EVP – Supply Chain — Managed-Services Unit

The mandate

A listed managed-services unit is redesigning global go-to-market coverage while depending on concentrated suppliers with unstable lead times. Hardware, cloud capacity, licences, field services and specialist partners are embedded in customer commitments, yet sourcing decisions have been made through separate categories. The resulting exposure now threatens implementation dates, working capital and confidence in new-market promises.

The EVP – Supply Chain will influence operations supporting approximately £1,650 million in annual recurring revenue and lead about 675 employees and material partners. The scope includes strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier risk, planning, inventory, logistics, contract management, partner capacity, sustainability, supply operations and talent. The post answers directly to the Group Chief Executive or another formally designated executive committee sponsor.

The first priority is an end-to-end dependency map. Customer services and market launches must connect to components, providers, locations, lead times, substitutes and contractual rights. Tier-one spend data will not expose dependencies hidden in distributors, subcontractors or embedded technology. The EVP will identify single points of failure by customer consequence rather than procurement category.

Supply assurance needs explicit segmentation. Some inputs require qualified dual sources, others strategic capacity reservations or tested recovery inventory. For specialised services, knowledge transfer and workforce availability may matter more than physical stock. Each mitigation should show time, cost, residual exposure and the trigger that activates it.

The go-to-market redesign changes demand signals. New markets can create unfamiliar configurations, import requirements, service coverage and partner needs. Supply chain must participate before commercial commitment, challenging dates or economics that lack available capacity. An approved launch should include sourcing, regulatory and fulfilment gates alongside sales and product milestones.

Inventory productivity cannot be optimised through a universal reduction target. Critical spares, customer-specific hardware, implementation stock and obsolete items carry different economics. The role will connect service levels, forecast confidence, lead-time variability and cash, then set policies by consequence. Excess and shortage should be traced to the decision that created them.

Supplier relationships require commercial and operational depth. The EVP will establish executive governance for the most consequential partners, using performance, innovation, capacity, financial health and control evidence. Contracts need meaningful remedies, transparency and exit assistance. Negotiated unit-price savings have little value when expedited freight, downtime or service credits increase elsewhere.

Dual-source readiness must be proved. A second supplier is not viable merely because an agreement exists. Technical qualification, security, data, tooling, volume, logistics and customer acceptance need testing. Switching exercises should reveal real recovery time and remaining dependencies before a disruption.

Planning will reconcile commercial demand, installed-base obligations, supplier capacity, inventory and cash. Market teams should see the consequence of forecast bias, while supply teams must surface uncertainty rather than manufacture a single number. Scenario triggers will tell executives when to reserve capacity, redirect stock, change a launch or accept risk.

The organisation itself spans procurement, logistics and partner operations. The new leader will remove hand-offs that obscure accountability, strengthen analytical and supplier-risk skill, and build succession. Sensitive supplier relationships cannot remain concentrated in individuals without documented alternatives.

Why this seat is open

An accelerated transition created an urgent permanent replacement need. Interim ownership maintains essential supply, but the market redesign and concentration choices require one executive. The board plans to appoint within six to eight weeks and is conducting a confidential external process.

What you will own

• Map customer and market commitments to complete supply dependencies.
• Steward supply choices affecting approximately £1,650 million of annual recurring revenue.
• Set consequence-based mitigation for concentrated suppliers and variable lead times.
• Integrate sourcing and fulfilment gates into global market launches.
• Improve inventory productivity without weakening service assurance.
• Lead approximately 675 employees and partners across the supply perimeter.
• Prove dual-source readiness through qualification and switching tests.
• Align supplier economics with service, cash and risk outcomes.

The first 12 months

The first 90 days should validate dependency and inventory facts, meet the 30 stakeholders closest to supplier exposure and assess leadership. Stabilise immediate shortages, review priority market launches and agree mitigation, cash and risk gates with the board.

Months four to nine should qualify alternative sources, renegotiate critical arrangements and embed supply approval into commercial planning. Rebalance inventory by service consequence, improve forecast ownership and fill capability gaps. Early value may include avoided delay, reduced expedites, lower obsolete stock or released working capital.

At twelve months, supply assurance, inventory productivity and dual-source readiness should be supported by tested evidence. The approved case must land within 10%, while three consecutive outlooks align customer demand, supplier capacity, inventory, cash and people. Severe dependencies need a decided mitigation before remaining open for 30 days.

What the board will measure

• Critical customer services mapped beyond immediate tier-one suppliers.
• Alternative sources qualified through realistic operational switching.
• Lead-time stability and fulfilment performance for priority launches.
• Working capital released without a deterioration in service resilience.
• Retention above 90% for pivotal talent and ready cover for 70% of direct reports.
• Total supplier economics inclusive of failures, expedites and service credits.

The person

You are an EVP Supply Chain, Chief Procurement Officer or Operations Leader with 18–22 years in technology or a comparable service environment. You have managed concentrated suppliers and volatile lead times across markets, with results visible in cash, customers or controlled risk.

Your accountable P&L, book, budget or portfolio has been at least £1,100 million, and you have led no fewer than 500 people. The board will expect evidence that mitigation survived two reporting periods and that your authority extended beyond negotiation.

Relevant experience may come from software, cloud services, digital platforms, IT services or technology-enabled business services. You can question an ambitious launch, distinguish real resilience from contracted optionality and maintain supplier relationships while preserving credible alternatives.

Compensation and terms

Base pay is £210,000–280,000 plus annual incentive. The permanent London role is onsite, supports international relocation and is not a remote appointment. Notice periods up to six months can be considered.

Confidentiality

The company, key suppliers, customer obligations and sourcing alternatives remain private. Qualified candidates will receive identifying detail under mutual confidentiality; all published scale data has been rounded and combined.