Navantia UK
Corporate Procurement Manager
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Corporate Procurement Manager
Corporate Procurement Manager
Navantia UK
Navantia UK is a UK-incorporated company, subsidiary of Spanish Navantia, created to work with UK industrial partners in shipbuilding, defence, and offshore wind energy. With a history spanning more than 300 years, Navantia is a world reference in the design, building, integration, and lifecycle support of state-of-the-art warships for the Spanish Navy and international customers. They have extensive experience in Total Turnover (ToT) programmes.
About Navantia UK
Navantia UK is a UK-incorporated subsidiary of Navantia S.A., a global leader in naval shipbuilding, defence systems integration, and advanced maritime technologies. With over 300 years of shipbuilding heritage, Navantia delivers:
- State-of-the-art naval platforms
- Lifecycle support
- Complex industrial transformation programmes worldwide
Navantia UK partner[s] with UK industry to:
- Strengthen sovereign shipbuilding capability
- Deliver major defence and offshore energy programmes
Role Purpose
The Corporate Procurement Manager is the senior leader responsible for setting the strategic direction, governance, and operational excellence of procurement across all UK shipbuilding operations. This role provides authoritative leadership in:
- Standardising procurement processes
- Optimising supplier performance
- Ensuring commercial robustness across multi-site, high-value, and complex programmes
The postholder will drive the integration of:
- Procurement systems
- Contractual frameworks
- Supplier management practices across the UK business
This position will ensure alignment with:
- Corporate strategy
- Programme delivery requirements
- Long-term industrial capability objectives
The Corporate Procurement Manager holds a pivotal leadership role with significant influence over cost, schedule, risk, and operational performance.
Key Responsibilities
Procurement Strategy & Governance
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Define and lead the corporate procurement strategy for UK shipbuilding operations, ensuring alignment with:
- Business growth plans
- Programme requirements
- Corporate objectives
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Establish, enforce, and continuously enhance procurement governance frameworks, policies, and standards across all UK sites.
-
Ensure full compliance with:
- UK regulatory requirements
- Defence industry standards
- Export controls
- Contractual obligations
-
Champion:
- Standardisation
- Process optimisation
- Continuous improvement across the procurement function
-
Provide strategic guidance to senior leadership on:
- Market conditions
- Supply chain risks
- Commercial opportunities
Strategic Sourcing & Contract Management
- Lead high-value sourcing activities, including:
- Requests for Quotes (RFQs)
- Invitations to Tender (ITTs)
- Supplier evaluations
- Negotiations
- Contract awards for complex shipbuilding and defence programmes
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Develop and execute category strategies that deliver:
- Cost competitiveness
- Supply chain resilience
- Long-term value creation
-
Negotiate complex commercial agreements, ensuring alignment with:
- Legal requirements
- Technical requirements
- Programme requirements
-
Oversee the resolution of:
- Supplier disputes
- Claims
- Escalations
Supplier Relationship & Performance Management
-
Establish and maintain:
- Supplier segmentation models
- Approved supplier lists
- Risk management frameworks
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Lead strategic supplier performance programmes, including:
- Audits
- Scorecards
- Capability assessments
- Improvement plans
-
Build and maintain high-value supplier partnerships that support:
- Innovation
- Industrial collaboration
- Operational resilience
-
Monitor supplier performance across:
- Quality metrics
- Delivery metrics
- Cost metrics
- Capacity metrics
- Compliance metrics
Operational Procurement & Supply Chain Integration
-
Ensure procurement activities fully support:
- Engineering
- Production
- Logistics
- Programme delivery schedules
-
Oversee:
- Materials availability
- Logistics coordination
- Warehousing interfaces
- Supply chain performance across multiple sites
-
Support bid and proposal activities:
- With competitive sourcing strategies
- Market intelligence
-
Drive initiatives:
- Cost optimisation
- Value engineering
- Supply chain efficiency across all programmes
Systems, Data & Performance Management
-
Lead implementation and optimisation of:
- ERP systems (including SAP)
- Document management platforms, such as OpenText
-
Develop and maintain:
- Procurement KPIs
- Dashboards
- Reporting tools to drive transparency and improvement
-
Provide data-driven insights to support:
- Executive decision-making
- Strategic planning
Leadership & People Management
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Lead, inspire, and develop procurement teams across multiple UK locations, fostering a culture of:
- Excellence
- Accountability
- Collaboration
-
Oversee:
- Workforce planning
- Recruitment
- Succession planning
- Capability development
-
Ensure compliance with:
- Employment legislation
- Wellbeing initiatives
- Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion standards
-
Support employee relations activities, including:
- Grievance resolution
- Union engagement (where required)
Qualifications
Essential
-
Extensive procurement leadership experience within:
- Shipbuilding
- Defence
- Engineering
- Construction
- Manufacturing, or other heavy industries
-
Strong expertise in:
- Procurement governance
- Strategic sourcing
- Contract management
- Supplier relationship management
-
Proven track record of leading:
- Complex RFQ/ITT processes
- Negotiation of high-value commercial agreements
-
Experience with:
- ERP systems (preferably SAP)
- Procurement management tools
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Strong commercial acumen with:
- Excellent analytical skills
- Negotiation skills
- Problem-solving skills
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Demonstrated leadership experience in:
- Multi-site environments
- Complex or international environments
-
Ability to:
- Influence senior stakeholders
- Drive cross-functional collaboration
-
Strong understanding of:
- Employment legislation
- People management
- Organizational development
Desirable
-
Experience in:
- Defence
- Maritime
- Naval
- Shipbuilding environments
-
Knowledge of:
- OpenText or similar document management systems
-
Experience leading procurement transformation, integration, or business improvement programmes
Leadership & Decision-Making
The Corporate Procurement Manager holds significant:
- Authority
- Autonomy
So as to:
- Shape procurement strategy -Manage resources -Influence operational outcomes
The role requires sound judgement, strategic foresight, and the ability to make high-stakes decisions affecting:
- Major programme outcomes
- Supplier relationships
Tasks include:
-
Making strategic decisions that impact:
- Cost
- Schedule
- Risk
- Supplier performance
-
Interpreting:
- Business intelligence
- Market intelligence to shape procurement strategy
-
Resolving complex supply chain challenges:
- Through proactive leadership
- Stakeholder engagement
-
Leading:
- Cross-functional initiatives involving:
- Suppliers
- Customers
- Senior management
- Cross-functional initiatives involving:
Working Environment
-
Primarily office-based position with regular travel:
- To UK sites
- To supplier locations
-
Occasional overnight travel may be required.
-
Working hours may extend beyond standard schedules due to programme demands.
Organizational Values: STEADY
The successful candidate will embody and promote Navantia UK’s STEADY values:
- Service
- Trust
- Excellence
- Agility
- Dedication
- You
These values underpin leadership behaviour, decision-making, and performance expectations across the organisation.
Additional Information
Security Clearance: All candidates will need to complete BPSS security clearance as part of the onboarding process.
Equality & Inclusion
We are an Opening Doors employer, committed to:
- Equal opportunity
- Inclusive workplace
Our values are shaped around service, trust, excellence, agility, dedication, and you, focusing on:
- Removing barriers
- Recognising potential
- Commitment to fairness at all stages, including:
- Providing reasonable adjustments
- Eliminating discrimination
We believe talent is everywhere, and aim to:
- Widen access to opportunities
- Welcome diverse experiences
- Create a workplace where every person feels valued and has an equal opportunity.
Application Support: If you experience difficulties or are unable to apply online, please contact people.skills@harland-wolff.com, and one of the team will reach out to assist you.
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