Head of Procurement & Supply Chain

Role Overview

This is a newly created senior leadership role as the company shifts away from an in-house UK manufacturing and raw material sourcing setup toward a contract manufacturing model across the UK and US. The position brings together procurement and operational ownership into one integrated function covering the full procurement, supply chain, and logistics landscape.

The Head of Procurement & Supply Chain will be responsible for shaping strategy, delivering operational results, and continuously improving the end-to-end supply chain. This includes procurement, contract manufacturing, production planning, inventory control, freight, warehousing, and international logistics.

The right person will have strong procurement and supply chain expertise, proven supplier relationship management capability, and the ability to design a scalable, resilient, and cost-effective global supply chain that can support fast product launches and fluctuating demand.

Strategic Procurement and Sourcing

• Take ownership of procurement strategy for finished goods, bulk raw materials, packaging materials, and services across UK and US operations.
• Lead sourcing programmes to identify, assess, and approve contract manufacturers and strategic suppliers in both countries.
• Put in place a multi-supplier approach that reduces dependency on any one source and protects continuity of supply.
• Create and roll out a supplier diversification plan that supports the company’s expansion path.

Supplier Negotiation and Contract Management

• Run all commercial discussions with suppliers and co-manufacturers to secure strong pricing, workable terms, and long-term partnerships.
• Introduce open-book costing with co-manufacturers to increase cost visibility and uncover savings opportunities.
• Establish supplier performance management using scorecards, SLAs, and KPIs, and ensure partners meet quality, compliance, and delivery expectations.
• Carry out regular supplier visits in both the UK and US to support audits, strengthen relationships, and keep strategic priorities aligned.

Cost Control and Value Creation

• Find and deliver cost-saving opportunities across the supplier base while maintaining quality, compliance, and speed to market.
• Improve visibility of total landed cost, manufacturing cost drivers, and changes in input costs.
• Work with Finance on budgeting, cost forecasting, and working capital improvements linked to procurement and inventory.
• Drive efficiency programmes that improve procurement processes, supplier rationalisation, and purchasing terms.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with R&D and Commercial teams to support new product launches and ensure procurement timelines are aligned with launch plans and supply readiness.
• Collaborate with Operations on demand planning and production scheduling to maintain stock availability while keeping capital tied up to a minimum.
• Serve as the main escalation point for supplier issues and lead root-cause analysis and corrective actions for supply or quality failures.
• Work with Finance to keep procurement commitments accurately reflected in financial reporting.

Compliance and Risk Management

• Ensure suppliers and co-manufacturers comply with relevant regulatory standards, including GMP, UK and US dietary supplement rules, and third-party certifications.
• Develop contingency plans to manage supply interruptions, capacity limitations, and shortages of raw materials.
• Reduce supplier risk through diversification, safety stock planning, and proactive relationship management.

What We Are Looking For

The ideal candidate will bring a strong history of procurement, strategic sourcing, and supplier negotiation, preferably within consumer goods or manufacturing. Experience handling co-manufacturer or contract manufacturing relationships, including commercial negotiations and performance oversight, is important.

You should also have experience driving transparency initiatives such as open-book costing and should-cost modelling, along with the commercial judgement to balance cost, quality, and speed. Strong communication, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills are essential.

Preferred Background

Experience in dietary supplements, nutraceuticals, sports nutrition, or another regulated consumer health category would be highly valued. A network of US-based dietary supplement contract manufacturers, and direct experience working with them, would be an advantage.

Background in fast-growing DTC or e-commerce businesses, where agility and cost discipline matter equally, is also preferred. Previous experience in a business going through structural change, rapid scaling, or a shift in manufacturing model would be beneficial.

Additional Information

This role requires willingness and ability to travel regularly to the United States, approximately 30% of the time.

If you are looking for a challenging senior role in a changing and fast-scaling environment, the company welcomes your CV.