The Head - Supply Chain (Electronics)

The Head - Supply Chain (Electronics) will lead the transformation of the supply chain function from transaction-focused purchasing to a strategic, analytics-led, and value-driven organisation. This role carries enterprise-wide responsibility for inventory optimisation, supplier strategy, cost leadership, and risk management across programs. The role requires a senior leader with deep electronics engineering foundations, the ability to partner with senior Engineering and Manufacturing stakeholders, and the maturity to drive long-term supply chain strategy, governance, and scalable systems.

The candidate will have responsibilities across the following functions:

Strategic Inventory Management:

• Own enterprise-level inventory strategy across programs and product lines to maximise utilisation and reduce working capital.
• Establish structured mechanisms to publish unused/excess inventory to design and engineering teams for reuse in future designs.
• Enable manufacturing continuity by proactively identifying approved alternates available within existing inventory.
• Drive creation and governance of real-time inventory dashboards for leadership visibility and decision-making.
• Standardise and govern centralised storage systems covering: Electronic components, PCBs, Mechanical parts

Supplier and Vendor Strategy:

• Define and own the vendor strategy and supplier segmentation model.
• Lead identification, onboarding, qualification, and rationalisation of strategic and tactical suppliers.
• Chair formal vendor performance reviews, covering quality, delivery, cost, responsiveness, and risk.
• Lead commercial negotiations using market intelligence, cost modelling, and fair-value benchmarks.
• Build long-term strategic supplier partnerships to secure priority allocation, technical support, and risk shielding.
• Negotiate and govern long-term contracts and supply agreements, including pricing protection, lead-time commitments, and service levels.

Planning, Strategy and Risk Leadership:

• Drive advanced demand planning and forecasting using analytics, ERP, and planning tools.
• Consolidate multi-program requirements to achieve volume leverage and cost optimisation.
• Sponsor and approve cost-effective alternate sourcing strategies with improved supplier support and shorter lead times.
• Establish governance for component lifecycle management, including: Obsolescence identification, EOL and Last-Time-Buy (LTB) planning
• Lead proactive identification and qualification of alternate components for at-risk or obsolete BOM items.
• Reduce logistics costs through shipment optimisation and consolidation strategies.
• Own the supply chain risk register and drive mitigation plans at program and portfolio levels.
• Lead structured cost reduction and value engineering initiatives with measurable savings targets.
• Ensure fast, accurate, and executive-ready reporting for leadership reviews.

Procurement and Execution Excellence:

• Provide senior oversight to ensure on-time, in-full procurement execution across all programs.
• Establish clear governance and communication models with internal stakeholders (Engineering, Manufacturing, Program Management).
• Drive process simplification and cycle-time reduction across purchasing workflows.
• Embed strong execution discipline, proactive follow-ups, and escalation mechanisms.

Process, Systems and Transformation Leadership:

• Serve as transformation sponsor for supply chain process standardisation and maturity uplift.
• Identify gaps and implement industry best practices across procurement, planning, and inventory management.
• Drive digitisation and ERP/PLM integration initiatives.
• Establish standardized vendor reporting frameworks and review cadence.
• Build scalable systems and governance models suitable for long-term growth.

People and Stakeholder Leadership:

• Lead, mentor, and develop supply chain and procurement teams.
• Influence senior Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, and Finance stakeholders without direct authority.
• Represent the Supply Chain function in senior leadership and program review forums.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE).
• Strong technical grounding in: Electronic components and semiconductor parts, PCB manufacturing and EMS operations, Engineering design and change management processes.

Experience Requirements:

• 20+ years of total professional experience.
• Prior hands-on experience in Engineering or Value Engineering, enabling strong technical-commercial decision-making.
• 10-15 years of progressive leadership in Supply Chain / Procurement management within electronics-heavy environments.
• Proven experience working in Defence and Aerospace, Electronics, Embedded Systems, Semiconductor, or EMS industries preferred.
• Demonstrated track record of leading large-scale supply chain transformation initiatives.

Level Indicators (Senior Manager):

• Ownership of function-wide strategy, not just execution.
• Manages managers or senior individual contributors.
• Regular interaction with CXO / Business Head / Engineering Leadership.
• Accountable for cost, risk, and continuity outcomes.