Procurement Director

DataOne; Dubai; On-site; AED 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

DataOne is seeking an experienced Director of Procurement to lead US and Americas strategy for critical data center infrastructure. You will drive vendor selection, contracting, and optimised costs across power generation, UPS, cooling, racks, and cabling.

You’ll collaborate with Engineering, Project Management, Finance and Operations to ensure milestones and compliance. The role demands 15+ years in procurement with direct data center exposure, strong negotiation skills, and fluency in French.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of procurement experience with significant management responsibility.
• Direct data center procurement experience required in strategic sourcing, category management, supplier management, or project procurement.
• Demonstrated expertise in power generation, critical electrical infrastructure, and heavy industrial construction.
• French speaking is a must.

Responsibilities

• Define procurement strategy, governance, and execution for the U.S. portfolio.
• Establish procurement policies, thresholds, competitive bidding rules, contract controls, and compliance requirements.
• Lead metrics: savings, lead times, budget adherence, contract coverage, supplier performance, and risk.
• Own category strategies for power generation, UPS systems, and critical power infrastructure (transformers, switchgear, generators).
• Manage mechanical cooling categories (chillers, direct liquid cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, coolant distribution units).
• Cover white-space categories (racks, PDU, busways, structured cabling) and civil/structural works.
• Engage from design phase, lead sourcing, negotiations with EPCs, contractors, manufacturers through delivery and commissioning.
• Develop market intelligence, should-cost models, total cost analyses, and master agreements to reduce risk.
• Implement long-lead-time equipment strategies and dual-sourcing to avoid single-source exposure.
• Collaborate with customs on international logistics, tariffs, origin rules for tax incentives.
• Establish supplier qualification processes, audits, scorecards, and corrective actions.
• Present procurement strategy, supplier risks, savings, and project progress to Executive Committee.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Data center experience

Strategic sourcing

Category management

Contract negotiations

Supplier management

Cross-functional collaboration

French language

Tools

Odoo

Job description

Job Description:

DataOne develops and operates high-density data centers for artificial intelligence workloads. The Director of Procurement leads procurement strategy and execution across the United States and Americas, with strong responsibility for critical categories and securing long-lead-time equipment. This is a hands-on as well as strategic role, requiring real data center experience and an understanding of the critical importance of schedule milestones in this type of infrastructure.

About the Job:

Procurement leadership

• Define procurement strategy, governance, and execution for the U.S. portfolio.
• Establish procurement policies, approval thresholds, competitive bidding rules, contract controls, and compliance requirements.
• Lead key procurement metrics: savings, lead times, budget adherence, contract coverage, supplier performance, and risk.

Category Management

• Own category strategies for power generation, UPS systems, and critical power infrastructure, including transformers, medium- and low-voltage switchgear, and generators.
• Manage mechanical cooling categories, including chillers, direct liquid cooling, rear-door heat exchangers, and coolant distribution units.
• Manage white-space categories, including racks, power distribution units, busways, and structured cabling.
• Cover civil and structural works, construction services, and professional services, in accordance with applicable building codes

Project Procurement & EPC Interface

• Engage from the design phase, contributing to specifications, supplyability analysis, and cost, schedule, and performance trade-offs.
• Lead sourcing processes, negotiations, and contracting with EPCs, general contractors, and manufacturers through to delivery and L1-L5 commissioning.
• Negotiate critical contractual clauses, including liquidated damages, warranties, spare parts, indexation, title ownership, and risk transfer.

Strategic Sourcing & Resilience

• Develop market intelligence, supplier panels, should-cost models, total cost analyses, and master agreements.
• Anticipate long-lead-time equipment, reduce single-source exposure, and implement dual-sourcing strategies.
• Work with customs compliance teams on international logistics and Chinese-origin equipment, including tariffs, anti-dumping measures, supply-chain traceability, and rules of origin related to tax incentive programs.

Supplier Performance

• Establish supplier qualification processes, audits, scorecards, and corrective action plans.
• Monitor cost, quality, delivery, and commitment-performance indicators.

Management & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Build, lead, and develop a high-performing procurement team.
• Work closely with Engineering on specifications, Project Management on milestones, Finance on budgets, and Operations on execution.
• Support procurement digitalization (Odoo or equivalent) and data reliability.
• Present procurement strategy, supplier risks, savings, and project progress to the Executive Committee.

Requirements

• 15+ years of procurement experience, with significant management responsibility.
• Direct data center experience is required in procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, supplier management, or project procurement.
• Strong experience in data center construction, capital equipment, critical infrastructure, or heavy industrial construction.
• Demonstrated expertise in power generation, UPS systems, critical power, electrical infrastructure, mechanical systems, and cooling.
• Experience managing multi-million-dollar contracts and conducting complex commercial negotiations.
• French Speaking is a must