Head - Procurement (Direct Raw Materials)

Department: Procurement

Location: Andheri, Mumbai

Reports To: Managing Director

Team Size: 4 - 6 members

Industry Focus: Paints, Coatings, Flooring, Construction Chemicals / Specialty Chemicals

Role Purpose:

The Head - Procurement will lead the India procurement function with primary ownership of direct raw-material sourcing for the paints, coatings, flooring and allied specialty-chemical businesses. The role will be responsible for developing and executing domestic and import sourcing strategies, ensuring security and continuity of supply, improving landed cost and commercial competitiveness, developing strategic supplier relationships, and supporting the business through strong market intelligence and disciplined procurement processes.

Key Responsibilities:

- Lead end-to-end procurement of direct raw materials used in paints, coatings, flooring, construction chemicals and related specialty-chemical applications.

- Develop and execute India sourcing strategies covering both domestic suppliers and international sources, with a clear focus on quality, availability, landed cost and supply continuity.

- Own procurement of key chemical raw-material categories such as resins, polymers, solvents, pigments, additives, fillers, functional chemicals, curing agents and other specialty chemicals relevant to the business.

- Drive local sourcing and supplier development for raw materials currently sourced through imports, wherever technically and commercially feasible.

- Manage imports of specialty chemicals and other critical raw materials, including supplier selection, commercial negotiations, import terms, landed-cost evaluation, shipment coordination and supply-risk management.

- Build and maintain a robust domestic and international supplier base comprising manufacturers, authorized distributors and strategic trading partners.

- Develop category strategies, annual procurement plans and supplier roadmaps based on demand, consumption, market conditions, technical requirements and business priorities.

- Lead commercial negotiations covering price, payment terms, credit, minimum order quantities, lead times, freight, duties, taxes, rebates and long-term supply agreements.

- Track raw-material price movements, crude/commodity trends, foreign exchange, freight, duties, capacity constraints and other market factors to provide actionable procurement intelligence to senior management.

- Drive cost optimization through should-cost analysis, alternate sourcing, localization, supplier consolidation, volume leverage, long-term contracts and total-cost-of-ownership initiatives.

- Partner closely with R&D, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance and Commercial teams for supplier qualification, new-material development, trials, approvals and continuity of supply.

- Lead supplier qualification, evaluation and development, including quality, technical capability, capacity, financial/commercial strength, delivery performance and compliance.

- Establish supplier performance management through KPIs covering quality, cost, delivery, responsiveness, service and supply reliability, and drive corrective actions where required.

- Identify and mitigate procurement risks including single-source dependency, geopolitical/import risks, regulatory changes, commodity volatility, supplier capacity constraints and logistics disruptions.

- Optimize inventory and working capital for critical raw materials in partnership with planning and operations, balancing service levels with cost and obsolescence risk.

- Ensure procurement processes, contracts, approvals, documentation and supplier practices comply with company policies, governance requirements and applicable Indian regulations.

- Lead, coach and develop a team of 4 - 6 procurement professionals and build a performance-oriented procurement culture.

Direct Procurement / Industry Experience - Essential:

- Strong hands-on experience in direct raw-material procurement within paints, coatings, flooring, construction chemicals, adhesives, sealants or specialty chemicals.

- Demonstrated experience procuring chemical raw materials from Indian manufacturers/suppliers as well as managing imports of specialty chemicals.

- Strong understanding of the Indian chemical supplier ecosystem, including manufacturers, distributors, traders and import channels.

- Experience with raw-material categories used in formulation-driven businesses; exposure to resins, polymers, solvents, pigments, additives, fillers and specialty chemicals is preferred.

- Experience working with technical and quality teams to qualify alternate raw materials and suppliers without compromising product performance or regulatory/quality requirements.

- Strong understanding of import procurement and landed-cost economics, including Incoterms, freight, duties, FX exposure, lead times and documentation.

Qualifications & Experience:

- Bachelor's degree in Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Materials, Supply Chain, Procurement or a related discipline.

- MBA / PG qualification in Supply Chain, Procurement, Operations or Business Management is preferred.

- 15+ years of overall procurement / strategic sourcing experience, with substantial experience in direct raw-material procurement.

- Typically 15 - 20 years of relevant experience, with a significant portion in paints, coatings, flooring, construction chemicals, specialty chemicals or closely related manufacturing industries.

- Prior experience leading a procurement team and working directly with senior management is preferred.

Core Competencies:

- Strategic sourcing and category management

- Domestic and international supplier development

- Chemical raw-material market intelligence

- Commercial negotiation and contract management

- Import procurement and landed-cost analysis

- Supplier risk and continuity planning

- Cost reduction and value engineering

- Inventory and working-capital management

- Cross-functional stakeholder management

- Data-driven decision making and analytical capability

- Strong communication, negotiation and influencing skills

- High ownership, integrity and execution focus

Key Performance Indicators:

- Raw-material cost savings / cost avoidance

- Domestic localization and import-substitution opportunities

- Supply continuity and critical-material availability

- Supplier quality and on-time delivery performance

- Landed-cost competitiveness for imported materials

- Working-capital and inventory optimization

- Supplier concentration and risk reduction

- Contract coverage and procurement compliance

- Supplier development and alternate-source creation

Why This Role Is Critical:

This role is expected to operate as a strategic procurement leader rather than a transactional purchasing manager. The successful candidate should bring strong commercial capability together with sufficient understanding of chemical raw materials to work effectively with technical, quality and manufacturing stakeholders. The role requires a strong India-market network while also being comfortable managing international suppliers and imports.