Principal Consultant - Capital Procurement
About this role
The opportunity
As a Principal Consultant at Proxima in our Capital Procurement practice, you will act as a trusted advisor to senior client stakeholders, leading complex, high‑value engagements and shaping transformational outcomes. You will combine deep subject matter expertise with strong leadership, influencing both client strategy and delivery while developing Proxima’s people and capabilities.
This is a senior, hands‑on role for consultants who thrive in ambiguity, enjoy leading teams, and want to have a lasting impact on clients and the firm.
What you’ll do
Lead complex client engagements
Lead large, complex procurement and transformation programmes across multiple workstreams
Translate client vision into practical, executable solutions
Ensure delivery excellence across all outputs, aligned to Proxima’s client‑ready principles
Partner with senior stakeholders
Build trusted relationships with senior and executive‑level client stakeholders
Navigate ambiguity and competing priorities to maintain momentum and outcomes
Act as a strategic advisor, shaping long‑term client roadmaps
Engage and collaborate with stakeholders
Work directly with senior client stakeholders to gather requirements and align objectives.
Communicate findings clearly and professionally with team members and senior client stakeholders.
Lead workshops, working sessions, and day-to-day client interactions.
Lead supplier negotiations for complex commercial programs.
Develop people and capability
Coach, mentor, and develop consultants across levels
Actively contribute to Proxima’s apprenticeship culture
Set standards for quality, collaboration, and delivery
Grow Proxima’s intellectual capital
Lead and contribute to IP, asset, and methodology development
Actively engage in Communities of Practice
Support business development and identify growth opportunities
Work in a global, flexible model
Operate in a hybrid environment, balancing client, home, and office-based work.
Travel as required to support client delivery and team collaboration.
What you bring
Experience and expertise
Significant consulting experience in capital procurement, gained within a Client, Consulting or Supplier environment, ideally across more than one.
Proven track record leading large, complex, Capital programs
Practical understanding of CapEx environments and major project delivery.
Familiarity with NEC4 and/or FIDIC contractual frameworks
Strong commercial and strategic acumen
Leadership mindset
Ability to lead teams and influence senior stakeholders
Confidence operating in ambiguous, fast‑paced environments
Strong coaching and people‑development capability
Consulting approach
Structured problem‑solving and storytelling skills
Executive presence, credibility, and integrity
Ownership‑driven, delivery‑focused mindset
Company at a glance
Proxima works with Chief Procurement Officers who expect procurement to deliver measurable performance, support growth, and lead with confidence. We help CPOs strengthen procurement capability, improve commercial outcomes, and build high-performing teams that can operate at scale in complex organizations.
Procurement for the Bold is about making clear commercial choices, acting decisively, and backing procurement to deliver real impact.
CPOs work with Proxima to
- Deliver cost and value outcomes that stand up to executive scrutiny
- Strengthen category strategy, sourcing decisions, and supplier leverage
- Build procurement operating models that support growth
- Equip procurement teams with the skills, tools, and confidence to perform
- Increase procurement’s credibility with the C suite and the board
We focus on what works in practice, not theory.
Expertise that delivers.
Our teams bring deep functional procurement experience and understand the realities of running procurement in large, complex organizations. We work alongside client teams to ensure improvements are embedded in day-to-day operations, not left as recommendations.
Proxima is part of Bain & Company, combining the focus of a specialist procurement consultancy with access to global insight, scale, and best practice.
Built for leaders. Powered by people..
Procurement performance depends on people as much as process. We help CPOs build procurement functions that attract strong talent, develop future leaders, and create teams that are confident, capable, and commercially respected.
If you believe procurement should lead with confidence and deliver at pace, you are in the right place.
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