Job Description

Herschend is seeking a Director of Purchasing to lead enterprise purchasing and procurement across its portfolio of family entertainment brands, including theme parks, water parks, attractions, resorts, aquariums, and related businesses. Reporting directly to the Chief Financial Officer, this leader will develop and execute sourcing strategies that create measurable financial value, strengthen supplier partnerships, standardize purchasing practices, and support seamless operations across a decentralized, multi-site environment.

The Director of Purchasing will establish procurement as a strategic business partner by delivering EBITDA improvement, reducing total cost of ownership, mitigating supply chain risk, improving purchasing discipline, and building scalable procurement capabilities. The successful candidate will bring executive presence, commercial acumen, analytical rigor, strong negotiation skills, and hands-on leadership, with a proven ability to drive change while maintaining the highest standards for guest experience, safety, quality, and operational reliability.

Key Responsibilities

Procurement Strategy & Transformation

· Develop and execute an enterprise purchasing strategy aligned with Herschend’s operating priorities, growth objectives, value creation goals, and portfolio needs.

· Centralize and optimize purchasing functions where appropriate across theme parks, water parks, aquariums, attractions, resorts, and related businesses to leverage scale and improve consistency.

· Build and mature purchasing processes, governance, systems, reporting, and team capabilities across the organization.

· Develop short- and long-term sourcing strategies across direct and indirect spend categories.

· Lead competitive sourcing initiatives, supplier evaluations, RFQs/RFPs, contract negotiations, and vendor selection processes.

· Create multi-year category strategies that balance cost, quality, service, innovation, guest experience, operational reliability, supplier resilience, and safety standards.

Strategic Supplier Management

· Build and manage strategic supplier relationships with a focus on performance, accountability, partnership, and continuous improvement.

· Establish supplier scorecards and performance metrics related to cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, innovation, and service levels.

· Lead supplier risk management efforts, including alternate sourcing strategies, continuity planning, capacity assessments, and escalation processes for critical categories.

· Improve purchasing execution across the full procure-to-pay lifecycle, including requisitioning, purchasing, delivery coordination, invoice resolution, contract compliance, and vendor accountability.

Financial Value Creation

· Develop and manage a purchasing savings roadmap with clear ownership, initiative tracking, and validated financial results.

· Identify and execute initiatives that improve EBITDA, reduce total cost of ownership, increase contract coverage, and enhance working capital performance.

· Develop, track, and manage procurement budgets and cost-control initiatives, delivering measurable savings across the portfolio.

· Optimize payment terms, pricing structures, rebates, purchasing compliance, demand management, and supplier consolidation opportunities.

· Support acquisition integration, new business onboarding, and procurement synergy capture as Herschend expands its portfolio.

· Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, spend analytics, savings validation, and executive reporting.

Governance, Analytics & Cross-Functional Leadership

· Establish purchasing governance, policies, approval workflows, contracting standards, and negotiation practices across the organization.

· Build purchasing reporting, KPIs, dashboards, and analytics capabilities to improve spend visibility and decision-making.

· Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, Park Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing, IT, Finance, People, and field leadership to align purchasing initiatives with business objectives and guest experience priorities.

· Ensure specialized property-level needs are understood and met without disruption to park, attraction, hospitality, retail, food and beverage, or aquarium operations.

Leadership Expectations

· Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership and operating teams on purchasing strategy, supplier performance, cost management, and risk mitigation.

· Lead with a collaborative, service-oriented approach that reflects Herschend’s culture and commitment to creating memorable experiences for guests and hosts.

· Build credibility across a decentralized, multi-site environment by combining strategic thinking with practical execution.

· Develop talent, clarify roles and responsibilities, and create a performance-oriented purchasing organization.

Required Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree required; Business, Supply Chain Management, Finance, Operations, Business Administration, or related field preferred.

· 8–10+ years of progressive purchasing, procurement, strategic sourcing, supply chain, or category management experience, with 10+ years preferred.

· Demonstrated experience negotiating enterprise-wide supplier agreements, high-value contracts, and service agreements.

· Proven track record delivering measurable cost savings, EBITDA improvement, working capital benefits, and procurement process improvements.

· Experience in multi-site operations strongly preferred; hospitality, attractions, entertainment, theme parks, water parks, aquariums, food and beverage, retail, consumer services, or related operating environments a plus.

· Strong financial acumen with the ability to build business cases, analyze spend, quantify savings, and communicate value to senior leaders.

· Experience implementing or improving purchasing technologies, procure-to-pay processes, spend analytics, supplier performance systems, and reporting tools.

· MBA and/or CPSM, CPCM, CSCP, or related certification preferred.

Ideal Candidate Profile

· Strategic and analytical, with the ability to translate purchasing opportunities into measurable financial and operational outcomes.

· Hands-on and pragmatic, comfortable operating at both the executive strategy level and the detailed execution level.

· Collaborative and influential, able to build trust across corporate and field teams without relying solely on formal authority.

· Change-oriented, with experience creating structure, discipline, and accountability in evolving procurement environments.

Work Location & Eligibility

· This position is based in Peachtree Corners / the Northeast Atlanta area and requires an in-office presence on a hybrid basis.

· Up to 30% travel may be required to regional park, attraction, resort, aquarium, and related business locations.

· Atlanta-area candidates only; relocation assistance is not available.

· Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States without sponsorship now or in the future.