Group Air Freight Procurement Manager

ACS Executive; Uxbridge; On-site; GBP 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

ACS Executive is seeking an international air-freight procurement leader to own the airline and carrier strategy across regions. You will lead negotiations with airlines and specialist air-cargo providers, secure contracted rates and capacity, and drive a unified procurement function that improves gross profit and service levels.

The role requires global travel and multi-regional oversight. Applicants should demonstrate tangible results from negotiated terms influencing rate competitiveness,

Qualifications

• Substantial international air-freight procurement experience with multi-regional responsibility (>=5 years).
• Direct airline negotiations with measurable impact on rates, margin, capacity security or carrier performance.
• Experience beyond general purchasing or road/ocean freight; aerospace exposure preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead negotiations with airlines, GSSAs and specialist air-cargo providers.
• Secure contracted rates, tactical rates, capacity allocations, incentives and service commitments.
• Develop preferred-carrier and contingency arrangements across global trade lanes.
• Improve buy rates, contract utilisation, gross profit and procurement compliance.
• Monitor carrier performance, capacity usage and procurement leakage.
• Support major tenders and complex customer pricing exercises.
• Provide procurement solutions for urgent and specialist freight.
• Influence regional teams and build a global procurement function over time.

Skills

International air-freight procurement

Contract negotiations

Carrier capacity planning

Multi-regional experience

Cost and margin optimization

Job description

We are looking for an international air-freight procurement leader who has personally negotiated airline rates, capacity allocations and strategic carrier agreements across multiple regions.

You will take ownership of the global airline and carrier strategy, bringing together purchasing activity across the network to secure stronger commercial terms, reliable capacity and better gross-profit performance. This includes reducing fragmented spot buying, increasing the use of negotiated agreements and establishing clear preferred-carrier and contingency strategies by trade lane.

A central part of the position is ensuring the business can secure dependable capacity for AOG, time-critical and specialist aviation movements. Decisions cannot be based on price alone: you will need to balance cost against uplift certainty, routing resilience, handling capability and recovery support.

You will:

• Lead negotiations with airlines, GSSAs and specialist air-cargo providers.
• Secure contracted rates, tactical rates, capacity allocations, incentives and service commitments.
• Develop preferred-carrier and contingency arrangements across global trade lanes.
• Improve buy rates, contract utilisation, gross profit and procurement compliance.
• Monitor carrier performance, capacity usage and procurement leakage.
• Support major tenders and complex customer pricing exercises.
• Provide procurement solutions for urgent and specialist freight.
• Influence regional teams and build a global procurement function over time.

You must have substantial international air-freight procurement experience, including at least five years with multi-regional responsibility. Your application should show airline negotiations you personally led and the measurable effect on rates, margin, capacity security or carrier performance.

Experience limited to general purchasing, indirect procurement, road freight or ocean freight will not be sufficient. Direct exposure to aerospace, AOG, engine movements, dangerous goods, oversized cargo, charter or other time-critical freight would be particularly relevant.

The role requires international travel and occasional senior commercial escalation outside normal working hours.