Head of Global Procurement, Transformation, Process Excellence & Risk

Head of Global Procurement, Transformation, Process Excellence & Risk

About us

With over 200 brands sold in nearly 180 countries, we're the world's leading premium drinks company. From global icons like Johnnie Walker, Guinness and Tanqueray to Smirnoff and Don Julio, we create brands consumers love. Bring your passion and use your curiosity as you explore, collaborate and innovate. Together with passionate people from all over the world, you'll test new ideas, learn and grow, and unlock a brighter, more exciting future.

Join us to create a career worth celebrating.

About the function

Our Procurement team are innovators, always seeking new ways to help our business, people and much-loved brands thrive. We're dedicated to maximising the £12 billion+ we spend every year, building brands of premium quality, while creating sustainable value and growth. Together, we're shaping the services, partnerships and innovations that meet our future needs.

Our procurement team delivers outstanding end-to-end value across our supply chain and offers innovative supplier solutions. Together, we're driving our 'Society 2030: Spirit of Progress' plan across suppliers and agency partners to create a more sustainable world. Wherever you choose to carve your career, we'll support and encourage you in our inclusive culture

About the role:

The Head of Global Procurement, Transformation, Process Excellence & Risk is responsible for leading and driving strategic procurement initiatives that enhance process efficiency, manage risk effectively, and transform procurement operations across Diageo's global footprint. This role demands a visionary leader who can align procurement strategies with business objectives to deliver sustainable value through new ideas, improved methods, and smarter workflows that advance business goals. You will champion this approach, finding opportunities for breakthrough solutions, experimentation, and supplier-enabled innovation.

This role will drive digitisation, AI adoption, and continuous improvement, while building a procurement culture known for progressive thinking, future-ready capability, and innovation-led performance.

Role Responsibilities:

Strategic Leadership

• Partner with the CPO and GPLT to refine and implement a comprehensive global procurement strategy that aligns with Diageo's business goals.

• Develop a forward-looking digital, AI, and innovation roadmap for procurement that drives measurable business value.
• Identify, evaluate, and pilot emerging technologies such as predictive analytics, intelligent automation, IoT visibility, and blockchain transparency - areas recognised as top procurement innovations shaping 2026.
• Establish and manage an innovation pipeline, from ideation through proof-of-concept to scaling successful solutions across global procurement.
• Maintain external awareness of market trends, start-up ecosystems, and supplier innovations to ensure procurement remains ahead of industry shifts.

• Lead the design and evolution of a modern, digitally enabled procurement operating model.
• Embed innovation practices such as design thinking, lean experimentation, and continuous improvement to simplify and enhance global procurement processes.
• Redesign workflows, removing friction and utilising automation to improve speed, accuracy, and decision-making.
• Shape future capabilities by embedding digital literacy and innovation behaviours across teams.

• Develop innovative supplier engagement models focused on co-creation, joint problem solving, and new value discovery - reflecting modern trends where suppliers play a central role in innovation.
• Partner with strategic suppliers, startups, and technology providers to explore and co-develop innovative solutions.
• Implement mechanisms to capture supplier innovation ideas, assessing feasibility, desirability, and commercial viability.

• Act as a trusted innovation and digital advisor to regional and global procurement leaders.
• Facilitate cross-market collaboration networks to share digital standard processes, innovation successes, and scalable transformation patterns.
• Shape governance structures that support innovation, responsible risk-taking, and agile decision-making.

• Lead change management strategies that promote a culture of curiosity, experimentation, and innovation.
• Communicate innovation outcomes and digital value stories to inspire widespread adoption.
• Design and facilitate innovation forums, hackathons, and capability-building programmes.

• Identify potential risks in the supply chain and develop robust mitigation strategies to ensure continuity and compliance.
• Establish clear indicators that measure end-to-end end to end performance of the function.
• Build dashboards and performance frameworks that track innovation return on investment and benefits realisation.
• Ensure innovations deliver tangible improvements in cost, speed, resilience, sustainability, and supplier performance.

• Build and nurture a high-performing team capable of delivering complex projects while fostering a culture of innovation and collaboration.

• Proven experience in a senior leadership role within global procurement or supply chain management.
• Demonstrated understanding of supply chain and procurement risk management.
• Proven track record driving innovation, digital transformation, or emerging technology adoption within procurement or supply chain.
• Exceptional understanding of risk management principles within a global supply chain context.
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to influence at all levels.
• Demonstrated ability to build high-performing teams in a dynamic environment.

• Experience with supplier innovation programmes, co-development initiatives, or strategic partnership models.
• Familiarity with innovation procurement approaches (acquiring emerging, not-yet-mainstream solutions), an area defined as investing in early technologies to gain competitive advantage.
• Understanding of sustainability-driven innovation, circular procurement, and responsible sourcing.