Procurement Continuous Improvement Lead - Americas

Procurement Continuous Improvement Lead

This position can be based in any market in the Americas. Relocation is not required for candidates from this Region.

Our Procurement Excellence Delivery Manager is searching for his/her next Procurement Continuous Improvement Lead, who is responsible for accelerating the transformation, simplification, and risk resilience of Procurement operations across 14 markets in the Americas. This role leads the identification, design, and implementation of world-class continuous improvement (CI) strategies, operational excellence frameworks, and risk-integrated process enhancements across the full Source-to-Pay (S2P) lifecycle.

As a strategic enabler of compliance, automation, and control-by-design, the role ensures that procurement operates with real-time visibility, reduced manual effort, and audit-readiness embedded into daily workflows. The position bridges operational excellence, process standardization, and digital enablement to deliver measurable results in efficiency, savings enablement, cycle time reduction, and stakeholder satisfaction.

Among the main functions to be performed are:

• Design and execute the Procurement CI roadmap: Lead the planning and delivery of continuous improvement initiatives with measurable impact on efficiency, compliance, savings enablement, and stakeholder satisfaction.

• Redesign Source-to-Pay (S2P) workflows across 14 markets: Identify and eliminate process bottlenecks and non-value-added activities using Lean, Six Sigma, and Kaizen methodologies.

• Standardize KPIs and reporting frameworks: Align performance metrics and reporting definitions across all Procurement CoE functions to ensure consistency and auditability.

• Embed intelligent controls and automation into procurement operations: Develop embedded controls (control-by-design) such as touchless POs, automated vendor validations, and policy-monitoring bots.

• Manage internal audits and maintain “always audit-ready” status: Lead internal self-assessments, evidence tracking, and corrective action plans to ensure strong procurement governance.

• Drive root cause analysis (RCA) and implement CAPAs: Investigate and address the root causes of recurring issues, compliance breaches, or audit findings across markets.

• Foster a culture of continuous improvement: Build capability through onboarding programs, CI training academies, and agile sprints that instil a mindset of excellence in Procurement teams.

• Represent Procurement in cross-functional risk and control forums: Ensure proper risk mitigation across key areas such as segregation of duties (SoD), fraud prevention, and vendor master data integrity.

• Collaborate with Legal, Finance, Compliance, and IT: Ensure control frameworks are embedded without compromising commercial agility or value delivery.

• Support Procurement digitalization: Recommend and pilot enabling technologies (e.g., COUPA, SAP, bots, dashboards) to enhance speed, visibility, and user experience across the region.

We will match you if you meet the following requirements:

• Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Industrial Engineering, International Commerce, or related fields.
• Strong process orientation and experience designing control frameworks.
• Advanced analytical capabilities (Excel, dashboards, root cause tools)
• Excellent problem-solving, critical thinking, and decision-making skills under pressure.
• Strong influencing and change management capabilities to drive adoption of new processes and risk mitigation practices.
• Solid understanding of internal controls, audit readiness, and procurement governance. Familiarity with COUPA, SAP, and procurement automation platforms.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel (pivot tables, dashboards, vlookups, statistical analysis) b. Solid understanding of Internal Controls, Risk Management frameworks, and Procurement Policy enforcement
• Ability and willingness to work across multiple countries in a hybrid environment (remote and occasional travel as needed)
• Strong project management skills across cross-functional and multi-country environments
• Experience implementing Lean, Six Sigma, or agile methodologies in procurement operations
• Solid understanding of internal controls, audit readiness, and procurement governance g. Strong influencing and change leadership skills
• Familiarity with COUPA, SAP, and procurement automation platforms
• Fluency in English and Spanish (verbal and written)

Vacancy Information

• Direct Leader: Procurement Excellence Delivery Manager Americas
• Location: Américas
• Mode: Hybrid
• Application Deadline: 19/08/2025

At Inchcape Americas, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive and authentic workplace. Inchcape is for everyone. If you are excited about this role and share our values ​​of delivering great experiences through innovative thinking and working better together; we invite you to apply.

We support diversity and inclusion in all its forms, without discrimination based on age, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion and disability.