demonstrate Procurement performance, commodity updates and the value being added to the business.
• Change management – leading change initiatives within the Procurement function with appropriate support where relevant from the Programme Management Office.

The role will provide leadership of the Nichols PLC Procurement Function and Procurement Team. It will control the influenceable procurement spend of circa £130m p.a. across direct and indirect categories. Key areas of focus:

• Reducing total cost of ownership - reducing the total Nichols cost base whilst simultaneously achieving appropriate levels of service and quality
• Supporting growth and innovation - ensuring supply base is innovative and has sufficient capacity and capability to support Nichols long term growth ambitions
• Managing Headwinds - protecting the Nichols business from risks, including reputational, surety of supply, ethical and environmenta