SUMMARY

• Demand for permanent recruitment has been strong since January, particularly at the senior level, with a significant increase in new permanent roles placed compared to the previous two quarters.
• We have seen a noticeable rise in contractor roles over the quarter, primarily within the private sector and targeting candidates for specific technology driven projects.
• Fully remote working options are declining, but most organisations continue to offer hybrid models, typically requiring employees in the office three days per week.
• With around 20 years of commercial, legal and procurement experience in both the UK and Australia, working in key roles with Accenture, Barkers and SEFE Group, we had the privilege of spending some time with Hari Jayasekara this month.
• Clearly articulating key wins and achievements is something which, if done well, will make you stand out from other candidates when it comes to your next move. We explore some tips and traps on demonstrating value.

MARKET UPDATE

Perm and Contracting

There has been strong demand for permanent recruitment since January, particularly at the senior level, with a significant increase in new permanent roles placed compared to the previous two quarters. Many of these roles were confidential searches, which is typical for executive level placements and often not publicly advertised.

There has also been a noticeable rise in contractor roles as we move into this quarter, primarily within the private sector and targeting candidates for specific technology driven projects.

Flexibility & Remote Working Trends

There has been a shift in remote work expectations – in the last quarter, we have not recruited a single role offering a 100% remote working option. Compare this to previous quarters over the last 9 months where around 15% of roles recruited offered complete remote working options.

While fully remote working options are declining, most organisations continue to offer hybrid models, typically requiring employees in the office three days per week. Companies mandating four or five days in the office are limiting their access to talent. If they do secure a candidate on a contract basis, there’s a risk of shorter tenure if more flexible opportunities arise elsewhere.

Interstate Movement

There has been continued movement of candidates between states, with a notable increase in professionals relocating to Brisbane. Salaries across procurement and supply chain roles generally remain comparable across most major Australian cities, but a typically lower cost of living is an attractive incentive for many and the most common reason for interstate moves.

SPOTLIGHT

With around 20 years of commercial, legal and procurement experience in both the UK and Australia, working in key roles with Accenture, Barkers and SEFE Group, we had the privilege of spending some time with Hari Jayasekara this month.

Q. How did you get into procurement?

Q. What are some of the opportunities and challenges that you see for the sector over the next 6 to 12 months?

Q. You have held senior roles in both Australia and the UK. What are some of the main differences between the procurement and supply chain sector here versus the UK?

The key difference in the UK is that the market has evolved dramatically over the last 10 years to become much more commercially focused, broadening out from just a cost-out profession to one that drives broader business outcomes. With this, there is an increasing expectation on procurement professionals to broaden out their skillset – i.e. to understand the business deeply, have more commercial and financial acumen as well as project and program management experience (to name a few skills). This is great as it only lifts the value of the procurement profession as a real broad-value driver to the business rather than a traditional support function.

Q. What are your views on AI and how that might affect the sector in the future?

Procurement shouldn’t shy away from being part of the AI revolution and should look to play a leading role. We are all very much at the learning stage, so procurement needs to make sure we are empowering the business to scale up its capability.

Three things I would encourage:

1. Procurement as gate-keepers of the partner ecosystem should work proactively to identify partners and potential leaders in this space and help the business partner with them and learn (or fail) quickly, driving innovation and strategic relationships.
2. Don’t be afraid to experiment. We are very much at the frontier, so we need to develop our knowledge and not be afraid to fail!
3. Don’t forget about the data! Make sure we pay attention to the fundamentals. AI will not derive value without strong data foundations. Procurement, like other parts of the business needs to make sure its data is accurate to ensure AI can be leveraged to its true potential.

Q. What career advice would you give to your younger self?

Be inquisitive and don’t be afraid to learn. The biggest thing I’ve learned over my years is that skills, experience and learnings are transferable across professions and industries and there is no such thing as status-quo best-practice. Learn from other industries, bring these learnings across to the procurement profession – learn from your procurement peers and see how they are tacking similar challenges, learn from your business peers and how they address change. Each experience brings unique and valuable perspectives that can be rolled into a real meaningful value proposition.

Q. What advice would you share with candidates aiming to reach a Head of Procurement or Director-level role?

Although standard procurement skills like running RFPs and developing category strategies are important, they become less relevant in your day to day role as a Head of Procurement/CPO. Most of those aspects are covered typically by a fantastic team which you will have the privilege of leading.

As a Head of Procurement/CPO, you are running a mini-organisation – hence, you have to be focused more broadly on enabling that organisation to succeed by building strong foundations – e.g. developing strong technology and data capabilities, provide the tools, training and processes to your team and stakeholders to be successful, and always drive change in order to deliver continuous improvement and value to the business.

Q. What is the best part of your role?

The best part of my current role is the amount of transformation and change. This means there is incredible opportunity for procurement to be bold and relevant to the business. By way of a few examples, we are currently undertaking (i) an integration of different procurement units across various sub-entities, previously with different processes and systems (ii) implementing a new global ERP, eSourcing and CLM solution (iii) undertaking an entire end-to-end business integration and transformation (iv) delivering a large scale enterprise-wide technology transformation. These initiatives are all being delivered whilst we also prepare the organisation for privatisation away from current German-Government ownership.

All I can say is that there is never a quiet day – and I have the privilege of sharing this journey with a fantastic team (which is the other best part of my role!).

Q. What does life look like for you outside of work?

I am the proud dad of two very young and active children – a 3 year old boy and a 6 month old little girl. Having a very young family, and having little support network in London, keeps both my wife and I extremely busy and on our toes. Apart from that, living in London, being at the doorstep of Europe and a hop away to the US, we love to travel and explore – loving the great outdoors, hiking and going on fantastic driving holidays.

A FEW MOVERS IN THE MARKET

Congratulations to everyone who moved into new roles over the last few months, including:

• Rob McCullogh who was appointed Head of Procurement and Category Management, at VetPartners (ANZ).
• Andrew Hogben who moved into the role of Head of Capital Delivery at Transgrid.
• Daniele Guainazzi who moved into a Vice President, Life Sciences & Healthcare role at DHL Supply Chain Australia.
• Mike Donovan who has been appointed as Group Manager – Procurement and Supply Chain at Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited.
• Annette Karantoni who moved into a Managing Director role with Woolworths Retail. 
• Darren Wedding who was appointed Chief Supply Chain Officer at Myer. 

MARKET OBSERVATIONS – ARTICULATING VALUE

We are seeing a real increase in senior roles across the procurement and supply chain recruitment market, which is a really positive sign. However, a limited amount of new roles over the last 12+ months, combined with a large pool of very strong candidates at that end of the market, has made it really competitive for senior candidates looking to progress their careers.

Clearly articulating wins and achievements is critical in demonstrating the value of procurement and supply chain functions to internal stakeholders. However, when it comes to your own profile it is also something which, if done well, will make you stand out from other candidates when it comes to your next move.

We often help candidates who are struggling to get shortlisted for roles across all levels, including at the senior end of the market, by reviewing and updating their resumes. In conversations, many of these candidates can list lots of relevant experiences, including big wins and value added over the course of their careers, but this may not be reflected clearly in the all important profile/resume.

When it comes to finding your next role your resume is crucial, especially in competitive markets. Here are just some of the things that we have seen work well here, as well as things to avoid:

• Take the time to measure and clearly articulate the outcomes. This is easier whenever there are direct quantitative outcomes (e.g. specific cost savings), but for less tangible achievements (e.g. improved service levels, new system implementations etc.) more focus may be needed on articulating the added value.  Standout resumes and profiles will typically include very clear and concise summaries of key achievements, including scope/problem/challenge, steps taken and the value outcomes.
• We often see candidates who have been part of a team achievement, such as a major transformation project or large tender, but it is not clear what role the candidate played in the outcome. Whilst it is great to explain what the team challenge and outcomes were, remember to focus on your role and how you contributed to the broader outcomes and success. Taking the time to articulate this within your resume will also really help when it comes to interview time where hiring teams will want succinct, concise and clear summaries of your key achievements.
• Review your resume at least every six months. So many good candidates dedicate a lot of their time to demonstrating team achievements, wins and value to internal stakeholders but only focus on their CVs when they are job hunting. There is a good chance that key achievements will be forgotten/omitted when the resume is only refreshed every few years so try and review and update your achievements on a regular basis.
• Many senior candidates will regularly reach out to discuss the recruitment market with us, some of the trends that they are seeing and ask for input and guidance on their resumes/profiles. We see lots of great CVs at all levels and we are always happy to help and provide guidance and input if and where needed. This approach is also a great way to keep connected and hear about potential roles before they are advertised in the market.
• Your public profiles are also important in the hiring process. There are lots of different platforms that might provide an opportunity (where suitable and within company policy) to share wins, achievements and success stories. It’s a great way to promote team success as well as staying front of mind to potential hiring managers. We see so many great procurement and supply chain success stories through platforms like LinkedIn or company news alerts, as well as industry forums and networking events. So, where there is an opportunity to share wins, it can be a really good way to promote the great work that you and your colleagues are doing.

FIVE YEAR ANNIVERSARY

As we head towards the end of the financial year I was reminded by a colleague that Cozens Mabel is now in its 5th year.

We have met some wonderful candidates and worked with some amazing clients over the last five years and we just wanted to thank you all for your continued support and look forward to speaking to you all very soon.

Ilsa and the team.