Qiddiya is a flagship giga project under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 initiative, aiming to create a world-class entertainment, cultural and lifestyle destination. As a multibillion-dollar project, Qiddiya will encompass vast infrastructure development, hospitality, retail and service sectors, requiring robust strategic procurement management. The Executive Director, Strategic Procurement will lead the development and execution of procurement strategies across key categories such as building materials, design consultants, contractor services, etc., ensuring alignment with Qiddiya’s strategic goals.
The successful candidate will oversee procurement strategies across various categories, ensuring alignment with project goals, compliance with regulations and optimization of value levers – such as innovation, budget adherence, speed, quality, etc. The role demands strong leadership in category management, supplier intelligence dissemination and procurement innovation to deliver beyond cost savings on all value dimensions, such as by ensuring quality improvement and risk mitigation. The Executive Director, Strategic Procurement, will act as a partner to business unit leaders and the Central Development Unit (CDU) to ensure that category strategies seamlessly translate into operational procurement across all procurement strategies across Qiddiya’s diverse and large-scale projects.
- Lead the development and implementation of strategic sourcing plans and category strategies for Corporate and Development teams in alignment with Qiddiya’s long-term vision and strategic objectives, focusing on scalability, on-time delivery, innovation and value optimization across spend categories.
- Act as a partner to the business, particularly Development BU Heads and CDU,to support translation of category strategies into procurement operations and broader project development goals.
- Oversee continuous monitoring of internal and external factors influencing category strategies, ensuring that demand forecasting aligns with operational needs.
- Drive full value enablement by selecting appropriate levers across categories to extract maximum value from the procurement spend, including non-commercial levers such as specification improvement, partnerships, etc., identifying opportunities for strategic sourcing, supplier consolidation, volume purchasing and value engineering.
- Ensure compliance of category strategies and sourcing projects with the procurement policy, Local Content policy, Supplier Development Program guidelines and KSA and PIF legal requirements.
- Engage cross-functional teams in category risk management, creating mitigation strategies for supply chain risks, such as geopolitical factors and market volatility.
- Lead negotiations on frame agreements and oversee contract development with key strategic suppliers.
- Ensure transparency on short-, mid- and long-term demand for categories in close cooperation with Development BU heads, CDU and Finance teams.
- Act as a peer/partner to business unit heads and CDU to ensure strategic alignment of procurement activities across critical categories such as building materials, contractor services and design consultancy.
- Identify critical suppliers, in collaboration with Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) team, in each category that can be suitable partners that operational procurement teams can engage with in respective categories.
Requirements
- 20+ years of experience in strategic procurement or category management in large-scale projects, preferably in construction, real estate or urban development.
- Strong background in managing complex category strategies (building materials, design consultants, etc.) and indirect categories (IT, marketing, etc.).
- Proven track record of working in cross-collaborative environments and ensuring differing goals and needs align with overarching category strategy approach.
- Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field. MBA or advanced degree preferred.
- CIPS, CPSM, or CSCP certification preferred but not a prerequisite.
- Fluency in English is required, with proficiency in Arabic highly desirable.
Benefits
Comprehensive benefits package
