Head of Procurement Operations

Fantastic challenges. Amazing opportunities.

GKN Aerospace is reimagining air travel: going further, faster and greener! Fuelled by great people whose expertise and creativity sets the standards in our industry, we’re inspired by the opportunities to innovate and break boundaries. We’re proud to play a part in protecting the world’s democracies. And we’re committed to putting sustainability at the centre of everything we do, opening up and protecting our planet. With over 16,000 employees across 33 manufacturing sites in 12 countries we serve over 90% of the world’s aircraft and engine manufacturers and achieved sales of £3.35 bn.in 2023. There are no limits to where you can take your career.

Role Purpose

• Leadership of the Procurement Value Streams to manage the operational performance of the direct supply chain.
• Requires strong people leadership and resource management skills to deliver against performance objectives
• Supported by continuous improvement and people development.
• Operational management of circa 70 global suppliers delivering 10,000 parts per Week with an annual spend of circa £100m
  
  

Job Responsibilities

• Accountable for achieving on time delivery and quality to external and internal customers
• Develop and implement strategies and methodologies to achieve on-time deliveries from the supply chain
• Lead and direct the development and implementation of lean logistics and inventory management strategies.
• Develop and maintain metrics (KPIs) that are necessary to assess and improve the performance of the supply chain.
• Lead the planning and forecasting process to provide relevant and accurate data to supply chain
• Lead major executive performance reviews, be the top level point of reference for escalation of supplier performance issues
• Continually challenge and improve operational and supply chain processes through Purchasing Excellence and ‘Lean’ methodologies
• Accountable for the satisfaction of Internal Customers with deliverables
• Accountable for satisfaction external customers for “Cross-Dock” supply chain by achieving target delivery performance to customer and regular customer review meetings
• Accountable for all relevant Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) issues in area of responsibility, including risk assessments and completion of corrective action plans
• Compliance with all risk assessments and company Environment, Health & Safety Procedures relevant to all work activities. Reporting of all accidents and near misses as per the company’s procedure and implementation of identified corrective actions. Maintain good standards of housekeeping in designated work area(s)
• Champion “Export Control” compliance activities, ensuring you and where applicable, members of your team, adhere to the site
  
  

Essential

• Must be educated to degree level in Business Administration or similar, MCIPS qualified and have substantial experience in supply chain management at a senior level in a manufacturing environment.
• Professional and process skills required in Leadership, Project Management, Supplier Management and Negotiation
• Possess excellent communication skills that transfer to all levels within the organisation.
• Able to work within a multi-disciplined team.
• Demonstrate the ability to deliver results in a challenging environment
• High level of knowledge with ERP Systems
  
  

Desirable

• An appreciation of lean manufacturing principles would be an advantage
• Experience in the digitization of supply chain processes would be a distinct advantage
• High level of knowledge with ERP Systems
  
  

What We'll Offer

Once you are on board you will get the following perks and benefits:

• Competitive salary dependent on experience
• 25 days holiday + bank holidays
• Flexible working hours
• Shopping discounts
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Virtual GP Clinic for you and immediate family
• A collaborative, dynamic working environment
  
  

As well as a competitive package we’ll offer you a world of opportunity. We want to see your career fly! We’ll support your career progression by providing you with learning and development opportunities. That’s the beauty of being part of a global business, once you’re on board you never know where you career journey may take you!

We’ll offer you fantastic challenges and amazing opportunities. This is your chance to be part of an organisation that has proven itself to be at the cutting edge of our industry; and is committed to pushing the boundaries even further. And with some of the best training on offer in the industry, who knows how far you can go?

A Great Place to work needs a Great Way of Working

Everyone is welcome to apply to GKN. We believe that we can only achieve our ambitions through a coming together of diverse minds who enjoy collaborating in an inspirational environment. Through our commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging and by living our five powerful principles we’ve created a culture where everyone feels welcome to contribute. It’s a culture that won us ‘The Best Workplace Culture Award’. By embracing and celebrating what makes us unique we encourage everyone to bring their full self to work.

We’re also committed to providing an accessible recruitment process, so if you require reasonable adjustments at any stage during our recruitment process please get in touch and let us know.

We are the place where human dreams, plus human endeavour, shape the future of aerospace innovation and technology.