Head of Strategic Supplier Management

Dis-Chem Pharmacies; Gauteng; On-site; ZAR 1,500,000 - 2,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Dis-Chem Pharmacies is seeking a Head of Strategic Supplier Management to lead strategic vendor relationships and drive value through aligned growth, terms, funding, and joint business planning. You will oversee vendor-facing teams and ensure governance and strong partnerships across priority vendors.

Ideal candidates bring a proven track record in senior vendor negotiations, large portfolio management, and leadership of commercial teams, with an ability to align cross-functional stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, or a related field.
• Postgraduate qualification preferred or 10–12 years’ experience in strategic vendor management, commercial leadership, or category leadership within retail or FMCG.
• Proven track record in leading senior vendor negotiations, unlocking scale benefits, and managing large supplier portfolios.
• Leadership experience, including managing commercial teams.

Responsibilities

• Define and lead the strategic vendor management strategy, including vendor tiering, engagement models, and value-creation priorities.
• Oversee commercial value extraction across strategic vendors, including trading terms, funding, retail media investment, and joint business plans.
• Ensure alignment between vendor strategies, category priorities, retail media propositions, and TLC execution to maximise total vendor value.
• Lead and coordinate vendor-facing teams across the Dis-Chem group.
• Act as the senior point of engagement for executive-level vendor relationships and negotiations.
• Partner with Category, Commercial, Marketing, Wholesale, and Finance teams to align vendor strategies and execution.
• Establish and enforce governance frameworks for vendor agreements, trading terms, funding, retail media commitments, and TLC promotions.
• Ensure consistent pricing, margin, and commercial guardrails across all strategic vendors.
• Monitor vendor performance, risk exposure, and compliance, escalating issues and reporting outcomes to executive leadership.

Skills

Vendor management

Strategic leadership

Negotiation

Stakeholder management

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, or related field

Postgraduate qualification preferred

Job description

The Head of Strategic Supplier Management leads Dis-Chem’s strategic supplier relationships, driving value through aligned growth ambitions, trading terms, funding, and joint business planning. The role oversees vendor-facing teams across the Dis-Chem group to ensure consistent governance, strong partnerships, and maximum commercial value across priority vendors.

Minimum Requirements…

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, or a related field
• (postgraduate qualification preferred) OR minimum 10-12 years’ experience in strategic vendor management, commercial leadership, or category leadership within retail or FMCG.
• Proven track record in leading senior vendor negotiations, unlocking scale benefits, and managing large supplier portfolios.
• Leadership experience, including managing commercial teams.

Advantageous:

• N/A

Job Specification…

Strategy and value delivery

• Define and lead the strategic vendor management strategy, including vendor tiering, engagement models, and value-creation priorities.
• Oversee commercial value extraction across strategic vendors, including trading terms, funding, retail media investment, and joint business plans.
• Ensure alignment between vendor strategies, category priorities, retail media propositions, and TLC execution to maximise total vendor value.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead and coordinate vendor-facing teams across the Dis-Chem group.
• Act as the senior point of engagement for executive-level vendor relationships and negotiations.
• Partner closely with Category, Commercial, Marketing, Wholesale, and Finance teams to align vendor strategies and execution.

Governance & Risk

• Establish and enforce governance frameworks for vendor agreements, trading terms, funding, retail media commitments, and TLC promotions.
• Ensure consistent application of pricing, margin, and commercial guardrails across all strategic vendors.
• Monitor vendor performance, risk exposure, and compliance, escalating issues and reporting outcomes to executive leadership.

Key Competencies

• Strong strategic and commercial acumen with deep experience in vendor and supplier management.
• Ability to lead complex, cross-functional teams and align multiple commercial levers.
• Excellent negotiation, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills.

Special conditions of employment:

Key performance indicators:

• Strategic vendor value delivery – Total vendor funding secured, net margin contribution, and commercial value realised.
• Vendor performance and engagement – Vendor investment growth, share of wallet, and strategic vendor satisfaction.
• Governance and compliance – Adherence to commercial guardrails, contract compliance, and audit outcomes.
• Improvement in team culture score.