Zurich Canada is hiring a Head of Procurement

Zurich Canada seeks a Head of Procurement to lead the strategic direction and execution of procurement for our Irish business unit. You will be accountable for designing, implementing, and delivering high-quality procurement services, ensuring alignment with local business needs and global standards.

What You'll Do

• Manage customer relationships and take accountability for key procurement services including Source to Pay, Procure to Pay Operations, Contracting, and Travel Operations.
• Define and execute the local procurement strategy, aligning it with customer needs and business objectives.
• Manage the local governance model and Procurement Controls Framework.
• Facilitate Business Process Outsourcing partners by ensuring they have access to necessary information and contacts.
• Contribute to and lead the execution of group initiatives at a local level, providing local business perspective.
• Support local upskilling required to implement AI-driven initiatives.
• Provide clear points of engagement into procurement processes for service recipients.
• Provide people leadership to drive talent development and team engagement.
• Advocate for and champion procurement policy, mandate, and consequences within the local business unit.
• Ensure ethical relationships, including Social Enterprise engagement and Sustainable sourcing practices.
• Translate business objectives into defined business case initiatives and projects.
• Support project, programme, and change management initiatives, leading implementation to deliver sourcing objectives.
• Drive consistent compliance with best practices such as competitive tendering and purchase order policy.
• Collaborate with colleagues in Procurement and other functions (Legal, Risk, Finance) to drive ongoing improvement.
• Align with local Finance teams to ensure transparency and recognition of cost reduction initiatives.
• Evaluate complex customer issues and analyze data to develop bespoke technical/process solutions.
• Lead the implementation of system and process improvements within Procurement.
• Build strong relationships with business stakeholders and vendors to ensure customer satisfaction and service quality.
• Develop and manage ongoing relationships with key stakeholders to deliver mutually beneficial solutions.

What We're Looking For

• A CIPS qualification and/or a Business degree.
• 5 or more years of experience in a related field.
• Broad experience in sourcing or procurement roles, with leadership in a significant or complex area of expertise.
• People management and leadership experience of leading teams.
• Experience interfacing with and influencing senior managers and business stakeholders, as well as leading vendor/supplier relationships.

Team & Environment

This role reports to the Country COO. You will work closely with senior leaders locally and the Group sourcing and category management leadership team.

Work Mode

This is a local-country role based in Dublin, Ireland.

At Zurich, we foster a culture of diversity and inclusion. Our purpose and values are designed to protect, inspire confidence, and help our employees reach their full potential. We value and defend what is right and promote opportunities for equity among our professionals.