Associate Director Direct Procurement

**Job Title: Associate Director Global Procurement Direct
Location: Slough, United Kingdom**

As an Associate Director, Global Procurement Direct you will drive strategic sourcing and category management for Bioprocessing raw materials, leveraging market knowledge, supplier partnerships, and cross-functional collaboration to deliver cost, quality, innovation, and supply chain improvements while supporting business growth and operational excellence.

What you will get:

• An agile dynamic working culture
• An inclusive and ethical workplace
• Compensation programs that recognize high performance
• A variety of benefits dependent on role and location. The full list of our global benefits can be also found on

What you will do

• Strategic Category Management: Lead sourcing, tendering, contract negotiations, and supplier management for raw materials, leveraging market intelligence to build a resilient and competitive supply base that supports innovation, quality, and business growth.
• Supply Risk & Business Continuity: Proactively identify supply chain risks, drive mitigation strategies, and lead cross-functional response plans to ensure continuity of supply, minimise disruption, and protect business performance.
• Stakeholder Partnership: Act as a trusted advisor to business leaders and key stakeholders, providing market expertise, sourcing insight, and strategic guidance to support new opportunities and informed decision-making.
• Supplier Performance & Development: Build strong supplier partnerships, drive performance improvements, review supplier effectiveness, and collaborate with sites to resolve quality, service, and supply challenges.
• Procurement Excellence: Support the implementation of global procurement strategies, policies, processes, and digital tools, while driving supplier performance measurement and continuous improvement initiatives.

What we are looking for

• Basic understanding of preventive, predictive, and corrective maintenance practices.
• Strong leadership and influencing skills, with the ability to engage stakeholders at all levels, build consensus, and communicate effectively across global teams.
• Excellent analytical and problem-solving capabilities, able to assess complex challenges, identify opportunities, and deliver practical, data-driven solutions.
• Proven ability to build and maintain strong global relationships, collaborating effectively with internal stakeholders, suppliers, and external partners across diverse markets and cultures.
• Demonstrated expertise in strategic procurement disciplines, including category management, supplier relationship management, contract management, commercial negotiations, and procurement systems and tools.