Head of Procurement - Supply Chain

Job Description

Company Description

We’re ASOS, the online retailer for fashion lovers all around the world.

We exist to give our customers the confidence to be whoever they want to be, and that goes for our people too. At ASOS, you’re free to be your true self without judgement, and channel your creativity into a platform used by millions.

But how are we showing up? We’re proud members of Inclusive Companies, are Disability Confident Committed and have signed the Business in the Community Race at Work Charter and we placed 8th in the Inclusive Top 50 Companies Employer list.

Everyone needs some help showing up as their best self. Let our Talent team know if you need any adjustments throughout the process in whatever way works best for you.

Job Description

Supply Chain is a critical pillar of ASOS’ operations, with an annual spend exceeding £630 million. This global sourcing role is responsible for managing a diverse portfolio of services that underpin our end-to-end logistics and infrastructure strategy.

Key categories include:

• Courier Services: Oversight of last-mile delivery partners across global markets.
• Inbound Freight: Management of sea, air, and road freight operations to ensure timely and cost-effective stock movement.
• Third-Party Logistics (3PL): Coordination of inbound and returns logistics through external providers.
• Capital Expenditure Projects: Delivery of infrastructure and fit-out programmes to support growth and operational efficiency.
• Automation Initiatives: Sourcing and implementation of automation solutions to enhance warehouse and fulfilment capabilities.
• Mechanical & Electrical (M&E) Services: Procurement of technical services to support infrastructure and operational resilience.

This role demands strategic sourcing expertise, strong supplier management capabilities, and a deep understanding of global logistics and infrastructure development.

The key purpose of this Head of Procurement - Supply Chain role is to lead and collaborate on commercial activity to maximise value from ASOS’s investment in Supply Chain Capex and Opex.

The Details

Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders to develop and deliver a comprehensive strategy for managing in-scope third party spend. Responsibilities shall include:

Build and manage effective relationships

• Manage strategic relationships, negotiating complex, high value third party agreements, on behalf of ASOS, with the ability to influence at highest levels internally and externally. Be a trusted business partner, and professionally challenge where appropriate.

Category strategy and planning

• Partner, lead and support the Supply Chain Capex and Opex community to develop a deep understanding of their objectives, their current needs, their evolving needs, and their strategies. Lead the Supply Chain Procurement team to identify relevant category insights to build and align category strategies and plans (in the Financial Year) with stakeholders that will maximise value, innovation and create competitive advantage for ASOS.
• Ensuring category plans are effectively executed – support and guide team members to provide strong commercial leadership on all areas of Supply Chain Capex expenditure.
• Build a deep and current knowledge of the category supply landscape, providing actionable insights to the Supply Chain Capex community.

Value Delivery

• Develop and lead the delivery of an agreed pipeline of commercial activity, ensuring commercial rigour is applied, and benefits are accurately captured and reported. Demonstrate tenacity and agility to ensure that risks to delivery are identified and mitigated effectively.
• Creation and buy in to key supplier management strategy to drive improved performance across the supply base and identify areas for additional value delivery.
• In conjunction with Legal & Finance, ensure contracts protect ASOS’s interests and facilitate compliance with ASOS’s policies and transaction processing requirements.
• Supporting key supplier governance to ensure that anticipated business benefits are delivered and that the pipeline is actively managed.
• Identification of revenue improvement opportunities, delivering where possible measurable savings, cost avoidance and other benefits against agreed targets, ensuring a balanced approach between cost savings and other business metrics such as value creation.

Team and functional leadership

• Build and manage a team that are the recognised Supply Chain category subject matter experts in ASOS.
• Lead and develop the category team including developing, leading and overseeing delivery of objectives, hosting regular 1-2-1s and defining career development plans.
• Actively promote efficiencies, e.g. automation and AI, as part of category planning and execution and build easy to adopt buying channels through collaboration with Procurement Optimisation.
• Contribute and uphold the agreed values/behaviours of the team.
• As a senior leader within ASOS, support and lead relevant cross procurement and cross functional initiatives as and when requested by the Director of Procurement and Property. The role and category ownership of this role may widen to cover other GNFR categories in the future so a leader that will embrace this is critical.
• On request, deputise for the Director of Procurement and Property.
• Supporting our culture by championing Diversity, Equity & Inclusion strategies

We believe being together in person helps us move faster, connect more deeply, and achieve more as a team. That’s why our approach to working together includes spending at least 3 days a week in the office. It’s a rhythm that speeds up decision-making, helps ASOSers learn from each other more quickly, and builds the kind of culture where people can grow, create, and succeed.

Qualifications

• A deep understanding of Supply Chain and Logistics in retail, and experience of major Capex and Opex programmes.
• A proven ability to deliver exceptional commercial value while effectively managing risk, with a strong focus on total cost of ownership.
• Strong collaborator with a passion for leading teams to achieve stretching outcomes in the face of ambiguity.
• Interest in contributing beyond immediate area of responsibility.
• Working within a fast-paced Procurement environment with multiple competing priorities. Proven ability to autonomously define, manage and prioritise across a high workload.
• Proven experience in developing and establishing supply chain sourcing strategies whilst embedding them in a driven organisation
• A thorough understanding of relevant procurement systems and tools and proactively providing input to the centre of excellence on improvement opportunities.
• Has relevant experience or has completed CIPS certification.
• The ability to proactively pivot quickly and prioritise effectively within a dynamic environment susceptible to change.
• The ability to face and resolve multiple complex issues in a collaborative manner
• Strong communication skills and ability to forge relationships with suppliers and stakeholders that are fit for purpose and positively represents procurement.
• The confidence and motivation to work independently whilst ensuring senior stakeholders and management are appropriately informed or consulted as required.

Additional Information

BeneFITS’

• Employee discount (hello ASOS discount!)
• Employee sample sales
• 25 days paid annual leave + an extra celebration day for a special moment
• Performance related bonus
• Private medical care scheme
• Opportunity for personalised learning and in-the-moment experiences that enable you to thrive and excel in your role.

Why take our word for it? Search #InsideASOS on our socials to see what life at ASOS is like.