Overcoming senior procurement talent scarcity in the public sector
THE ISSUE
Public sector organisations increasingly require senior procurement leaders who can operate strategically, lead transformation, and navigate complex regulatory environments. However, the pool of candidates with the right blend of leadership capability, sector experience, and cultural fit is limited.
For many organisations, traditional direct recruitment approaches are no longer sufficient to attract high-calibre procurement leaders into roles that carry significant complexity and accountability. As a result, critical leadership positions can remain unfilled, delaying transformation and placing additional pressure on existing teams.
“Strong commercial and procurement capability is essential if public sector organisations are
to deliver value for money and achieve their strategic objectives”
THE COMPANY
Orbit Group is a well established housing association, providing affordable homes and services to thousands of customers across England. Operating within a highly regulated public sector environment, Orbit Group plays a vital role in supporting communities, delivering social value, and ensuring long term sustainability.
With significant operational scale and a broad supplier landscape, the organisation relies on strong procurement leadership to ensure effective governance, commercial rigour, and value for money. As Orbit Group continued to evolve its operating model, strengthening procurement leadership became a priority to support wider organisational objectives and future transformation.
THE CHALLENGE
Orbit Group had identified the need to appoint a new Head of Procurement to lead a more strategic and transformational agenda. The role was critical to strengthening commercial capability, improving governance, and supporting the organisation’s long-term objectives.
An initial direct recruitment campaign had been undertaken, but was unable to generate candidates with the right level of leadership experience and sector understanding for the role. This highlighted the challenges of accessing senior procurement talent through traditional hiring methods within a competitive and constrained public sector market.
With the position remaining unfilled and the need for leadership becoming increasingly pressing, Orbit Group required a specialist search partner capable of proactively identifying and engaging senior procurement professionals who were not actively seeking new roles.
“Effective procurement leadership plays a crucial role in helping organisations manage complexity,
maximise value, and deliver sustainable public services.”
OUR APPROACH
Procurement Heads was engaged on a retained basis to deliver a targeted headhunting campaign for Orbit Group, following an unsuccessful direct recruitment process.
Our approach included:
- A detailed briefing to fully understand the scope of the Head of Procurement role, the organisational context, and the transformation objectives
- Comprehensive market mapping across the public sector and related regulated environments
- Proactive engagement with senior procurement leaders who were not actively in the market
- A rigorous, insight led assessment process to ensure alignment with leadership capability, sector experience, and organisational culture
- Close collaboration with key stakeholders throughout the search, providing regular updates and market insight
THE OUTCOME
Following a focused one month search and selection process, Procurement Heads successfully appointed an exceptional Head of Procurement for Orbit Group.
As a result:
- A critical senior leadership role was filled after direct recruitment had been unsuccessful
- Orbit Group secured a procurement leader with the experience required to lead a transformational agenda
- The appointment strengthened governance, commercial capability, and strategic procurement leadership
- Momentum was restored across the procurement function, supporting the organisation’s longer-term objectives