Procurement Manager

VML South Africa; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discretionary bonus

Training opportunities

Competitive pension

Medical insurance

Life assurance

Social events

Holiday buy/sell

Family friendly policies

Retailer discounts

Job summary

VML, part of WPP, is seeking a Procurement Manager to direct enterprise-wide sourcing transformations and cost-reduction initiatives. You will bridge strategic sourcing with project execution, manage cross-functional teams, track program metrics, and mitigate supply risk.

You will lead governance, define KPIs, and report tangible savings to senior leadership. A Bachelor's in Business or Supply Chain and relevant certifications are highly valued.

Qualifications

• Experience delivering enterprise WAN and retail store estate LAN rollouts.
• Extensive background in project/program management, supply chain operations, or strategic procurement.
• Strong data manipulation, spend analytics, and reporting using SAP or similar tools.
• Deep understanding of contract management and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models.

Responsibilities

• Lead large-scale procurement programs and savings initiatives.
• Establish governance, scorecards, and metrics; report to senior leadership.
• Coordinate with Finance, Operations, Legal, and regional procurement teams.
• Identify risks, implement contingency plans, and embed ESG criteria.
• Deploy procurement platforms and define standard operating procedures.

Skills

Large-scale PM

Procurement strategy

Stakeholder management

Data analytics

Contract negotiation

TCO models

Education

Bachelor's in Business/Supply Chain

CIPS certification (preferred)

Tools

SAP

ERP systems

Job description

Who We Are

VML, part of WPP, is a leading creative company that combines brand experience, customer experience, and commerce, creating connected brands to drive growth. VML is celebrated for its innovative and human first, award-winning work for blue chip client partners including AstraZeneca, Colgate-Palmolive, Dell, Ford, Microsoft, Nestlé, The Coca-Cola Company, and Wendy's. The agency is recognized by the Forrester Wave™ Reports, as a Leader among Marketing Creative and Content Service Providers, Commerce Services, Global Digital Experience Services, Global Marketing Services and, most recently, Marketing Measurement & Optimization. In addition, VML’s specialist health network, VML Health, is one of the world’s largest and most awarded health agencies. VML’s global network is powered by 26,000 talented people across 55+ markets, with principal offices in Kansas City, New York, Detroit, London, São Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore, and Sydney.

About WPP

WPP is the trusted growth partner for the world’s leading brands. We unite cutting-edge media intelligence and data solutions, world-class creativity, next-generation production, transformative enterprise solutions and expert strategic counsel in a single company – powered by exceptional talent and our agentic marketing platform, WPP Open, to help our clients navigate change, capture opportunity and deliver transformational growth. For more information, visit WPP.com. Procurement Manager needed to join our team on a contract basis.

The opportunity

As Procurement Manager you will direct enterprise-wide sourcing transformations, cost-reduction initiatives, and supplier capabilities. You will bridge strategic sourcing and project execution, manage cross-functional teams, track program metrics, and mitigate supply chain risks.

What you’ll be doing

• Program Execution: Lead large-scale productivity, technology, and supply chain transformation programs from ideation through implementation.
• Performance & Governance: Establish project scorecards, define metrics, and report tangible savings and efficiency outcomes to senior leadership.
• Stakeholder Management: Align cross-functional groups including Finance, Operations, Legal, and regional procurement teams with overarching strategic goals.
• Risk & Sustainability Management: Identify procurement-related risks, implement contingency plans, and embed Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria into the supply chain.
• Process Optimization: Identify continuous improvement opportunities, deploy modern procurement platforms, and establish standard operating procedures.

What we want from you

• Experience in large scale, corporate WAN rollout and retail store estate LAN rollout.
• Extensive combined experience in project/program management, supply chain operations, or strategic procurement.
• High proficiency in data manipulation, spend analytics, and capability reporting using software like SAP or other modern enterprise platforms.
• Deep understanding of contract management, supplier negotiation, and Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models.
• Proven ability to drive results in matrixed organizations, manage external consulting partners, and drive change management.

If you know some of this, even better

A Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field; professional certifications such as CIPS are highly valued.

What we can offer you

Alongside the opportunity to work with some of the most exciting brands around the world, we'll also prioritise your career development and help you grow your skills. We'll empower you to make a difference, allow you to be yourself, and respect who you are.

Permanent only:We offer a great benefits package including a discretionary bonus scheme, training opportunities, competitive pension, medical insurance, life assurance, social events, opportunities to buy and sell holidays, family friendly policies, discounts with hundreds of retailers and much more.

• discretionary bonus scheme
• training opportunities
• competitive pension
• medical insurance
• life assurance
• social events
• opportunities to buy and sell holidays
• family friendly policies
• discounts with hundreds of retailers

Our culture thrives on our core values, designed for impact-driven individuals: Heart, Brains and Courage.

We lead with Heart, fostering empathy and trust where genuine connections and human-centric work flourish. We empower your Brains for innovation, valuing relentless curiosity and collaborative intelligence to solve complex challenges. And we champion Courage, inspiring you to speak up, embrace experimentation, and advocate for bold solutions that push our thinking to be better than yesterday.

How we use AI in the recruitment process

To ensure more focused and engaging conversations, we leverage AI in our recruitment process exclusively for secure, objective note-taking, never for evaluative judgments. This allows our team to be fully present with you. You are always welcome to request a transcript of these notes or opt out of this feature at any time. Opting out will not impact the outcome of the interview process.

#LI-EMEAWe believe the best work happens when we're together, fostering creativity, collaboration, and connection. That's why we've adopted a hybrid approach, with teams in the office an average of four days a week. If you require accommodations or flexibility, please discuss this with the hiring team during the interview process.

Equal Opportunity Statement

WPP (VML) is an equal opportunity employer and considers applicants for all positions without discrimination or regard to characteristics. We are committed to fostering a culture of respect in which everyone feels they belong and has the same opportunities to progress in their careers.

VML is a WPP agency (NYSE: WPP). For more information, please visit www.vml.com, and follow along on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.