Senior Procurement Positions

[Buyer71]

Hi,

 

I am a holder of dual nationality (Born and lived in Australia until I was 12 and have retained an Australian Passport) and looking to return to Australia over the next 12 months.

 

I would be interested in receiving any advice regarding the best options for returning to Australia for employment as it does seem to be a struggle to get my applications to be taken seriously.

 

In the UK I am a Head of Procurement (Full CIPS) with experience across manufacturing and public sector and presently managing a team of 50 across a spend of £750m on a 3 month notice period, however this could be reduced subject to negotiation. Ideally I would be looking for a similar level of role or would be comfortable with Head of Category/lead Category type of role.

 

My questions are:-

 

1) Is it likely that over the next 12 months I could secure a position in Australia within my profession.

 

2) Does anyone have any views on the best methods to secure employment in procurement before arriving in Australia.

 

3) If I was to arrive without a job in Australia would I be likely to find suitable contract/interim work quickly and what would be a realistic aim in terms of day rate.

 

In terms of location we would prefer Brisbane/Sydney or Melbourne, but willing to consider Canberra, Perth, Adelaide.

 

Thanks

[Marisawright]

Even at your level, you may struggle to get your application taken seriously because employers will worry about how long you'll take to relocate. If there is a suitable candidate locally who can start in a month or two, even if a bit less qualified, they will prefer them to someone they will have to wait months for.

 

The other problem may be that old chestnut "Australian conditions" - a lot of procurement is about knowing who the good suppliers are, having the contacts, understanding contract law etc. You don't have that local knowledge and while I think you'd learn quickly, employers can be over-cautious.

 

Finally you would need to find a company big enough to need a Procurement Division. I wonder how many there are in Australia in total, and how often such a vacancy comes up? I worked in several large companies in my 30 years in Australia and in nearly all of them, procurement reported to the Facilities Director, it didn't have its own dept. head.

 

You could try talking to agencies like Michael Page, Hays, Hudson and Robert Walters who tend to handle most of the facilities/procurement jobs.

[Pommie]

Hi,

 

I am a holder of dual nationality (Born and lived in Australia until I was 12 and have retained an Australian Passport) and looking to return to Australia over the next 12 months.

 

I would be interested in receiving any advice regarding the best options for returning to Australia for employment as it does seem to be a struggle to get my applications to be taken seriously.

 

In the UK I am a Head of Procurement (Full CIPS) with experience across manufacturing and public sector and presently managing a team of 50 across a spend of £750m on a 3 month notice period, however this could be reduced subject to negotiation. Ideally I would be looking for a similar level of role or would be comfortable with Head of Category/lead Category type of role.

 

My questions are:-

 

1) Is it likely that over the next 12 months I could secure a position in Australia within my profession.

 

2) Does anyone have any views on the best methods to secure employment in procurement before arriving in Australia.

 

3) If I was to arrive without a job in Australia would I be likely to find suitable contract/interim work quickly and what would be a realistic aim in terms of day rate.

 

In terms of location we would prefer Brisbane/Sydney or Melbourne, but willing to consider Canberra, Perth, Adelaide.

 

Thanks

 

 

 

The market has changed. Once over you would have found it relatively easy to secure a job before you left the UK. Now, I believe you will need to be on the ground in Australia before employers will seriously consider you.....