Project Procurement Manager

Role overview

The Project Procurement Manager will be based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, supporting Asset Management, Construction, and Operations activities in the KSA region. This role sits within the project team and acts as the main procurement lead for industrial projects, ensuring procurement is aligned with business goals, delivery timelines, cost expectations, and risk controls.

The position reports to the Senior Procurement Manager, KSA, and includes responsibility for coordinating procurement across the project lifecycle, from early development through execution, commissioning, and close-out.

Key accountabilities

• Act as the primary procurement owner for industrial projects.
• Oversee procurement activity across every phase of the project.
• Work as an embedded member of the project team.
• Coordinate with the business on all project procurement matters.
• Lead negotiations with consultants, EPC contractors, construction contractors, and local equipment suppliers, together with the business and other relevant procurement partners.
• Convert project business objectives into a procurement approach that supports technical, financial, and schedule requirements.
• Focus on improving project performance while taking action to reduce risk.
• Work with stakeholders to gather the information procurement needs in order to provide effective support.
• Manage project procurement buyers, where applicable.
• Oversee project procurement processes and procedures.
• Build long-term strategic relationships with consultants, contractors, and local suppliers.
• Maintain procurement governance throughout the project and ensure decisions and actions are taken on time.
• Carry out risk assessments and put corrective actions in place.
• Ensure internal and external procurement rules and policies are followed throughout the process.

Project procurement leadership

• Coordinate procurement for the full project and take ownership of the most complex and strategic purchases.
• Bring together procurement inputs for the project, excluding key equipment handled by Global Lead Buyers.
• Challenge requirements to confirm they are well defined and fit for purpose.
• Identify and choose consultants, contractors, or local suppliers that best match project needs.
• Manage tendering activities and lead key negotiations.
• Prepare contracts in coordination with legal and contract management teams.
• Support relationships with critical suppliers and contractors and handle major disputes when they arise.
• Prioritize and engage internal and external stakeholders in a project-based working model.
• Track risks and opportunities throughout the project.
• Integrate local regulatory requirements into procurement activity.
• Work closely with internal teams such as project, finance, legal, AIFA, H&S, E&C, and others to ensure early procurement involvement.
• Keep shared records and repositories updated for contracts, procurement plans, and performance reporting.

Contractual, budgetary, and regulatory oversight

• Set local procurement processes, procedures, and control document policies.
• Verify that all project procedures and applicable regulations are respected.
• Monitor overall procurement spend and flag issues when intervention is needed.
• Ensure contracts are properly understood and executed by all parties.
• Adjust procurement methods to match operational constraints.
• Work toward procurement financial and operational performance goals.

Market intelligence and supplier strategy

• Maintain strong knowledge of the market to identify suitable consultants and contractors.
• Keep the country contractor panel current and coordinate with panel managers for preferred and major contractors.
• Share contractor panel information with internal clients and update it when business or contract strategy needs are not met.
• Spot innovative opportunities among consultants, contractors, and local equipment suppliers.
• Gather technical and commercial intelligence to anticipate long-term project impacts.
• Challenge technical assumptions so that services and products meet long-term customer needs.
• Develop alternative procurement approaches to prevent or manage crises.
• Conduct market intelligence to track competitors, opportunities, market trends, and innovative sourcing options in cooperation with stakeholders.
• Ensure other procurement stakeholders, such as Global Lead Buyers and Category Lead Buyers, are involved as needed.
• Maintain a full view of the project lifecycle, covering development, construction, operations, and maintenance needs.

Detailed responsibilities

• Create and adjust project procurement plans and strategies.
• Prepare a requirements list with input from the business, engineering, and buyers.
• Take CSR and carbon-neutral or carbon-zero targets into account.
• Define the procurement project management plan, strategy, and procedures to strengthen business competitiveness and improve them when needed.
• Ensure procurement is involved early from the development phase and contributes to service quality and project performance.
• Coordinate the participation of Global Lead Buyers for key equipment.
• Analyze business objectives.
• Apply relevant category strategies across the project.
• Set negotiation direction and tactics with the project team and category team.
• Lead qualification of consultants, contractors, or local equipment suppliers when this is not handled by a managed category.
• Lead or support the definition of the project contracting strategy according to governance requirements.

Qualifications

A bachelor’s degree in Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Business Administration, or a related discipline is required. A master’s degree such as an MBA, or an equivalent postgraduate qualification in Procurement, Supply Chain, or Project Management, is considered an advantage.

Experience

The role calls for 8 to 12 years of experience in procurement, sourcing, or supply chain management, including at least 5 years in project procurement roles within industrial, infrastructure, energy, or EPC settings. Candidates should have managed procurement end to end on major projects from development through execution, commissioning, and close-out, and should bring strong experience in contracts, supplier management, strategic sourcing, budgeting, risk mitigation, compliance, stakeholder management, and procurement systems such as SAP, Oracle, or similar tools.

Language requirements

Strong written and spoken English is essential. Arabic language ability is an added advantage.

Location and travel

This position is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The role also requires flexibility to travel, including travel to Dubai.

Additional information

This is a contract position and is based onsite.

Where relevant, the role requires coordination across development, construction, and operations/maintenance phases, and attention to sustainability objectives, regulatory compliance, procurement governance, and cross-functional collaboration.