Job Description

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Manager

We are looking for a Procurement & Strategic Sourcing Manager who can build, improve, and lead our purchasing organization.

This is not a transactional purchasing position. We are looking for an experienced, hands-on procurement professional who can take ownership of our purchasing function, develop our buyers, strengthen our supplier base, negotiate better agreements, reduce supply-chain risk, and put the processes and accountability in place to support a growing manufacturing operation.

This is an opportunity for the right person to make a significant impact. You will have the autonomy to improve how procurement operates and the responsibility to build a stronger, more professional purchasing organization.

The ideal candidate can negotiate a major supplier agreement, source a difficult-to-find component, understand machining and manufacturing costs, develop a new supplier, and work directly with a buyer to improve their negotiation and purchasing skills.

What You'll Do

Lead & Develop the Purchasing Team

• Lead, coach, and develop the purchasing team.
• Establish clear buyer responsibilities and commodity ownership.
• Train buyers in negotiation, sourcing, supplier management, cost analysis, and PO management.
• Develop purchasing SOPs, approval processes, and escalation procedures.
• Establish daily and weekly purchasing priorities and accountability.
• Build a culture of ownership, urgency, and follow-through.

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Development

• Develop domestic and international sourcing strategies.
• Identify alternate suppliers for critical and high-risk components.
• Source machined, fabricated, cast, forged, electrical, mechanical, and automotive components.
• Develop new domestic and overseas suppliers when appropriate.
• Evaluate supplier capabilities, pricing, capacity, quality, and lead times.
• Identify make-versus-buy opportunities and support outsourcing decisions.

Negotiation & Cost Improvement

• Lead negotiations with key suppliers.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, freight, tooling ownership, warranties, MOQs, and supply agreements.
• Develop competitive RFQ/RFP processes.
• Analyze supplier quotes and manufacturing costs.
• Identify opportunities to reduce purchase price and total cost.
• Establish measurable annual cost-reduction goals.

Supplier Performance

• Segment suppliers based on spend, criticality, and risk.
• Establish supplier scorecards covering quality, cost, delivery, and responsiveness.
• Conduct regular supplier reviews.
• Address supplier performance issues and develop corrective-action plans.
• Reduce dependence on single-source and long-lead-time suppliers.

Planning & Material Availability

• Work closely with Supply Chain and Production Planning to ensure materials are available when needed.
• Use MRP/ERP information to identify potential shortages before they affect production.
• Hold suppliers accountable to production requirements.
• Reduce last-minute expediting and purchasing firefighting.

What Success Looks Like

During your first year, you will be expected to:

• Establish a formal procurement operating system.
• Clearly define buyer and commodity responsibilities.
• Develop measurable buyer performance standards.
• Implement supplier scorecards for strategic suppliers.
• Establish consistent negotiation and contracting standards.
• Reduce past-due purchase orders.
• Reduce material shortages affecting production.
• Deliver measurable purchase-price and total-cost improvements.
• Develop alternate sources for critical components.
• Improve supplier performance.
• Develop the skills and capabilities of every buyer on the team.

What We're Looking For

We are looking for a strong procurement leader who has the experience to build and improve a function while still being willing to roll up their sleeves and do the work.

Ideal candidates will have:

• 10+ years of manufacturing procurement or supply-chain experience.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or developing purchasing professionals.
• Strong strategic sourcing and supplier-development experience.
• Proven negotiation and commercial-management skills.
• Domestic and international sourcing experience.
• Experience purchasing machined and fabricated components.
• Strong understanding of manufacturing processes and cost drivers.
• Experience with ERP/MRP systems; NetSuite experience preferred.
• Demonstrated success achieving cost savings.
• Experience improving supplier performance and material availability.
• Experience developing purchasing processes, KPIs, and SOPs.

This role is a great fit for someone who:

Knows purchasing from the ground up.

Can develop people.

Can negotiate with suppliers.

Understands manufacturing and cost.

Can solve supply problems before they become production problems.

And wants the authority to build a better procurement organization.

If you are a hands-on procurement professional ready to take ownership of a purchasing organization and make a measurable impact, we want to hear from you.