Procurement Excellence Manager

Lamb Weston EMEA; Breda; On-site; EUR 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lamb Weston EMEA in Breda, Netherlands, seeks a Procurement Excellence Director to shape and lead the global procurement excellence agenda across regions. You will define standards, capabilities, processes and ways of working that enable procurement teams worldwide to deliver sustainable value and act as a strategic business partner.

This is a highly strategic and transformational role, partnering with senior leaders to strengthen maturity, drive digitalization, governance and risk management,

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business Administration, Engineering, Economics or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in procurement and/or supply chain, including significant experience in senior leadership roles.
• A strong track record in global procurement transformation and operating model development.
• Experience with procurement governance, process excellence and digital procurement solutions.
• International experience across multiple regions; experience with EMEA, North America, LATAM and/or China is highly valuable.
• Strong executive-level stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• A data-driven and digital mindset, with a strong understanding of performance management and analytics.
• Excellent change leadership, communication and presentation skills.
• The ability to connect strategic objectives with practical implementation and sustainable business impact.
• A professional procurement qualification such as CIPS, ISM, NEVI or equivalent is an advantage.

Responsibilities

• Define and continuously improve the global Procurement Excellence strategy, operating model and maturity roadmap.
• Establish and maintain global procurement policies, processes, standards and governance frameworks.
• Lead procurement transformation initiatives, including digitalization, automation, data analytics and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Drive the adoption and optimization of procurement technologies, including ERP, Source-to-Pay, Supplier Management and Contract Management solutions.
• Establish global performance management frameworks, KPIs and reporting standards to support fact-based decision making.
• Build procurement capabilities through competency frameworks, career paths, training, coaching and leadership development.
• Strengthen procurement organizations in developing regions while further advancing mature procurement operations.
• Develop global supplier governance, performance management and risk management frameworks.
• Lead cross-regional continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and drive alignment across regions, functions and stakeholder groups.
• Lead change effectively, ensuring new processes, technologies and ways of working are adopted and embedded across the organization.

Skills

Strategic procurement

Global leadership

Governance

Digital procurement

Stakeholder management

Data analytics

Change leadership

Communication skills

Education

Master’s degree

Job description

As Procurement Excellence Director, you will shape and lead the global Procurement Excellence agenda across EMEA, North America, LATAM and China. You will define the standards, capabilities, processes and ways of working that enable procurement teams around the world to deliver sustainable value and operate as a strategic business partner.

This is a highly strategic and transformational role. You will work across regions and functions to strengthen procurement maturity, drive digitalization and automation, improve governance and risk management, and build capabilities for the future.

You will have a broad enterprise-wide impact, partnering with senior leaders across Procurement, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, Legal and other functions.

What will you do?

You will develop and execute the global Procurement Excellence roadmap, translating business priorities into meaningful transformation initiatives and long-term capability improvements.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Define and continuously improve the global Procurement Excellence strategy, operating model and maturity roadmap.
• Establish and maintain global procurement policies, processes, standards and governance frameworks.
• Lead procurement transformation initiatives, including digitalization, automation, data analytics and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Drive the adoption and optimization of procurement technologies, including ERP, Source-to-Pay, Supplier Management and Contract Management solutions.
• Establish global performance management frameworks, KPIs and reporting standards to support fact-based decision making.
• Build procurement capabilities through competency frameworks, career paths, training, coaching and leadership development.
• Strengthen procurement organizations in developing regions while further advancing mature procurement operations.
• Develop global supplier governance, performance management and risk management frameworks.
• Lead cross-regional continuous improvement and operational excellence initiatives.
• Act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and drive alignment across regions, functions and stakeholder groups.
• Lead change effectively, ensuring new processes, technologies and ways of working are adopted and embedded across the organization.

What you bring

You are a strategic procurement leader who combines strong business acumen with a passion for transformation, capability building and continuous improvement. You are comfortable operating in a complex international environment and know how to turn strategy into tangible results.

You bring:

• A Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business Administration, Engineering, Economics or a related field.
• 15+ years of experience in procurement and/or supply chain, including significant experience in senior leadership roles.
• A strong track record in global procurement transformation and operating model development.
• Experience with procurement governance, process excellence and digital procurement solutions.
• International experience across multiple regions; experience with EMEA, North America, LATAM and/or China is highly valuable.
• Strong executive-level stakeholder management and influencing skills.
• A data-driven and digital mindset, with a strong understanding of performance management and analytics.
• Excellent change leadership, communication and presentation skills.
• The ability to connect strategic objectives with practical implementation and sustainable business impact.
• A professional procurement qualification such as CIPS, ISM, NEVI or equivalent is an advantage.

What you can expect

This is an opportunity to play a key role in shaping the future of procurement on a global scale. You will have the autonomy and visibility to influence how procurement operates across regions, build capabilities for the future and lead initiatives that have a lasting impact on the organization.