Chronos Energy are looking to recruit a Head of Procurement who will be a senior procurement leader, responsible for designing and delivering a group-wide procurement strategy that drives commercial value, strengthens supply-chain resilience, reduces risk, and supports the company's growth, operational excellence, and sustainability objectives. My client are a well-known developer and operator of large district heating/heat network schemes across the UK.
About the Role
Reporting to the Commercial Director, the role leads all sourcing, category management, supplier governance, procurement systems, and contract commercialisation across the enterprise. The Head of Procurement ensures procurement activity is aligned with the companies commercial policies, Delegated Levels of Authority, risk appetite, and long-term investment plans. The role works closely with the SLT to ensure procurement supports high-quality project delivery, reliable operational performance, and value-led lifecycle management. Ultimately, the Head of Procurement ensures the company has a strategic, compliant, sustainable, and commercially disciplined approach to sourcing across all concessions, capital projects, and operational activities.
Responsibilities
A. Strategic Leadership
Develop and lead the enterprise-wide procurement strategy, aligning sourcing activity with business growth, affordability goals, operational plans, and ESG commitments.
Build and lead a high-performing procurement team with strong capability across category management, tendering, negotiation, and supplier performance management.
Establish long-term category strategies, preferred supplier frameworks, and sourcing roadmaps for critical spend areas (plant, civils, M&E, metering, controls, civils, subcontractors, digital systems).
Drive continuous improvement in procurement governance, processes, systems, supplier engagement, data quality, and commercial value creation.
B. Operational Procurement Delivery
Oversee procurement for all capital projects, densification initiatives, lifecycle upgrades, and operational expenditure, ensuring value for money, quality, safety, and risk management.
Lead high-stakes negotiations and contract awards, securing favourable commercial and contractual outcomes.
Maintain and improve standardised procurement assets, including tender packs, evaluation matrices, commercial templates, and contract terms.
Support Regional Directors, Operations, Engineering, and Project Managers by sourcing critical equipment, subcontractors, and materials in line with programme, technical standards, and budget expectations.
Ensure effective purchase-to-pay (P2P), requisitioning, and supplier onboarding processes are embedded consistently across the business.
C. Governance, Controls & Risk Management
Ensure all procurement activity complies with the commercial policies, Delegated Levels of Authority (DLA), and commercial governance framework.
Manage commercial and operational risk through robust supplier evaluation, contract structuring, insurance checks, and financial due diligence.
Develop and monitor procurement KPIs, commercial performance dashboards, and compliance reporting for the Commercial Director and Executive Team.
Support Finance, Legal, and Internal Audit with spend controls, contract compliance, and audit readiness.
Maintain market intelligence on critical categories, inflation, supply-chain disruption, and tender competitiveness.
D. Supplier Management & Strategic Relationships
Build strong relationships with key suppliers, OEMs, contractors, and framework partners, ensuring competitive pricing, dependable delivery, innovation, and quality performance.
Lead Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) for strategic categories, including performance reviews covering safety, quality, delivery, cost, and ESG factors.
Manage supplier risk, build resilience into the supply chain, and ensure continuity of supply for critical operational and construction activities.
Support Technical Excellence and Operations Excellence with technical input into supplier selection and post-contract performance review.
Qualifications/Required skills
Significant procurement leadership experience in energy, utilities, construction, engineering, or comparable capital-intensive industries.
Strong track record of developing procurement strategies that deliver measurable commercial value.
Expertise in negotiation, contract management, supplier management, and commercial risk mitigation.
Strong understanding of procurement systems, ERP platforms, and e-tendering tools.
Knowledge of sustainability, ethical sourcing, social value, and carbon reduction in supply chains
Proven ability to lead high-performing teams and develop procurement capability.
Strong communicator able to influence senior stakeholders, suppliers, and cross-functional teams.
Highly collaborative, working effectively with Commercial, Finance, Operations, Technical Excellence, Programme Management, and Business Development.
Analytical, commercially astute, and comfortable with complex, multi-variable decision-making.
Strong organisational skills with the ability to prioritise effectively in a dynamic environment.