Senior Director, Strategic Procurement - Education

Aldar Education; Abu Dhabi Emirate; On-site; AED 312,000 - 446,000; Full time

Job summary

Aldar Education in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates is seeking an Associate Director - Strategic Procurement to lead complex sourcing portfolios, drive procurement governance, and negotiate supplier contracts. This senior role supports schools and corporate functions while delivering measurable cost savings and improved procurement visibility.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years regional procurement experience, expertise in framework agreements, and strong leadership with

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline with procurement training; minimum 10 years regional procurement experience.
• Master's degree preferred for seniority and leadership responsibilities.
• Fluent written and spoken English; Arabic language capability is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain procurement plans for assigned portfolios covering confirmed, forecasted, recurring, and strategic requirements.
• Lead RFQs, RFPs, bidder-list development, tender planning, evaluation frameworks, negotiations, award recommendations, and approval submissions.
• Review sourcing strategies to ensure procurement routes, evaluation criteria, disqualifiers, and approval requirements are appropriate and compliant.
• Deliver measurable cost savings and cost avoidance through negotiation, demand consolidation, and early stakeholder engagement.
• Coordinate with Schools and HQ departments on scope, budgets, specifications, timelines, approvals, and business priorities before sourcing begins.
• Ensure all procurement activity complies with internal policy, Delegation of Authority, financial controls, contract governance, and audit requirements.
• Prepare executive-level reports, dashboards, portfolio summaries, risk updates, and recommendations for management decisions.

Skills

Strategic procurement

Commercial negotiations

RFQ/RFP management

Tender governance

Stakeholder management

Contract coordination

Portfolio management

Supplier performance

Governance

Data analysis

Education

Bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline

Master's degree preferred

CIPS certification desirable

Tools

Oracle Fusion

ERP procurement systems

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Aldar Education in Abu Dhabi Emirate, United Arab Emirates is seeking an Associate Director - Strategic Procurement to lead complex sourcing portfolios, drive procurement governance, and negotiate supplier contracts. This senior role supports schools and corporate functions while delivering measurable cost savings and improved procurement visibility.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of 10 years regional procurement experience, expertise in framework agreements, and strong leadership with