If you’re going to be effective at the top of the procurement ladder, you need to know how to influence people.
According to the 2025 CIPS Salary Survey, in partnership with Hays, there are some core skills that every procurement professional is expected to have to some degree. While technical, specific skills do play a major part, soft or “human” skills are consistently valued by procurement professionals at every level of seniority.
Whatever career stage you’re at, there’s an expectation that you will be able to show strengths in communication and negotiation, for instance. But at the “influencing” level, the very top of the profession, there are particular abilities that you will need to succeed.
Top of the list is a trait that might surprise you to hear in business: inquisitiveness. Kate Langham, Senior Business Director at Hays, explained what this means in practice.
“As an influencer, you wear two hats,” she explained. “On the one hand, you’ve got to influence your supply chain, and by simply inquiring, you’ll know what’s happening in the market, what direction you need your business to go in, and what innovation your supply chain can offer. That’s how you’re going to come out with the best solutions for the organisation.
“Then there’s what you might call ‘external’ inquisitiveness, taking you beyond your own team and connecting it with the wider organisation. Where does procurement report into? Who are your internal sponsors for procurement? What do they want out of the procurement function? It’s important both to understand these things and to be able to pass them down to your team.”
Influence, Kate remarked, is a two-way street: there’s asking questions where you need to ask them, and there’s signalling that you’re open to people’s answers and input.
“If you are not inquisitive, you are not approachable. You’re not going to be successful at being an influencer within procurement.”
The way up
This open-mindedness is of course just part of what makes an influential procurement leader. If you want a career that will take you to the top of the profession, you will need to cultivate other skills too. Linda Todd, business director at Hays, says one thing should be top of your list: managing a team. And in her experience as a recruiter, it’s surprising how many people aiming high don’t foreground that experience.
“We encounter a lot of procurement managers who want to be heads of procurement but who’ve never line managed,” she explains. “If it’s not in your current role, even trying to become a mentor is a start.”
And leadership goes beyond running a team. It also means demonstrating that you can be an effective stakeholder manager – and an advocate for yourself.
“Start thinking about how to cover your bases,” Linda says. “Are you getting those meetings in with your stakeholders? Can you reference them clearly and honestly when describing your experience in an interview setting?
“Put yourself forward for as many things as you can in your role. Get your name out there, and do it throughout your career, not just at an early stage or just before you’re looking for a new role. You need to do it consistently at a senior stage as well.”
Kate adds there is no shortage of opportunities to become a procurement influencer.
“Try and speak at industry events – don’t just attend them, but speak at them. That could mean webinars, in-person events, awards programmes, podcasts. Hiring managers filling senior roles will be keen on people who can be interviewed in public, who can talk about a project they’ve run.
“And if you’re part of a function that has done something amazing, see if you can put yourself forward for something – the CIPS awards, for instance. Even just being shortlisted gets you noticed.”
What companies want, what companies need
While the skills an influencing professional needs are easy enough to understand, Kate says it’s surprising how many companies struggle to hire for them – a point where a recruiter can make a huge difference.
“Public sector employers in particular often come to us with a job description that’s been written by their HR team with about 150 ‘essential requirements’ listed,” she explains. “What I do is sit down with them and ask, ‘what do you actually need’?
“And normally it comes down to a few key things: the ability to influence stakeholders, the ability to lead a team, solid experience and understanding of procurement – MCIPS can be a great help there – and provides a demonstrated ability to negotiate.”
The bottom line is that companies looking to employ someone at an influencing level want candidates to demonstrate that if they’re hired, they won’t just deliver on a job description they’ve been given. They will be an advocate for their team and their profession, both inside and outside the organisation – and they will arrive already understanding the challenge.
Those procurement and supply chain leaders who can master the art of influence at the very top will be able to bring the outside world in, elevating procurement from a transactional function to a strategic partner in the process.