Specialist, Sourcing Strategy
Date: 19 Jun 2026
Location: London, GB, N2 8AW
Company: McDonald's Corporation
About Us
McDonalds has run its business in the UK since 1974 and currently operates over 1500 restaurants across the UK and Ireland, serving almost four million customers each day. McDonalds is one of the UKs largest private sector employers, employing over 170,000 people.
Department Overview
This is an exceptional opportunity to join our Strategic Sourcing Team, where you’ll play a pivotal role in category management across food, beverages, packaging and operating supplies —representing a combined spend of over £2 billion per year. Covering both the UK and Ireland, this role also collaborates closely with our Global Supply Chain team, offering a truly international perspective.
Duties
- Category Management: Manage designated sourcing categories, analysing spend and identifying opportunities for value creation.
- Supplier Engagement: Build strong supplier relationships, monitor performance, and drive continuous improvement.
- Project Delivery: Deliver sourcing projects from initiation through to implementation, including cost-saving initiatives.
- Negotiation Support: Lead day-to-day supplier negotiations as well as Strategic Sourcing Reviews
- Cross-Functional Collaboration: Partner with functions such as Food Development, QA, and Marketing to deliver business needs.
- Reporting: Produce accurate reports and insights to support strategic decisions.
Education and Experience:
- Degree (or equivalent) in any discipline.
- Several years of relevant procurement experience in food, beverage, packaging or operating supplies.
- Competent in supplier/partner management and development.
- Proven experience in category strategy and objective setting.
Technical Skills:
- Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams.
Strategic and Networking Skills:
- Demonstrated capability to build validated networks and relationships across the business
- Strategic approach to interactions with all partners and suppliers, tailored to achieve desired outcomes.
Company Vision and Culture
Our Global vision is to build a better McDonalds and in the UK and Ireland we are working hard to be the UK & Irelands best-loved restaurant company.
McDonalds is defined by its culture. Our culture shapes and informs everything we think and everything we do. Our culture influences the way we interact with each other, and how we interact with customers, franchisees and suppliers. Our culture motivates and inspires us to attract and retain great talent, creating positive, energising, exceptional working environment for us all.
Our values drive our culture and shape our beliefs, our priorities and our actions. They influence the decisions we make, how we treat one another and how we show up as a brand to the world.
Serve: We put our customers and our people first
Inclusion: We open our doors to everyone
Integrity: We do the right thing
Community: We are good neighbours
Family: We get better together
At McDonalds we are People from all Walks of Life...
People are at the heart of everything we do, and they make the McDonalds experience. We embrace diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive culture that means people can be their best authentic self in our restaurants and offices, which helps us to better serve our customers. We have a strong heritage of diversity and representation within our communities, which we are proud of. The diversity of our people, customers, Franchisees and suppliers gives us strength.
We do not tolerate inequality, injustice or discrimination of any kind. These are hugely important issues and a brand with our reach and relevance means we have a very meaningful role to play.
We also recognise our responsibility as a large employer to continue being active in our communities, helping to develop skills and drive aspirations that will help people to be more aware of the world of work and more successful within it, whether with McDonalds or elsewhere.