Strategic Procurement Advisor

Strategic Advisor - Procurement & Industry

Sybilion · Europe · Advisory role

Help shape how industrial buyers turn external volatility into confident action.

“Bring your procurement experience and industry relationships to help us solve the right buying problems, reach the right companies, and prove our value in real decisions.”

About Sybilion

A procurement leader is ultimately judged on one question: did we buy well? The right price, on the right terms, from the right supplier, at the right time. The information to answer it exists, but it sits outside the ERP, the planning tools and the spreadsheets. It lives in commodity and energy markets, in supplier regions, in contracts nobody has re-read. So the call usually gets made late, on last month’s report and gut feel.

Sybilion gives industrial buyers a credible view of what a material should cost and whether to act. Our platform is live and in daily use at European industrial manufacturers. Ask it a question in plain English and it builds the answer from three things: a should-cost forecast with a confidence range, the external events moving your inputs, and the terms in your own contracts. When a person commits, Sybilion keeps the record of what was decided and why.

Our core procurement playbooks are live with customers. We sell to European mid-market and enterprise industrials in chemicals, plastics, packaging and commodity-linked manufacturing. We are funded, small, senior, and accelerating towards our Series A.

Why this role, why now

We have spent this year defining what Sybilion is and shipping it. The product works, more prospects are using it, and the core is proven in real negotiations. The next stage is different. We need to understand where our approach creates the most value, build relationships with the companies facing those problems, and show that the value can be repeated across accounts.

That needs people who have sat on the other side of the table. You know how procurement decisions are made, what it takes to introduce a new platform into an industrial organisation, and what evidence a procurement leader needs before putting their name behind it.

We are looking for a senior procurement leader, ideally a current or former Chief Procurement Officer, Group Procurement Director or equivalent, to advise our founders and help us build the right industry relationships. You will bring practical judgement, a wide network, and the willingness to make relevant introductions where you see a clear fit.

How you will work

• Industry relationships and introductions. Help us connect with procurement leaders and decision-makers in companies with complex supply chains, particularly petrochemicals, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, paper and pulp, cosmetics, and related industries. Use your network to open relevant conversations and help us understand each company’s priorities.
• Where we focus. Advise on the sectors, companies and buying problems where Sybilion can make the biggest difference. Help us distinguish a broadly interesting use case from a problem that has urgency, budget and a clear owner.
• Product direction. Bring the procurement perspective into our priorities. Help us identify which forecasts, supplier insights and contract information buyers need to act, and where our approach needs to reflect the realities of industrial procurement.
• Pilot to production. Advise on how we scope pilots around a real buying decision, agree meaningful success criteria, and build the internal support needed to move into regular use.
• Proof of value. Help us define what credible evidence looks like: savings, better timing, stronger negotiation outcomes, supply resilience and working capital. Challenge our claims and help us demonstrate value in terms that procurement leaders and CFOs recognise.
• What comes next. Act as a sounding board on the next problems customers bring us, including supplier selection, feedstock exposure and supply risk. Help us test whether an opportunity deserves investment before we build.

You’re probably a fit if you have

• Significant senior procurement experience, ideally as a current or former Chief Procurement Officer, Group Procurement Director, VP Procurement or equivalent.
• A strong, active network of procurement leaders and senior decision-makers in industries with complex, commodity-linked supply chains.
• Deep experience in one or more of petrochemicals, chemicals, plastics, pharmaceuticals, paper and pulp, cosmetics, packaging or related manufacturing sectors.
• First-hand knowledge of how companies buy: feedstocks, energy exposure, supplier relationships, qualification requirements, contract structures and the trade-offs between price, reliability and working capital.
• Experience introducing new technology or ways of working into procurement, including building the business case and securing internal support.
• Commercial judgement: you can talk price, terms, margin and risk with buyers, and connect procurement outcomes to the priorities of a CFO or executive team.
• A willingness to make thoughtful introductions and contribute to selected customer conversations, alongside giving strategic advice.
• Clear, simple communication and the confidence to tell founders where their assumptions do not hold up.
• Fluent English and availability for regular conversations in a European time zone. Portuguese or German is a plus.

Prior experience advising a growing technology company is valuable, but not essential. Your procurement judgement, industry relationships and understanding of how decisions get made matter most.

How we work

We are a small, senior team based in Porto, with some colleagues across Europe and founders who are close to every customer. We work with high trust and high ownership, and we would rather ship two things that hold up in a negotiation than twenty that don’t. You will work directly with the CEO and founders and have real influence over where we focus and how the platform develops.

This is an advisory position with a flexible time commitment agreed around your availability and the contribution we define together. We expect a regular advisory conversation, relevant introductions, and participation in selected customer or industry discussions where your experience can make a difference. The scope, time commitment and compensation will be agreed together.

We value practical advice grounded in experience. Tell us where a buying problem is real, where our case is weak, and who we should be learning from. Help us build relationships that last and a product that earns its place in procurement decisions.

If you want to bring your experience and network to help industrial buyers get the deal right, we would like to hear from you.