Head of Procurement – Focus Markets

Overview

Job Title : Head of Procurement – Focus Markets

Job Status : Full-time, permanent

Work Location : Hoboken, New Jersey

LIPTON Teas and Infusions is a leading tea business with brands including Lipton, PG Tips and Pukka. As Lipton Teas and Infusions operates as a standalone entity with a dedicated single-category focus, the role offers an opportunity to lead procurement strategy across North America, Europe, and the UK to deliver growth and responsible sourcing across the supply chain.

Your Role : As Head of Procurement – Focus Markets, you hold a pivotal strategic leadership role, overseeing the full spectrum of technical and commercial procurement across tea, raw materials, and packaging for North America, Europe, and the UK. You are accountable for managing total cost of ownership while ensuring product excellence through best-in-class quality, tea blend performance, cost, cash, and sustainability performance. You will lead a team of Tea buyers and blenders covering Lipton Focus Markets. Acting as a key bridge between regional priorities and the Global Procurement function, you align local strategies and goals with global objectives to drive competitive advantage across the value chain. Leading a high-performing procurement team and working closely with R&I, Finance, Supply Chain, and Quality, you play a central role in delivering business growth, financial results, and responsibly sourced, market-leading products across your regions.

Your Key Responsibilities

• Strategic Sourcing & Category Management
• Develop regional sourcing strategies (where required), aligned with global procurement objectives and goals.
• Co-create and execute global material sourcing strategies in your regions.
• Lead cost optimization, cash improvement, supplier consolidation, and value engineering initiatives.
• Bring market, supplier, and competitor insight into the business units, providing optimum forecast pricing and trends while supporting strategic stocking decisions for both tea buying and blending.
• Lead the team in weekly tasting and classification of Teas in relevant channels, including executing buying plans to deliver efficiency as per plan.
• Supplier Relationship Management
• Build and maintain strong relationships with strategic suppliers to ensure consistent quality, service, and innovation.
• Negotiate contracts and terms with key regional and local suppliers.
• Ensure supplier compliance with food safety, regulations, sustainability, and ethical sourcing standards.
• Cross-functional & Regional Alignment
• Collaborate with operations, R&I, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to align procurement plans with production, innovation, and financial targets.
• Be the key decision-maker and advisor, serving as the primary point of contact for direct procurement in the North American market.
• Collaborate with the Global Tea, Herbal, and Packaging network to provide demand requirements for raw and packaging materials, working with relevant SAP / Icron tools.
• Risk & Supply Chain Management
• Identify and mitigate supply risks (e.g., geopolitical, climate, commodity price volatility).
• Lead business continuity planning and supplier diversification strategies.
• Ensure inventory optimization and OTIF (On Time In Full) delivery performance.
• People Leadership & Capability Building
• Lead and develop regional procurement teams; foster talent development, build an inclusive culture, and create an engaged, high-performing function.
• Lead the team for correct tasting and classification of Teas and categorization as per Tea Lingo for all channels.
• Lead discussions with Co-ordination and align buying solutions proposed by Icron.
• Sustainability & Compliance
• Drive responsible sourcing and sustainability targets in procurement practices.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, ESG, and regulatory standards across the supply base.
• Procurement Operations
• Manage the blending team in weekly tea tasting, blend issuance OTIF and on spec (PBBS).
• Support Blend Demand requirements enabling 98.5% Customer Service delivery against forecast.
• Provide full Market input into all R&I black and green tea development projects within the region in collaboration with the Tea Expertise manager in R&I.
• Propose, agree, and deliver stock norms.
• Own and ensure all master data for Tea-specific SAP and Icron systems is updated on time and in full.
• Skills and Experience
• Proven expertise in tea procurement, blending, and supplier management.
• Strong commercial acumen with a track record in cost optimization, supplier negotiations, and risk management.
• Experience leading cross-functional teams and driving regional / global alignment.
• Deep understanding of sustainability, ESG compliance, and responsible sourcing practices.
• Strong leadership and people development skills, with experience building inclusive and high-performing teams.
• Advanced proficiency in SAP / Icron systems and procurement data management.
• Excellent communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills across global and regional functions.

Benefits & Perks

EEO statement : LIPTON Teas and Infusions is an equal opportunity employer. We welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If you require any support or access requirements, please advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through the recruitment journey.

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