4 January 2011 | Nicki Perrott

Nicki Perrott, head of procurement at Sainsbury’s, on handling big budgets and big decisions.

The day job

As head of procurement at Sainsbury’s I have a lean team of 44 in procurement, managing a spend of more than £2 billion for indirect purchases. I sit on the commercial senior leadership group, which sets the vision for store development, procurement and the facilities management teams.

My big break

I was working in a call centre after university and had to contact a customer who was a buyer for a retail company. We talked about her role and the next week I saw an advert for a junior buyer at Mars (formerly known as Masterfoods) and applied. The selection process was tough but I was lucky that I really clicked with the recruiting manager, Sarah Ellis, who is now CPO at BAA. Sarah and Mars invested a lot of time in my training, and it was a great opportunity to learn the ropes.

What I would change about my career

I probably left Masterfoods a year before I was really ready.

Best careers advice I’ve received

Don’t be afraid of change, and be prepared to try different sectors and roles. I’ve learned a lot from the different companies I’ve worked for. Mars gave me great basic commercial skills; RBS taught me strategic thinking; and retail has given me pace and business change skills.

Where I see procurement in five years’ time

Moving from annual savings delivery to sustainable business costs – ‘should cost’ modelling rather than cost reduction targets.

Future plans

I’m quite busy at the moment with the CPO role, moving house and having a baby. After that, I think I’ll review my plans.

CV: Nicki Perrott

Job history

Present: Head of procurement, Sainsbury’s

2009-2010: Head of construction and facilities management procurement, Sainsbury’s

2007-2009: Category manager, retail and logistics, Sainsbury’s

2006-2007: Head of services sourcing, RBS

2005: Programme lead to integrate US & UK sourcing, RBS

2003-2004: Marketing purchasing manager, RBS

Education

BA (Hons) history and politics, Hull University.

Most treasured possession: Grandma’s cookery books.

Favourite TV show: I don’t watch much TV, but do love Test Match Special on the radio.