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Head of Procurement - The R&A
About The R&A
The R&A is the leading body operating right at the heart of the world of golf, passionate about engaging and supporting activities to ensure that golf is a thriving sport for all. The R&A group of companies was formed in 2004, taking on The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews’ responsibilities for governing the Rules of Golf, staging The Open (golf’s original championship), and developing the sport.
The Opportunity
The R&A is seeking a Head of Procurement to establish a Procurement function that will:
- Partner effectively with the wider business to deliver commercial value.
- Enhance category management across recurring spend.
- Transition the organisation from a decentralised purchasing approach to a centralised, strategic procurement function within Finance.
The role covers a diverse range of spend categories, including event operations, transport and logistics, and corporate services such as technology and facilities management.
Starting as a standalone role, you will:
- Establish procurement’s value across the business.
- Have the opportunity to grow and expand the team as the function matures.
- Operate with an annual cost base of circa. £150m.
Key Responsibilities
- Operationalize the newly designed procurement framework, ensuring governance, policy, and processes are integrated while still supporting the organisation's need for agility.
- Drive opportunities to define and deliver commercial value, while focusing on risk mitigation, service quality, and long-term business outcomes.
- Act as a business partner to functional heads who have historically managed their own spend, fostering a deep understanding of business needs and quality expectations, and supporting a shift from "buying" to "strategic sourcing" through influence and engagement.
- Develop flexible procurement strategies that account for geographical shifts in the championship calendar, ensuring continuity of delivery, standards, and risk mitigation.
- Serve as the commercial bridge between Finance and Legal teams, aligning procurement with corporate budgeting and forecasting while ensuring third-party engagements comply with legal frameworks.
- Manage end-to-end procurement activities, including supplier relationships, contract performance, negotiation, and contract oversight. Monitor KPIs and promote consistent, effective delivery.
- Maintain robust procurement data, governance, and reporting, providing insights to leadership and ensuring transparency under regulatory frameworks.
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Category Focus
Lead sourcing strategy, tendering, negotiation, and contracting across key categories:
- Marketing
- Technology
- Facilities
- Professional Services
- Event Operations
- Event Transport & Logistics
Candidate Skills and Experience
- Establishing or significantly evolving a procurement function with hands-on experience.
- Breadth of experience in procurement categories outlined above (preferably indirect spend categories).
- Proven track record in commercial negotiation and achieving value for money.
- Experience in major event delivery is highly preferred.
- Knowledge of the golf or sports business is advantageous.
- Ability to manage multi-workstream sourcing projects with clear project management under pressure.
- Comfortable transitioning between business partnering and execution as the sole procurement role initially.
- Background and experience in ensuring procurement enables, not hinders, world-class operations.
- Demonstrated ability to engage and influence senior executives and board-level stakeholders.
- Strong stakeholder management, leadership, and communication skills.
- Understanding of contractual clauses (e.g., indemnities, limitations of liability, termination rights, force majeure) to mitigate commercial and legal risks.
- Preferred: MCIPS qualification or equivalent experience.
- Strong IT literacy, ethical standards, and ability to perform under pressure while fostering collaboration and trust.
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Benefits
- Competitive Salary
- Discretionary Performance-Related Bonus Scheme (up to 5%)
- Company Pension Scheme and Sick Pay
- Life Insurance Cover
- Meals, snacks, and refreshments while on duty
- Enhanced Maternity/Partner Pay
- 35 Days Holiday Per Year
- Free tickets to The Open and the AIG Women's Open (plus other R&A Championships)
- Cycle to Work Scheme
- Contribution towards eyewear for VDU use
- Discounts available across 800+ UK retailers and local businesses
- Electric vehicle salary sacrifice scheme
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