Lean Six Search Group
Specialties · Procurement

Procurement
as advantage.

Transform your Procurement function into a competitive advantage across industries. We look for leaders who don't just manage costs but actively shape revenue streams and operational agility, ensuring every dollar spent strengthens both innovation and efficiency.

The discipline

What this
function owns.

We cover every facet of procurement. We have a genuine understanding of all arms of the procurement process and ask the right questions to identify the ideal talent for your team. We prioritize candidates whose expertise and tenure surpass industry standards, while rigorously evaluating their ability to align procurement strategies with overarching business goals.

The procurement leaders we place don't sit in spend reports. They build supplier relationships that move the business, balance category strategy against operational reality, and treat sourcing as a strategic act, not a process exercise.

Sub-specialties

Where we search,
in this function.

01

Procurement Excellence

Process maturity, governance, and the operating model that turns procurement from a buying function into a strategic capability.

What good looks like
  • Designs the operating model end-to-end, not just one process
  • Owns the digital roadmap (P2P, S2C, contract management)
  • Builds capability across the procurement team, not just hires
  • Measures procurement on enterprise outcomes, not savings alone
02

Purchasing

Day-to-day buying, P2P discipline, and the supplier-facing operations that keep the business running.

What good looks like
  • Manages the P2P lifecycle as a service, not a workflow
  • Owns supplier-onboarding rigor and compliance
  • Balances cost, lead-time, and reliability in real time
  • Builds the data foundation that strategic sourcing depends on
03

Strategic Sourcing

Category strategy, supplier selection, and the long-horizon trade-offs between cost, risk, innovation, and partnership.

What good looks like
  • Sets category strategy with commercial AND operational input
  • Runs negotiations on total value, not just unit price
  • Builds supplier relationships that yield innovation, not just savings
  • Manages risk exposure across geography, currency, and ESG
The operators

The operators we place in Procurement.

Procurement leaders earn their seat at the table by translating spend into strategy. The senior operators we place have led category transformations, restructured supplier portfolios under pressure, and rebuilt procurement functions that the rest of the business actually trusts.

Seniority bandManager · Senior Manager · Director · VP · CPO
Accountable for
  • 01Total spend governance across direct and indirect categories
  • 02Supplier relationship management as a portfolio
  • 03Procurement operating model and digital roadmap
  • 04ESG, risk, and trade-compliance posture across categories
  • 05Capability building across the procurement function
Recent placements

Leaders we’ve
recently placed.

Recent searches in procurement. Titles and industries are public; the names sit confidentially with the client and the placed leader.

  • 01

    Sr Director, Global Strategic Sourcing

    CosmeticsUSA
  • 02

    Director, Global PMO

    CosmeticsUSA
  • 03

    Director, Procurement

    Consumer GoodsUSA
  • 04

    Global Procurement Director

    PackagingIreland
  • 05

    Head of Indirect Procurement EMEA

    IT ServicesFrance
  • 06

    Regional Category Manager

    MarketingSaudi Arabia
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