Strategic Procurement Manager
Location: Teesside
Hours: Full-time 37 hours | Permanent
Draken believes in fair reward and recognition for our employees. As such, we offer competitive salaries and a comprehensive benefits package including up to 12% matching pension contributions, bonus incentives, discounted PMI, electric car scheme, tech vouchers, wellbeing programmes and much more.
About the Role
We are seeking an experienced Strategic Procurement Manager to play a pivotal role in shaping and delivering procurement strategies across our programmes and bid activities. This is an exciting opportunity for a commercially minded procurement professional to influence major projects, drive supplier performance, and contribute to strategic business growth.
As Strategic Procurement Manager, you will provide proactive procurement leadership from bid and proposal stages through to contract award and in-service support. Working closely with Programme, Technology, Engineering, and Commercial teams, you will ensure robust, compliant, and cost-effective supply solutions that support programme delivery and organisational objectives.
You will be responsible for managing key supplier relationships, leading high-value commercial negotiations, mitigating supply chain risk, and driving continuous improvement across procurement activities.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement procurement strategies aligned to business objectives and programme requirements.
- Analyse market conditions, supplier landscapes, and industry trends to identify opportunities and mitigate risks.
- Support strategic decision-making through make-versus-buy assessments and commercial evaluations.
- Lead procurement activities for major bids and programmes, ensuring timely and competitive submissions.
- Provide procurement input throughout the programme lifecycle, including bid/no-bid decisions and engineering reviews.
- Support programme milestones while balancing cost, quality, risk, and schedule considerations.
- Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers and subcontractors.
- Lead tendering activities, supplier selection processes, and contract negotiations.
- Manage supplier performance through agreed KPIs, driving continuous improvement and supply chain resilience.
- Ensure contracts effectively manage commercial risks and deliver value to the business.
- Ensure procurement activities comply with company policies, legal requirements, export control regulations, and ethical sourcing standards.
- Identify and mitigate commercial and supply chain risks.
- Maintain governance, documentation, and procurement compliance throughout all procurement activities.
- Capture and report savings and cost avoidance opportunities in line with agreed methodologies.
About You
We're looking for an experienced procurement professional with a strong background in manufacturing, engineering, aerospace, defence, or other technically complex environments.
You will have:
- Proven experience developing and delivering procurement strategies within complex operational or manufacturing environments.
- Strong commercial acumen with the ability to balance cost, quality, risk, and delivery requirements.
- Experience leading complex commercial and contractual negotiations.
- Strong contract management skills, including drafting, reviewing, and negotiating agreements.
- Knowledge of intellectual property considerations within commercial contracts.
- Experience managing supplier relationships, supplier performance, and strategic sourcing activities.
- Strong analytical capabilities with experience using ERP systems and supplier intelligence tools.
- Excellent stakeholder management and influencing skills.
- Strong communication and presentation abilities.
- A thorough understanding of procurement governance, compliance, and best practice.
- A proactive, solutions-focused approach with a passion for continuous improvement.
Desirable Qualifications
- Professional procurement qualification such as CIPS (or working towards).
- Experience within defence, aerospace, engineering, or highly regulated industries.
- Knowledge of supplier intelligence platforms such as JOSCAR.
What You'll Bring
- Strategic thinking and commercial leadership.
- Exceptional negotiation and relationship-building skills.
- The ability to work collaboratively across multiple business functions.
- A focus on delivering measurable business value and procurement excellence.
- A willingness to travel within the UK and internationally to visit suppliers, attend industry events, and support programme activities.
Our employee values
Draken is committed to eliminating unlawful and unfair discrimination and we celebrate the differences that a diverse workforce brings. A range of perspective and talent supports our values and drives our success, with a mix of voices generating better discussions, business decisions and outcomes for all.
At all our sites internationally, every member of the Draken team is accountable to ensure that we are all treated fairly and with respect.
We are also an Armed Forces friendly organisation, and as part of our commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant, welcome applications from veterans and services spouses and partners who met the criteria in our job specifications.
In line with our Disability Confident Commitments, we provide reasonable adjustments to facilitate our interview process, please liaise with us if any reasonable adjustments are required.
