Associate Director, Procurement & Estates

Role:  Associate Director – Procurement & Estates
Location: Manchester, 2-3 days a week

Thanks for checking out our job opening; we are excited that YOU are interested in learning more about NCC Group.

We are on a mission to make society a safer and more secure place. Our people are the ones who make that possible; a global community of talented individuals working together towards a safer future.

We aim to create an environment where everyone can reach their full potential. We work together, we are brilliantly creative, we embrace difference and we want you to join in our mission, to make the world safer and more secure.

Take a look at our website here to learn more about why we’re one of the leading global Cyber Security and Risk Mitigation business… https://www.nccgroup.com/uk/

The Opportunity:

The Global Head of Procurement and Estates is responsible for overseeing and leading the global procurement strategy, driving cost efficiencies, supplier relationships, and procurement processes across all regions.

This position also manages the company’s estates portfolio, including real estate strategy, facilities management, and office space planning. The role is instrumental in ensuring the smooth and cost-effective operation of procurement and estate management activities that align with the Group's business objectives, sustainability goals, and operational needs.

Working as part of the Global Procurement & Estates team, you will be a proactive and effective business partner to a global business. We are a collaborative team who pride ourselves on the support we offer to one another and the business. You will have the opportunity to work in a high profile and thought-provoking area of the technology industry, both at a national and international level. 

Key Accountabilities:

• Developing and implementing a comprehensive global procurement strategy to support the Group’s long-term goals. Ensuring alignment with overall business objectives and sustainability initiatives.

• Building and maintaining strong relationships with suppliers and vendors, negotiating favourable contracts and ensuring compliance with service-level agreements (SLAs) and quality standards.

• Identifying and implementing cost-saving opportunities and strategies across the global procurement function while maintaining quality and service levels.

• Delivering ‘total cost of ownership’ (TCO) savings and value generation across designated category portfolios.

• Developing and executing strategies to mitigate procurement risks, including geopolitical, market volatility, and supply chain disruptions.

• Utilising procurement analytics to track spending, supplier performance, and market trends. Providing detailed and actionable reports to senior management, which highlight trends, opportunities and risks.

• Ensuring that all procurement activities comply with legal, ethical, and regulatory standards across different regions. Implementing policies and procedures to drive transparency and accountability.

• Promoting consistent compliance with procurement good practice through building robust relationships with stakeholders and being seen as a trusted advisor and business partner.

• Collaborating with senior leadership, Finance, HR, and other departments to ensure that procurement and estates strategies align with organisational needs and colleague experience.

• Leading change management initiatives related to procurement and estate planning, ensuring smooth transitions during periods of expansion, downsizing, or office relocations.

• In conjunction with the VP - Global Governance, Procurement & Estates, developing and managing the budget for procurement and estates activities, ensuring efficient resource allocation and cost control across all regions.

• Leading, mentoring, and developing a high-performing global procurement & estates team, ensuring professional growth, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing.

Key Competencies

• Excellent negotiation, contract management and influencing skills.  

• Highly commercial and can-do attitude, with a focus on being a strong partner to stakeholders.

• Knowledge of relevant legal, regulatory, and compliance issues across procurement and estates management.

• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage internal and external stakeholders at all levels.

• Proven experience in strategic sourcing and vendor management on a global scale.

• In-depth knowledge of estates management, including real estate strategy, facilities management, and sustainability practices.

• Strong leadership and team management capabilities, with a track record of building and developing high-performing teams.

• Ability to operate in a complex, fast-paced global environment.

• Strong decision-making abilities, with a focus on innovation and continuous improvement.

• Show enthusiasm for difficult tasks and employ a ‘can-do’ attitude in order to get the job done.

• High degree of integrity, accountability, and ethical standards.

Behaviours:

• Focusing on Clients and Customers

• Working as One NCC

• Always Learning

• Being Inclusive and Respectful

• Delivery Brilliantly

About NCC Group

The NCC Group family has over 2,200 members located all around the world, providing a trusted advisory service to 15,000 customers. Born in the UK, we have now have offices in North America, Canada, Europe, Asia- Pacific and United Arab Emirates.

We are passionate about helping our customers to protect their brand, value and reputation against the ever-evolving threat landscape. We fuel that passion with investment in our people and our business.

Our values and code of ethics are at the heart of how we operate – we work together, we are brilliantly creative and we embrace difference. We treat everyone and everything with equal respect.

We want to create an environment where all colleagues feel psychologically, emotionally and physically safe to be authentic, sharing their personal experiences to represent the diversity of the world they live in, and have equal opportunity to achieve their best.

About your application

We review every application received and will get in touch if your skills and experience match what we’re looking for. If you don’t hear back from us within 10 days, please don’t be too disappointed – we may keep your CV on our database for any future vacancies and we would encourage you to keep an eye on our career opportunities as there may be other suitable roles.

If you do not want us to retain your details, please email global.ta@nccgroup.com. All personal data is held in accordance with the NCC Group Privacy Policy (candidate-privacy-notice-261023.pdf (nccgroupplc.com)). We are committed to diversity and flexibility in the workplace. If you require any reasonable adjustments to support you during the application process, please tell us at any stage.

Please note that this role involves mandatory pre-employment background checks due to the nature of the work NCC Group does. To apply, you must be willing and able to undergo the vetting process. This role being advertised will be subject to BS7858 screening as a mandatory requirement.