Procurement Operations Manager

Carbon3.ai; Greater London; On-site; GBP 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Era4 is seeking a hands‑on Head of Procurement Operations to build a robust, scalable function. You’ll own end‑to‑end procurement, maintain accurate supplier and contract records, and implement governance and automation to simplify processes.

You’ll collaborate with Legal, Finance and senior leadership to manage risk, drive improvements and ensure timely renewals. This role offers autonomy and visibility within a mission‑driven startup.

Qualifications

• Experience running and developing procurement operations or supplier lifecycle management.
• Track record of raising existing processes to a higher standard.
• Proactive, self‑motivated with clear priorities and stakeholder updates.
• Able to read supplier contracts and involve Legal for review.
• Management experience with developing others.
• Detail‑oriented mindset handling data quality and approvals.
• Experience implementing procurement or supplier management tools.
• Strong stakeholder management across Legal, Finance and leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead day‑to‑day procurement operations, from first request through onboarding, approvals and renewals.
• Oversee that we have accurate, reliable supplier and contract records the business can trust.
• Strengthen risk‑based supplier onboarding with due diligence and clear approval routes.
• Develop the tools, automation and reporting that make procurement simple to use and scale.
• Set out clear sourcing governance and help teams understand and follow it.
• Work with Finance and Legal to keep records aligned and renewals handled in good time.
• Hold regular conversations with departments about their supplier needs and performance.
• Identify the next improvement, plan it and see it through.

Skills

Procurement operations

Supplier lifecycle

Onboarding

Due diligence

Contract administration

Stakeholder management

Process improvement

Data quality

Job description

Role Summary

We’ve laid the foundations of our procurement operations, and as the business continues to grow at speed, we’re ready to take them to the next level. We’re looking for someone to take full ownership of that next stage, building on what’s in place to create an operation that’s robust, efficient and ready to scale.

This is a role where you’ll run the operation and shape it at the same time. You’ll keep procurement moving for the business while continually looking for ways to make it simpler, stronger and more reliable. You’ll set the direction for your own work, decide what to tackle next, and bring others along with you.

You’ll work closely with teams across Era4 supporting them with their supplier management, and with Legal and Finance, who own contract review and financial processing.

You’re a great fit if you’re someone who loves being hands‑on, enjoys the freedom to shape how things work, and gets real satisfaction from making steady, visible progress.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead day-to-day procurement operations, from first request through onboarding, approvals and renewals.
• Oversee that we have an accurate, reliable supplier and contract records that the business can trust.
• Strengthen risk-based supplier onboarding, including due diligence and third‑party risk assessment, with clear approval routes and turnaround times.
• Develop the tools, automation and reporting that make procurement simple to use and easy to scale as we grow.
• Set out clear sourcing governance and help teams understand and follow it.
• Work with Finance and Legal to keep records aligned and make sure renewals are handled in good time.
• Hold regular conversations with departments about their supplier needs and performance, with business owners staying accountable for their suppliers.
• Identify the next improvement, plan it and see it through.

Essential Experience

• Experience running and developing procurement operations or supplier lifecycle management, including onboarding, due diligence and contract administration.
• A track record of taking existing processes or systems and raising them to a higher standard.
• A proactive, self‑motivated approach: you set clear priorities, plan your own work and keep stakeholders up to date.
• Comfortable reading and understanding supplier contracts, identifying key commercial terms, obligations and risks, and knowing when to involve Legal for specialist review.
• Management experience, with a track record of supporting and developing others.
• A practical, detail‑focused mindset, comfortable handling everything from data quality to approvals.
• Experience implementing procurement or supplier management tools and helping people adopt them.
• Strong stakeholder management skills, with a track record of building trusted relationships and effective internal partnerships across Legal, Finance and senior leadership.

One or More Would Be an Advantage

• Experience in data centres, critical infrastructure, construction or another technically complex environment.
• CIPS qualification or membership, or progress towards it.
• Experience supporting audit readiness (eg ISO 27001, 90001, 14001)

Why Join Era4

You’ll be joining a mission‑driven start‑up building critical national infrastructure, where operational excellence directly enables growth. This role offers high visibility with leadership, real autonomy, and the chance to shape how a next‑generation company operates at scale.

Diversity & Inclusion

Era4 is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.