Director, Procurement Technology & Enablement

Director, Procurement Technology & Enablement

Life Unlimited. At Smith+Nephew, we design and manufacture technology that takes the limits off living.   

Smith+Nephew is transforming how procurement enables growth, innovation, and operational excellence across the enterprise. As Director, Procurement Technology & Enablement, you will play a pivotal leadership role in shaping and delivering a modern, scalable, and data‑driven Source‑to‑Pay (S2P) ecosystem that supports a global, regulated, and performance‑oriented business.

This role owns the end‑to‑end procurement technology strategy and roadmap—from sourcing and contracting through purchasing, supplier data, analytics, and user experience. You will serve as the senior business owner for procurement platforms, data, and digital capabilities, partnering closely with Procurement leadership, Finance, IT, and business stakeholders to ensure technology investments translate into measurable business outcomes.

You will combine strategic vision, hands‑on delivery experience, and strong change leadership to simplify processes, improve compliance, unlock insights, and elevate the experience for both internal stakeholders and suppliers.

Procurement Technology Strategy & Roadmap

• Define and own a multi‑year procurement technology and enablement roadmap aligned to S+N broader digital and transformation agenda.
• Act as the senior business owner for Source‑to‑Pay platforms, ensuring coherent architecture, clear priorities, and disciplined execution across sourcing, contracting, buying, invoicing, and supplier management.
• Continuously assess emerging technologies (including AI‑enabled analytics and automation) and translate relevant innovations into pragmatic, value‑focused use cases.
• Establish robust procurement data governance across master data, supplier data, and transactional data.
• Build analytics and reporting capabilities that deliver actionable insight on spend, supplier performance, risk, compliance, and value delivery.
• Enable consistent use of data and insights in category strategies, sourcing decisions, and supplier management—moving from descriptive reporting to predictive and decision‑support analytics.
• Writing business case for Roadmap

Source‑to‑Contract Design, Delivery & Governance

• Lead the design, selection, and implementation of scalable S2P solutions that balance global standardisation with appropriate business flexibility.
• Partner with IT, Finance, Legal, and Compliance to ensure solutions meet enterprise requirements for integration, internal controls, audit readiness, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.
• Establish clear governance for enhancement intake, prioritisation, change control, and release management across procurement systems.

Adoption, Change & Capability Building

• Lead global change management, communication, and training strategies to drive adoption and sustained value from new tools and processes.
• Improve user experience across buying and sourcing journeys, reducing friction while strengthening compliance and control.
• Build digital capability within the procurement function, partnering with category leaders to embed new ways of working.

Leadership & Enterprise Partnership

• Act as a trusted thought partner to senior Procurement, Finance, and business leaders on digital enablement and process evolution.
• Influence without authority in a complex, matrixed environment, aligning diverse stakeholders around shared outcomes.
• Contribute to the broader evolution of the Global Indirect Procurement operating model and leadership agenda.

What you will need to be successful:

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Information Systems, or a related field.
• 10+ years of progressive experience across procurement, digital transformation, or enterprise systems, with significant leadership accountability.
• Proven experience leading enterprise‑scale Source‑to‑Pay or Procure‑to‑Pay implementations and process transformation initiatives.
• Strong understanding of procurement processes across indirect and/or direct spend in complex, global organisations.

Preferred

• Experience in healthcare, life sciences, or other regulated industries.
• Deep familiarity with leading procurement platforms (e.g., SAP Ariba, Coupa, Ivalua, Jaggaer, CLM and supplier data tools).
• Demonstrated success translating technology investments into measurable business outcomes (adoption, compliance, productivity, insight).
• Advanced degree (MBA or equivalent) a plus.

You Unlimited.

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