Strategic Sourcing & Procurement Team Lead

About the role

A company is looking for an experienced sourcing leader in Jászárokszállás, Hungary, who can combine strong people leadership, commercial judgement and strategic negotiation skills with the ability to build trust across the business. The role leads a small, experienced team of Strategic Buyers and connects Sourcing with R&D, Finance, Operations and other functions. You will not manage every transaction yourself, but provide direction, step into the most strategic negotiations and complex supplier situations, and ensure sourcing decisions support the business's financial performance.

Key responsibilities

• Lead, coach and develop a team of about four Strategic Buyers
• Set clear priorities and give hands-on support in complex or high-impact sourcing situations
• Take part in strategic supplier negotiations where senior leadership, escalation or commercial strength is needed
• Build strong working relationships with R&D, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain and other stakeholders
• Turn business needs into effective sourcing strategies and align functions
• Contribute to financial performance through cost management, sourcing productivity, supplier optimisation and P&L awareness
• Monitor sourcing performance and report clearly to leadership
• Strengthen supplier performance, commercial terms and supply resilience, and help resolve critical supplier, quality, delivery and commercial issues
• Maintain a modern approach to strategic sourcing and procurement, using SAP S/4HANA accurately
• Travel about 25% of the time to support teams, suppliers and stakeholders

Required profile

• 7+ years in procurement or strategic sourcing, with 2+ years of leadership responsibility
• Proven track record of leading and developing procurement or sourcing teams
• Strong evidence of leadership impact and measurable business results
• Extensive experience in strategic supplier negotiations and complex commercial discussions
• Strong stakeholder management across R&D, Finance, Operations and senior leadership
• Good understanding of sourcing economics, cost drivers, reporting and P&L impact
• Leadership style that supports the team while being confident enough to defend decisions and take a clear position

Required skills

• SAP S/4HANA or a comparable ERP environment
• Strong English and Hungarian