Head of Strategic Global Sourcing.Global Sourcing - Management

Job Purpose 

To lead and execute Panda Retail Company’s strategic global sourcing agenda by developing and managing international supplier networks, sourcing strategies, and commercial partnerships that ensure competitive cost structures, consistent quality,supply continuity, and innovation. The role is accountable for identifying global sourcing opportunities, optimizing total cost of ownership, strengthening supplier capabilities, and aligning sourcing strategies with commercial, supply chain, and private label objectives to support sustainable growth and margin improvement.

Key Accountability 

1) Financial Accountability

• Develop the global sourcing strategy and annual sourcing plans to deliver cost competitiveness, margin improvement, and long-term value creation.
• Lead commercial negotiations with international suppliers to secure optimal pricing, payment terms, MOQs, and cost structures.
• Control global sourcing spend and cost drivers to ensure adherence to budgets and achievement of savings targets.
• Analyze total cost of ownership (TCO) including product cost, logistics, duties, lead times, and risks to optimize sourcing decisions.
• Identify global sourcing opportunities for private label, import, and exclusive products to enhance profitability and differentiation.
• Support commercial and category teams with financial sourcing insights to enable informed assortment, pricing, and margin decisions.

2) People Accountability

• Lead the Strategic Global Sourcing team by setting clear objectives, managing performance, and developing capabilities to build a high-performing international sourcing function.
• Develop sourcing, negotiation, supplier management, and market intelligence skills within the team to enhance commercial and analytical maturity.
• Assign and manage category and regional sourcing responsibilities to ensure clarity of ownership and effective workload distribution.
• Promote ethical sourcing practices, compliance, and governance to ensure alignment with corporate values and international standards.
• Build succession plans and talent pipelines to ensure continuity and sustainability of sourcing expertise.

3) Customers Accountability

• Partner with Commercial, Category Management, Private Label, Quality, and Supply Chain teams to align global sourcing strategies with customer needs and market requirements.
• Ensure reliable supply availability and continuity from global suppliers to support product launches, promotions, and ongoing assortment needs.
• Collaborate with Quality Assurance and Compliance to ensure sourced products meet regulatory, safety, and quality standards.
• Support innovation and new product development by identifying suppliers with differentiated capabilities, technologies, and materials.
• Manage strategic supplier relationships to enhance service levels, responsiveness, collaboration, and long-term partnerships.
• Resolve escalated supplier performance or supply disruption issues to protect business continuity and customer satisfaction.

4) Processes Accountability

• Design and implement global sourcing policies, procedures, and governance frameworks to ensure consistency, transparency, and control across regions.
• Oversee end-to-end global sourcing lifecycle including supplier identification, qualification, contracting, and performance management to ensure efficiency and compliance.
• Establish supplier segmentation and performance management frameworks to drive accountability, continuous improvement, and risk mitigation.
• Ensure compliance with international trade regulations, customs requirements, ESG standards, and ethical sourcing practices to mitigate legal, reputational, and operational risks.
• Lead risk assessment and mitigation planning for global suppliers to manage geopolitical, supply chain, and operational risks.
• Drive collaboration with Logistics and Supply Chain teams to optimize lead times, freight utilization, and inbound planning.
• Leverage market intelligence, benchmarking, and analytics to inform sourcing decisions and strategic planning.
• Prepare and present periodic global sourcing performance reports to provide executive visibility and governance oversight.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and adoption of best practices to enhance global sourcing maturity and resilience.

Qualifications: University degree in Business Management, Marketing or related field.

Professional Certifications: Category Management, Negotiation or Project Management certifications advantageous

Experience: 7+ years’ experience within FMCG/CPG retail or manufacturing, with demonstrated responsibility for Private Brand and/or category management, product development, sourcing and commercial negotiations. Management experience essential.

Key Competencies: 

• Strong business and commercial acumen
• Advanced negotiation and supplier management capability
• Data-driven analytical and problem-solving skills
• Direct and cross-functional leadership and stakeholder management
• Strategic planning and execution discipline (PLM experience beneficial)
• Ability to manage complexity and ambiguity
• High integrity and accountability