Principal Consultant - Procurement

About the Role We are looking for an experienced Principal Consultant with a strong consulting background to join a growing procurement and commercial consulting team. This is a senior, client-facing role for someone who has a proven track record of leading complex consulting engagements, managing senior stakeholders and delivering tangible commercial outcomes. We are open to candidates from both direct and indirect procurement backgrounds, across any category. The key requirement is strong consulting experience, commercial and strategic capability, and the ability to lead teams and engagements from initial problem definition through to successful delivery. You will act as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, helping organisations solve complex procurement and commercial challenges while shaping and delivering transformational programmes. Responsibilities

• Lead Complex Client Engagements
• Lead complex, high-value procurement, commercial and transformation engagements.
• Take overall ownership of major workstreams, programmes and client deliverables.
• Translate client objectives and strategic priorities into practical, executable solutions.
• Ensure high standards of delivery, quality and commercial impact across engagements.
• Navigate complex challenges, ambiguity and competing priorities to maintain momentum and deliver results.
• Bring a pragmatic, outcome-focused approach rather than simply providing recommendations. Partner with Senior Stakeholders
• Build trusted relationships with senior and executive-level client stakeholders.
• Act as a strategic advisor, challenging thinking and influencing key decisions.
• Understand complex business challenges and shape solutions that deliver measurable value.
• Lead senior-level workshops, steering groups and working sessions.
• Communicate complex ideas, analysis and recommendations with clarity and credibility. Lead & Develop Teams
• Lead consulting teams across multiple levels and workstreams.
• Coach, mentor and develop consultants, helping to build a high-performing consulting team.
• Set clear expectations around quality, collaboration, ownership and client delivery.
• Support the development of future leaders within the business.
• Create a positive, collaborative and high-performance team environment. Develop Consulting Capability
• Contribute to the development of methodologies, tools, propositions and intellectual property.
• Share knowledge and best practice across the wider consulting team.
• Identify opportunities to improve how engagements are delivered and create greater value for clients.
• Contribute to thought leadership and the firm's market proposition. Support Growth & Business Development
• Identify opportunities to expand existing client relationships and develop new areas of work.
• Support proposals, pitches and business development activity.
• Build strong relationships across client organisations and identify emerging commercial opportunities.
• Represent the consulting business credibly within the wider procurement and commercial market. Required Skills What you'll bring
• Consulting Experience
• Significant experience working within a consulting environment is essential.
• Proven track record of leading complex, client-facing engagements or programmes.
• Experience managing multiple workstreams and delivering against challenging objectives.
• Strong experience working directly with senior and executive-level stakeholders. Procurement / Commercial Expertise
• Strong experience within procurement, supply chain, commercial or a closely related consulting discipline.
• Background can be either direct or indirect procurement.
• No specific category expertise is required — broad commercial capability and consulting experience are more important.
• Experience across sourcing, procurement transformation, cost optimisation, supplier management, operating model transformation or broader commercial improvement would be advantageous. Leadership & Commercial Acumen
• Proven ability to lead teams and influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong commercial and strategic thinking.
• Comfortable making decisions and providing direction in ambiguous and fast-moving environments.
• A track record of taking ownership and delivering measurable client outcomes.
• Strong coaching, mentoring and people-development capability. Consulting Mindset
• Structured and analytical approach to complex problem solving.
• Excellent communication, storytelling and presentation skills.
• Executive presence, credibility and strong stakeholder management.
• Comfortable challenging established thinking and influencing change.
• Pragmatic, entrepreneurial and delivery-focused.