Welcome to our third newsletter for 2022 highlighting Procurement and Supply Chain hiring trends in Quarter Three.

Welcome to our latest review focusing on placements and trends in the Procurement and Supply Chain sector, based on our observations. The sector continues to be very buoyant, and it is currently a candidate driven market. Companies are under more pressure than ever to closely examine third party expenditure due to macro-economic challenges and geopolitical tensions. Interest rates and inflation continue to climb globally and companies must react. Procurement professionals are well placed to deal with these challenges through diligent supplier management and efficient demand control. 

Jump to:

Banking and Financial Services

Consulting and Outsourcing

Energy and Utilities

Construction/Infrastructure

Facilities Management and Real Estate

Banking and Financial Services

We have made a several placements in retail and financial services banking sectors. We have placed two individuals with a large Asian Bank in the IT and Professional services area. The bank is moving to a global model and needs additions to the team to help with the transition. The Professional Services role will also incorporate corporate real estate in the new model. In the technology area, the focus is on cloud licensing and networks. The bank is a long-established client of psd and it had been a pleasure to support them over the years. 

Elsewhere we have been working on assignments in the Contracts Management area, on both the IT and non-IT categories. This global full services bank has experienced rapid growth in recent months and the supplier base has expanded. Therefore, a more robust system of supplier management has been required and we have placed two individuals to lead the function. It has been a challenging assignment as the bank has exacting standards. Because of our history with them we quickly identified the individuals who we knew would fit into the culture well.  

Other assignments have been with smaller FinTech businesses and a major insurance organisation which has been looking for support in the Source to Pay area. We have also been busy building relationships with Coupa and Ariba Project Managers who are at the cutting edge of Procurement operations technology. We are expecting more assignments in the financial services businesses sector where we have always been very strong. 

Consulting and Outsourcing

In the last quarter we have worked with several businesses that have experienced rapid growth in the last 6 months. We have supported a global Procurement outsourcing business to find individuals in the UK, US and Central Europe. This has been an enjoyable yet challenging assignment where we have placed leaders in the outsourcing, technology and professional services categories as well as recruiting a Head of HR for Central Europe. Because of our international contacts and our network built up over many years, we have delivered on several projects for the business in the last quarter and are working on more. It has been great to speak to the successful candidates who are enjoying their time with this progressive organisation. 

In Consulting, we have placed a number of candidates in Director and Senior Manager positions. We have worked with a global business to recruit individuals in the Advisory Practice where the firm has struggled to identify the right caliber of individual. We are also working with the firm in the Procurement Transformation Practice where they are building a new team to help with the expanding pipeline of work. 

Energy and Utilities

The Energy and Utilities sector remains a key area for the Procurement and Supply Chain practice. We have observed procurement leaders collaborating to overcome the significant environmental challenge. This global commitment to environmental sustainability creates opportunities for the procurement community. 

We have been supporting our partners and innovators within the power generation sector. We have successfully identified a procurement Director for a major integrated energy solutions provider and placed a global facilities management procurement lead to help the formation of a sustainable sourcing department. We are also assisting in the growth of a telecommunications procurement and commercial team, who are investing heavily in secure, sustainable digital infrastructure. 

Within the water sector, we continue to identify strong commercial professionals to support the investment programmes required to overcome challenges around storage, delivery, and treatment. Our most notable project was supporting in the implementation of a new procurement transformation programme by successfully identifying a new Procurement Manager (Head of) and Procurement Business Partner. 

We have also supported a long-standing client within the Oil and Gas sector on an interim technology sourcing assignment, alongside identifying several interim contracts advisors for a new project in Africa. It is encouraging to see the diversification of many traditional Oil and Gas companies, and we are excited to support our partners on new projects encompassing their investments in solar, wind, hydro, EV, and energy storage infrastructure. 

Construction and Infrastructure

There has been continued demand for procurement professionals within the Infrastructure Consultancy sector. We have supported numerous practices in the growth and development of their advisory functions, with a variety of national assignments from consultant through to director level. Competition for commercial talent with expertise in major public sector infrastructure projects is fierce. For developing procurement leaders, infrastructure expertise combined with a deep understanding of contracts methodology which can be the route to an exciting and lucrative career path. 

We have seen more stabilisation of the market within the Affordable Housing sector and there has been few mergers and acquisitions compared to the past 18-month period. The emphasis now is on growing talented procurement teams, with a strong focus on implementing ESG assessments into all tenders. Recent events have changed priorities for many procurement professionals, and we have supported numerous providers in identifying and securing private sector talent. Despite the significant challenges surrounding development, materials supply and cladding, the affordable housing sector is well positioned for professionals looking to reassess their work-life balance and make a positive social impact. 

The Residential Development sector continues to tackle significant challenges surrounding material supply chains. Volatility in price, logistics and quality has put procurement professionals to the forefront of many organisations and we have seen significant investment in addressing ESG goals. We have supported a national developer in the formation of their new sustainable sourcing function and are pleased to see their progress in promoting local supply chains, utilising reduced emissions plant, and trialling a range of sustainable materials. 

Facilities Management and Real Estate

The future of the workplace is still being debated, but investors and service providers within the Facilities Management and Real Estate industries remain confident of the critical role that offices play in promoting collaboration across companies. 

Despite initial projections, there has yet to be any significant consolidation of real estate networks within the UK. Many employers continue to wrestle with their workforce location strategy, and we have seen a broad variety of office, hybrid, and remote strategies in place.  

FM service providers are capitalising on their expertise to provide a variety of specialist services including supply chain advisory, digital infrastructure procurement and energy optimisation. There is a significant focus on reducing carbon emissions from the built environment and we are becoming increasingly involved in supporting procurement leaders to identify professionals who are passionate about achieving net-zero. 

The core expertise in this sector continues to be hard and soft FM procurement, though this is increasingly being challenged by fast-growing functions encompassing data centres, logistics, and advisory. PSD has been involved in a broad variety of projects across this sector where we have also sourced talent from across the technology, consulting, manufacturing, and construction industries. We anticipate the needs of procurement functions within this space growing alongside the variety of services being offered. 

For a confidential discussion regarding your own career, recruitment, the market, or the challenges you are currently facing, please reach out to our experts using the contact details below.