Head of Strategic Supplier Management

The Head of Strategic Supplier Management leads Dis-Chem’s strategic supplier relationships, driving value through aligned growth ambitions, trading terms, funding, and joint business planning. The role oversees vendor-facing teams across the Dis-Chem group to ensure consistent governance, strong partnerships, and maximum commercial value across priority vendors.

Minimum Requirements…

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Commerce, Economics, or a related field
• (postgraduate qualification preferred) OR minimum 10-12 years’ experience in strategic vendor management, commercial leadership, or category leadership within retail or FMCG.
• Proven track record in leading senior vendor negotiations, unlocking scale benefits, and managing large supplier portfolios.
• Leadership experience, including managing commercial teams.

Advantageous

• N/A

Job Specification…

Strategy and value delivery

• Define and lead the strategic vendor management strategy, including vendor tiering, engagement models, and value-creation priorities.
• Oversee commercial value extraction across strategic vendors, including trading terms, funding, retail media investment, and joint business plans.
• Ensure alignment between vendor strategies, category priorities, retail media propositions, and TLC execution to maximise total vendor value.

Leadership & Collaboration

• Lead and coordinate vendor-facing teams across the Dis-Chem group.
• Act as the senior point of engagement for executive-level vendor relationships and negotiations.
• Partner closely with Category, Commercial, Marketing, Wholesale, and Finance teams to align vendor strategies and execution.

Governance & Risk

• Establish and enforce governance frameworks for vendor agreements, trading terms, funding, retail media commitments, and TLC promotions.
• Ensure consistent application of pricing, margin, and commercial guardrails across all strategic vendors.
• Monitor vendor performance, risk exposure, and compliance, escalating issues and reporting outcomes to executive leadership.

Key Competencies

• Strong strategic and commercial acumen with deep experience in vendor and supplier management.
• Ability to lead complex, cross-functional teams and align multiple commercial levers.
• Excellent negotiation, stakeholder management, and executive communication skills.

Special conditions of employment

Key performance indicators:

• Strategic vendor value delivery – Total vendor funding secured, net margin contribution, and commercial value realised.
• Vendor performance and engagement – Vendor investment growth, share of wallet, and strategic vendor satisfaction.
• Governance and compliance – Adherence to commercial guardrails, contract compliance, and audit outcomes.
• Improvement in team culture score.