Head of Procurement, Ikano Retail

About the Company

IKEA’s purpose is to improve everyday life for many people by providing functional, well-designed home furnishings at prices that remain accessible. The business operates in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and Mexico, and is pursuing an ambitious expansion into new regional markets.

Ikano Retail is part of the Ikano Group and is the only IKEA franchisee owned by the Kamprad family, the founders of IKEA.

In addition to retail, the group develops, owns, and operates shopping centres anchored by IKEA, with a focus on creating walkable communities that can also include residential, office, and other real estate uses.

Sustainability is built into the way the organisation works day to day. The company also supports community initiatives that benefit children, women, and the environment.

Role Overview

This position is for a strategic and commercially minded procurement leader who will take ownership of the procurement function across Ikano Retail. The role reports to the Deputy CEO and is responsible for shaping and delivering the full procurement and contract management approach across multiple markets.

The role calls for a leader who can strengthen governance, improve cost efficiency in a sustainable way, build long-term supplier value, and raise the overall performance of procurement in a growing and complex retail environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Create and run an end-to-end procurement strategy that supports business growth, cost optimisation, and strong governance.
• Lead challenging, high-value negotiations and develop durable, value-focused partnerships with suppliers across major spend areas.
• Set up, lead, and grow a high-performing procurement team with strong capability in sourcing, contract management, and supplier performance.
• Put in place clear procurement and contract governance controls that support compliance, transparency, and audit readiness across all markets.
• Oversee the full sourcing and contract lifecycle, from planning and negotiation through to execution and performance tracking.
• Work closely with senior teams across Expansion, Property, FM, Fulfilment, Digital, Marketing, and Food to define sourcing and contracting approaches.
• Provide analytical insight on spend, contracts, and risk exposure to guide business decisions.
• Lead procurement digitalisation and process improvement efforts, including Source-to-Pay, contract repositories, and analytics tools.
• Maintain complete financial visibility across contract portfolios, including commitments, forecasts, and results versus target.
• Identify commercial and contractual risks early and take action to reduce or prevent impact.
• Promote responsible and sustainable sourcing across the supplier ecosystem.

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate will bring deep experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, and contract management in complex, multi-market settings. They should have a strong history of handling large-scale negotiations and creating measurable commercial impact.

They must also have solid expertise in governance, risk mitigation, and contract lifecycle management, along with the leadership skills needed to build capable teams and mature organisational practices.

Commercial awareness and financial understanding are important, as is the ability to turn procurement activity into tangible business results. Experience leading procurement transformation and digitalisation initiatives, such as Source-to-Pay, is also required.

The role requires someone who can work effectively with senior stakeholders across different functions and markets, while staying aligned with IKEA’s values and culture.

What Success Looks Like

• Balances cost, risk, and long-term supplier relationships to deliver business value.
• Shows courage, curiosity, and integrity when making decisions.
• Continuously improves ways of working and is willing to challenge existing approaches.
• Handles complexity and ambiguity with confidence.
• Applies governance rigorously while remaining practical and commercially focused.