| Detail | For this role |
|---|---|
| Department | Procurement and Purchase |
| Level | Senior management |
| Reports to | Chief Procurement Officer |
| Direct reports | Head of Procurement, Category Manager, Sourcing Manager |
| Experience | 14+ years in procurement with multi unit or regional leadership |
Vice President Procurement job description template
Copy this job description, replace the text in square brackets and post it on your careers page or a job portal.
Job title: Vice President Procurement
Department: Procurement and Purchase
Reports to: Chief Procurement Officer
Location: [City], [office, branch or site]
About the role
A Vice President Procurement leads procurement across business units or regions and drives the big changes the function needs. They take the largest and most strategic deals, run supplier relationship management with tier one partners, and deputise for the Chief Procurement Officer. The role reports to the CPO or the Chief Executive Officer. A good VP Procurement joins up buying across units to gain scale, leads transformation such as e-procurement and category strategy, and turns senior supplier relationships into value beyond price.
Key responsibilities
- Lead procurement across business units or regions and join up common spend so the group buys as one.
- Own the largest and most strategic sourcing deals, from strategy through negotiation to signed contract.
- Run supplier relationship management with tier one partners, turning the relationship into joint cost and innovation gains.
- Drive transformation programmes such as e-procurement, category strategy refresh and spend consolidation.
- Set category strategies with the category managers and challenge them on total cost, risk and market view.
- Deputise for the CPO in leadership forums, capex committees and board updates when needed.
- Build the savings pipeline across units and hold heads of procurement accountable for delivery.
- Standardise procurement policy, systems and reporting so every unit works the same way.
- Manage supplier risk at group level, including concentration, geography and single source exposure.
- Coach senior procurement managers and build a bench of leaders for the function.
Requirements
- Graduate in engineering, science or commerce
- MBA in supply chain, operations or finance
- Advanced procurement certification is an advantage
- 14+ years in procurement with multi unit or regional leadership
KRAs and KPIs for a Vice President Procurement
Key result areas for the appraisal form, each with a KPI you can measure every month or quarter.
| Key result area | How to measure it |
|---|---|
| Group savings | Cross unit savings pipeline built and delivered against the annual target |
| Strategic deals | Major sourcing deals closed on time with value better than the baseline |
| Supplier partnerships | Tier one suppliers on active joint improvement plans with measured gains |
| Transformation | Procurement transformation milestones met on the agreed schedule |
| Standardisation | All units on the common policy, system and reporting by the target date |
| Risk | Group single source and concentration risks reviewed and reduced during the year |
Skills and tools
Tools used day to day: SAP Ariba, Coupa, SAP MM, Spend analytics tools, MS Excel.
Reporting line and career path
Next roles: Chief Procurement Officer, Chief Supply Chain Officer
Interview questions for a Vice President Procurement
- How do you join up spend across business units that guard their own budgets?
- Describe the most complex deal you led and how you structured the negotiation.
- What turns a supplier relationship from transactional into a real partnership?
- How do you run a procurement transformation without stalling day to day buying?
- How do you decide which categories to standardise and which to leave local?
- How do you build a savings pipeline that leadership can trust and forecast?
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What does a Vice President Procurement do?
A Vice President Procurement leads buying across business units or regions, owns the largest strategic deals, and runs relationships with the biggest suppliers. They drive transformation, consolidate spend for scale, standardise policy and systems, and deputise for the Chief Procurement Officer in senior forums.
What is the difference between a VP Procurement and a Head of Procurement?
A Head of Procurement runs one department and its operating plan. A Vice President Procurement works across several units or regions, takes the biggest deals, leads transformation and top supplier relationships, and often has heads of procurement reporting into them. The VP sits closer to the CPO.
Who does a Vice President Procurement report to?
A Vice President Procurement usually reports to the Chief Procurement Officer. In companies without a CPO they may report to the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer or Chief Operating Officer. They sit in the senior management layer of the procurement function.