Team Lead - Indirect Procurement

Job description

As Team Lead of the newly established Indirect Procurement GSC team in India, you will build and manage a high-performing shared services centre responsible for contract and catalogue creation in SAP Ariba across all METRO countries, and for end-to-end supplier enablement. You will act as the primary interface between the GSC India team and global Indirect Procurement stakeholders, ensuring service quality, SLA adherence and continuous improvement. This is a foundational role — you will set up the team from scratch, define ways of working, and grow the function in line with the LUCA programme rollout. Key Responsibilities Build the GSC India Indirect Procurement team from scratch — including recruitment, onboarding, role definition and team structure Act as primary point of contact for all country Procurement leads and global Indirect Procurement stakeholders Own and enforce SLAs for contract/catalogue creation and supplier enablement services Oversee the end-to-end contract and catalogue creation process in SAP Ariba, ensuring accuracy, completeness and compliance with global templates Govern the supplier enablement function — supplier onboarding, portal management, query resolution and transaction monitoring Manage the contract and catalogue request tracker, ensuring daily updates and full transparency to requesting countries Drive a quarterly capacity review, aligning team size to pipeline forecasts and escalating resourcing needs as Wave 2 volumes grow Report monthly on KPIs to GSC and Indirect Procurement leadership, including processing accuracy, turnaround times and supplier adoption rates Continuous Improvement: Identify process inefficiencies and implement solutions — including self-service portals, automated tracking and quality gate checklists Drive adoption of electronic transactions (PO, invoice, order confirmation) across the supplier base Support the development of new service lines as the GSC matures and additional countries go live Skills & Competencies Strong leadership and people management skills, with proven ability to build and develop teams in a shared services or GCC environment Deep understanding of SAP Ariba — specifically contract management, catalogue configuration and Ariba Network (AN) Excellent stakeholder management skills, with the ability to manage expectations across multiple countries and time zones Structured, process-oriented mindset with high attention to detail and a quality-first approach Strong communication skills in English; ability to work effectively with European country stakeholders Experience in procurement operations, indirect procurement or supply chain in an international environment Ability to manage ambiguity and operate effectively in a start-up phase — building structure from a blank sheet Results-oriented, with a high level of ownership and accountability Qualifications & Experience Bachelor's or Master's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Economics or a related field 8+ years of experience in procurement, supply chain or shared services operations, with at least 3 years in a people management role Proven experience with SAP Ariba (contract module, catalogue management, Guided Buying or Ariba Network) — mandatory Experience setting up or managing a GCC, SSC or shared services function is strongly preferred Experience in retail, wholesale, FMCG or consumer goods is a plus Fluency in English is required; working knowledge of any European language is an advantage Metro Global Solution Center (MGSC) is internal solution partner for METRO, a €31.6 Billion international wholesaler with operations in more than 30 countries. The store network comprises a total of 623 stores in 21 countries, of which 522 offer out-of-store delivery (OOS), and 94 dedicated depots. In 12 countries, METRO runs only the delivery business by its delivery companies (Food Service Distribution, FSD). HoReCa and Traders are core customer groups of METRO. The HoReCa section includes hotels, restaurants, catering companies as well as bars, cafés and canteen operators. The Traders section includes small grocery stores and kiosks. The majority of all customer groups are small and medium-sized enterprises as well as sole traders. METRO helps them manage their business challenges more effectively. MGSC, location wise is present in Pune (India), Düsseldorf (Germany) and Szczecin (Poland). We provide HR, Finance, IT & Business operations support to 31 countries, speak 24+ languages and process over 18,000 transactions a day. We are setting tomorrow’s standards for customer focus, digital solutions, and sustainable business models. For over 10 years, we have been providing services and solutions from our two locations in Pune and Szczecin. This has allowed us to gain extensive experience in how we can best serve our internal customers with high quality and passion. We believe that we can add value, drive efficiency, and satisfy our customers. Website: Company Size: 1000-1100 Headquarters: Pune, Maharashtra, India Type: Privately Held Inception: 2011