Director, Strategic Sourcing

Job Description
The Strategic Sourcing Director is responsible for leading the Company's global direct material sourcing organization and developing sourcing strategies that support the Company's financial, operational, and strategic objectives. This position provides leadership for commodity management activities, supplier relationship management, commercial negotiations, market analysis, and supply risk mitigation while ensuring a resilient, competitive, and high-performing supply base.

The Strategic Sourcing Director partners closely with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Planning, and Program Management to ensure sourcing strategies support business growth, operational excellence, and customer commitments. This role leads a team of Commodity Managers and sourcing professionals while driving continuous improvement across the procurement function.

Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
- Develop and execute the global direct material sourcing strategy aligned with corporate objectives.
- Establish mid and long-term category strategies across all direct material commodities.
- Lead strategic sourcing initiatives that improve cost competitiveness, supply continuity, quality, innovation, and sustainability.
- Develop annual sourcing objectives, operating plans, and performance targets.
- Ensure sourcing strategies support business growth, operational excellence, and financial objectives.
 

Supplier Relationship Management
- Develop executive-level relationships with key strategic suppliers.
- Lead strategic supplier reviews and executive business reviews.
- Foster supplier innovation and collaboration to improve service, quality, and business value.
- Ensure appropriate supplier segmentation and governance processes.
 

Commercial Management
- Lead complex commercial negotiations involving pricing, contracts, payment terms, capacity, and long-term supply agreements.
- Ensure commercial agreements appropriately balance cost, risk, flexibility, and supply continuity.
- Oversee contract lifecycle management in partnership with Legal and Contract Administration.
 

Category & Commodity Management
- Direct development and execution of global category strategies.
- Review commodity strategies prepared by Commodity Managers.
- Balance regional and global sourcing opportunities.
- Ensure total cost of ownership principles are incorporated into sourcing decisions.
 

Supply Risk Management
- Lead enterprise-wide supplier risk assessments for direct materials.- Develop contingency plans for critical markets, suppliers, and services.
- Monitor supplier financial stability, regulatory compliance, cybersecurity, and business continuity capabilities.
- Ensure sourcing decisions consider operational, legal, financial, and reputational risks.
 

Cost & Value Leadership
- Deliver annual cost reduction and productivity targets.
- Drive value engineering and should-cost initiatives.
- Identify opportunities beyond purchase price, including inventory optimization, logistics efficiencies, quality improvements, and lifecycle cost reductions.
- Lead total cost of ownership initiatives across the supply base.
- Support and initiate Lean Management projects.
 

Cross-Functional Leadership
- Partner with: Engineering, Operations, Supply Planning, Supplier Quality, Finance, Program Management
- Lead collaborative supplier selection for new products.
- Ensure sourcing activities support production schedules and customer commitments.
 

People Leadership
- Lead, coach, mentor, and develop Commodity Managers and sourcing professionals.
- Establish departmental goals and performance expectations.
- Support succession planning and talent development.
- Foster collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement.
Governance & Compliance
- Ensure compliance with company procurement policies and ethical sourcing standards.
- Support ESG and sustainability initiatives.
- Ensure compliance with applicable regulatory and customer requirements.
 

Reporting & Analytics
- Monitor and report sourcing KPIs including: cost savings, supplier performance, supplier risk, on-time delivery, quality, spend analytics
- Present sourcing performance to executive leadership.
Continuous Improvement
- Lead sourcing process improvements.

Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, engineering, business, or related field. 
- 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing and procurement
- Strong expertise in developing and executing comprehensive supply chain strategies that deliver cost savings and improve operational efficiency.
- Demonstrated ability to lead and collaborate with cross-functional teams to align on and execute category strategies
- Negotiation expertise with a track record of securing favorable terms. 
- Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously in a fast-paced global environment, ensuring successful execution.
- Ability to analyze complex spend data, market trends, and supplier performance to inform sourcing decisions and strategy development.
- Deep understanding of supplier relationship management and the ability to build and maintain strategic partnerships with key indirect suppliers.
- Experience with procurement tools and systems, as well as spend analysis platforms, to track and report on category performance and savings.
- A self-starter who can independently manage priorities, drive results, and proactively identify and solve problems.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels of the organization.
- Procurement certifications (e.g., CIPS, CPSM) are a plus.