Procurement & Maintenance Manager at Ackermans

• An exciting role is available for a Procurement and Maintenance Manager at our Support Centre in Kuilsriver. This position is key to supporting the smooth, cost-effective, and compliant operations of our stores.

Procurement Responsibilities:

• The successful candidate will be responsible for developing and implementing procurement plans that support store operations with a focus on efficiency, cost savings, and adherence to company policies and industry standards. This includes handling supplier relationships, overseeing tenders, and ensuring that procurement processes meet audit requirements. You’ll work closely with the procurement team to ensure projects are delivered within budget and enhance the store experience. This involves both multi-year rollout plans and various on-demand projects.

Maintenance Responsibilities:

• On the maintenance side, you’ll manage all aspects of store upkeep, from furniture and fixtures to visual merchandising and staff equipment, contributing to the Ackermans Shopping Experience and the Phadima Supplier of Choice Experience. Key priorities include safety (OHASA compliance across four countries), consistent quality, and budget management. You’ll lead the team in selecting, coordinating, and managing a network of contractors and suppliers across a wide geographic area, ensuring all work meets Ackermans Standards.
• Integrated Role:
• Both procurement and maintenance are closely connected; preventative maintenance enhances procurement results, while effective procurement supports maintenance efforts.
• If you’re experienced in procurement and maintenance and committed to improving store operations, this role offers a valuable opportunity to make a significant impact.
• KNOWLEDGE REQUIRED:
• Retail Store Layout
• Negotiations with contractors and suppliers
• Procurement and estimation
• Maintenance planning
• OHASA legislation
• Budgeting and costing
• SLA Agreements
• Managing vendor relationships
• Store Maintenance

SKILLS REQUIRED:

• Project Management skills
• Computer skills
• Budget, costing and estimation skills
• Organisational and retail planning skills
• Strong negotiation skills
• Strong analytical and attention to detail skills to see patterns
• Compliance and OHASA skills in a retail environment
• Written and verbal communication skills
• Problem solving

EXPERIENCE:

Essential:

• Minimum of 4-8 years working experience within Retail within a Internation Retail Chain environment working with stores
• Minimum of 2-3 years should be in Procurement, Project Management or Estimation role
• Understanding Retail principles with a focus on Customer experience, durability, store staff experience
• Maintenance and Procurement best practices, safety regulations, compliance requirements, contract management, tender processes and supplier negotiations
• Budget management across multiple accounts and teams for various projects and initiatives (Capital Expenditure and Operational Expenditure)

Preferred:

• Minimum of 2-3 years of leading a team
• Reading Store Layout plans, Understanding Specifications Documents, Contractual understanding of SLAs
• Strong knowledge of Procurement Software and tools (ERP, SRM Systems), Maintenance Management Software and tools (CMMS), Payment Software (SAP), Intranet tools (Store orientation), Microsoft Suite (Outlook, Excel, OneDrive, Sharepoint)
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data (data driven decision making) which leads to proactive strategies to achieve a better outcome at the same time or lower cost
• Excellent leadership, communication and interpersonal skills

QUALIFICATIONS:

Essential:

• Grade 12
• Relevant Diploma in Procurement Management, Project Management or Cost management

Preferred:

• Relevant Degree in Business/Commerce, Building industry or Project Management

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Develop, Implement, and manage Procurement Strategies by:

• Procurement Strategy Development:
• Craft a procurement strategy that aligns with the company, Ops, Ops Property strategies and communicate it clearly to all stakeholders
• Supplier Management:
• Evaluate, develop and manage current suppliers. Address improvements, acquire new suppliers and negotiate favorable terms
• Cost management and optimization:
• Understanding patterns of items on order to improve procurement to ensure quality for bulk purchase items at the best price
• Procurement Processes and Systems:
• Working with systems to enable and support effective monitoring and execution of projects
• Stakeholder Collaboration:
• Working closely with internal stakeholders (Peers, GMs, DSMs, Stores) to understand the needs and finding a suitable solution for the need at hand taking into account that it is always a eco system
• Performance and Reporting:
• Working to make sure there is transparency on progress and procedures to ensure there is a clear view on the money being spent and the progress being made (KPI)
• Market analysis and research:
• In an ever-changing environment with multiple complex problems there are new trends and solutions that are found, it is not as simple as duplicating it, but rather using it within the Ackermans eco-system

Develop, Implement, and manage Maintenance Strategies by:

• Maintenance Strategy:
• Refine the Maintenance strategy to align to the company/Ops/Ops Property strategy to achieve 1000 stores with specified standards most of the time.
• Vendor Management:
• Ackermans has multiple service providers who assist in keeping the stores in the expected shape. Managing and developing existing vendors is crucial through planning and execution. It is always important to have a tender rotation to allow benchmarking in the market to achieve best quality service at the best price.
• Cost Management and controls:
• Prepare, manage and monitor annual budgets supporting 1000 stores over multiple cost lines and various vendors.
• Safe and Compliant Stores:
• In an ever-changing environment with regulations becoming sterner it is important to ensure that we have a safe and compliant environment for our Phadima’s and Siyamazi
• Performance Monitoring:
• Managing multiple activities across 1000 stores it is important to be organized and knowing what is happening. Having clear monitoring gauges is important to ensure work is not overlooked or neglected.
• Continuous improvement:
• Finding patterns that arise in a mass amount of data is important to ensure that it is addressed at the source (new) and finding cost effective ways to rectify that has already been sent to stores.

Leading Teams while reinforcing the Ackermans Culture by:

• Phadima Culture:
• Lead and mentor teams (maintenance and procurement) fostering a culture of high performance, safety, continuous improvement and support.
• Clear communication:
• Clearly communicate to customers and peers about plans of how and when support will be provided to ensure alignment and understanding
• Resilience and Enduring:
• Continuous maintenance and support can take a strain on an individual and this person should be resilient in all the requests that needs attention and maintain empathy to understand each store is a Store Manager’s most important store