Head of Procurement

Luton, Bedfordshire
Michael Page (UK)

• Head of Procurement – maximising value from procurement
• Lead procurement and procurement transformation

About Our Client

London Luton Airport (LLA) is a key gateway to the city of London, which is the world’s largest aviation system. LLA is the United Kingdom’s fifth largest and fastest growing airport and will facilitate around 17 million passenger journeys in 2024. 11 airlines operate from LLA, including key carriers easyJet, Wizz Air, and Ryanair. LLA’s route network serves over 150 destinations across 42 countries with 24/7 operations.

LLA is an integral part of the local region and a major economic contributor to the UK through direct employment of over 800 people and indirectly supports over 10,000 jobs.

The freehold owner of the airport is the Luton Borough Council (LBC) and the current concession to operate and develop the airport is held by London Luton Airport Operations Limited (LLAOL), a private sector entity that is joint owned by AENA, the world’s largest airport operator, and Infrabridge, a specialist global infrastructure investment manage.

Job Description

• Maximising value from procurement outcomes across LLA.
• Driving increased efficiency and innovation in procurement processes.
• Ensuring compliance with law, regulation and company policy.
• Providing strong leadership, guidance and support to a team of 16 professionals, ensuring their health, safety and wellbeing.

Procurement activity at LLA encompasses supply chain purchasing, capital investment and income-generating concession contracts with retailers and transport operators. LLA is now operating outside the UK Public Procurement Regulations, providing greater flexibility to deliver commercially focused procurement and supplier strategies. The Head of Procurement will ensure that this freedom is used effectively to drive innovation, competitiveness and business agility while maintaining robust governance and ethical standards. LLA is currently embedding its new Jaggaer e-procurement system. A key aspect of this role will be to maximise the system’s potential to improve process efficiency, data insight and control – enabling the Procurement Team to focus on higher-value activities such as Category Management and Supplier and Contract Management, each of which are developing rapidly in maturity. This is a strategic leadership role responsible for delivering the Procurement vision and strategy to support and enable airport growth. The role is part of the Senior Management Team, with multiple interfaces across the business, and has a strong business partnering dimension.

Key Responsibilities Leadership

• Lead the continued transformation of LLA’s Procurement function.
• Review and update the Procurement Strategy, ensuring alignment to business objectives and have the autonomy to shape and implement improvements.
• Communicate effectively with senior stakeholders, articulating the Procurement vision, priorities and progress in a clear and engaging way.
• Strengthen the Procurement team, ensuring the right skills, structure and succession plans are in place to support future growth.
• Lead, develop and empower the team with a sense of purpose, ambition and accountability.
• Oversee the effective use and development of the Jaggaer e-procurement system.
• Act as a mentor and coach to team members and high-potential colleagues across LLA.
• As a member of the Senior Management Team, contribute constructively to business discussions, providing challenge, curiosity and collaboration.
• Provide feedback and insight to the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) on the implementation of the Corporate Strategy and associated initiatives.

Management Responsibilities

• Lead and manage a team of 16 procurement professionals, with responsibility for all procurement and commercial sourcing activity.
• Ensure continuity of operations, including appropriate risk and incident management procedures and fit-for-purpose disaster recovery processes.

Business Partnering

• Work collaboratively with business stakeholders to ensure procurement supports the achievement of strategic and operational goals.
• Ensure the Procurement team is embedded early in business decision-making.
• Promote a culture where procurement is seen as an enabler of success, while maintaining compliance with company policy.
• Communicate procurement priorities and progress in clear, practical terms for non-specialist stakeholders.

Innovation

• Embed procurement further into the business as a driver of innovation and commercial insight.
• Leverage automation, digital tools and data to identify and deliver business improvements.
• Support initiatives that enhance customer experience, increase revenue or deliver operational efficiency.

Role Specific

• Ensure adherence to procurement policies and procedures across the business.
• Manage the procurement and contracting process, using the Jaggaer system for sourcing and contract management.
• Maintain an accurate contract database and supplier management framework, including preferred supplier lists.
• Negotiate with suppliers to optimise value for money across Opex, Capex spend and concession income.
• Develop KPIs and support business managers to monitor supplier performance against contractual obligations.
• Report on procurement activity, supplier performance and commercial outcomes.
• Maintain a forward-looking procurement pipeline and support the delivery of additional projects as agreed with the ELT.

The Successful Applicant

A successful LLA Procurement Project professional should have:

Person Specification

• Minimum of 10 years’ experience at senior procurement level in a complex, multi-stakeholder organisation.
• Strong leadership skills, with a proven track record of building, motivating and developing teams.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to simplify complex issues and influence at senior level.
• Experience in leading large-scale tenders and strategic sourcing across a range of categories.
• Commercially astute, with demonstrable achievement of cost savings, efficiency improvements and supplier innovation.
• Strong understanding of contract law, negotiation and supplier relationship management.
• Experience of implementing and managing e-procurement systems (ideally Jaggaer).
• Degree qualified and ideally MCIPS or FCIPS accredited.
• Highly analytical, collaborative and capable of working across diverse business functions.

What’s on Offer

Competative six figure base salary + package + bonuses + pension