Head of Procurement

Head of Procurement – Data Center Development & Delivery About Sovereign AI Sovereign AI is a UK-based AI infrastructure and software solutions provider building the next generation of sovereign-grade AI data centres across EMEA. Designed for resilience, security, and scale, we enable commercial and government customers to deploy advanced AI with confidence in environments where performance, reliability, and compliance are non-negotiable. Focused on regulated and mission-critical sectors including Government, Defence, Healthcare, and Financial Services, we are creating the trusted foundations for AI adoption at scale, combining robust infrastructure with disciplined governance to support long-term innovation and national-level capability.

This Role You will own end-to-end sourcing, contract negotiation and supplier strategy for Sovereign AI's large-scale data centre construction, critical MEP infrastructure and site delivery programme in Japan.

Working closely with project controls, cost management and engineering teams, you will build the procurement strategies, general contractor relationships and supply chain resilience that keep the Japan development pipeline on track — with a strong focus on sourcing factory-manufactured modular systems for rapid on-site deployment.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute regional procurement strategies for long-lead, critical infrastructure.
• Establish master service agreements, framework contracts and volume discount structures with original equipment manufacturers.
• Monitor market trends, supply chain bottlenecks, component lead times and raw material pricing.
• Lead the end-to-end RFP/RFQ process for contractor and subcontractor procurement, working with Project Managers and Cost Managers on sourcing strategy.
• Negotiate high-value construction contracts, payment terms, milestones, liquidated damages, warranties and service level agreements.
• Structure procurement scopes across civil, structural, fit-out and MEP installation packages.
• Implement dual-sourcing and buffer strategies to mitigate lead-time risk on mission-critical equipment.
• Drive cost reduction and value-engineering initiatives without compromising redundancy.
• Partner with site selection, engineering, project controls, operations and legal teams to align equipment specifications and project timelines.
• Develop Sovereign AI's Japan procurement policy and ensure supplier compliance with local labour regulations and ESG/sustainability benchmarks.

Experience

• Experience in procurement within engineering, construction, real estate development, data centres or high-tech industrial sectors.
• Demonstrated experience in a fast-paced, multi-national corporate environment, ideally supporting technical or site-based project delivery.
• Familiarity with Japanese procurement, partnering and relationship management practices.

Skills

• Proficiency in Microsoft Office 365, document control software (SharePoint) and modern corporate ERP tools.
• Strong contract negotiation skills across payment structures, milestones, warranties and SLAs.
• Native/business-level Japanese (JLPT N1 equivalent) for daily communication with local vendors and stakeholders.
• Professional working proficiency in English for regional coordination and global reporting.