Director of Procurement

Role Purpose

The Director of Procurement is responsible for building, leading, and continuously improving an end-to-end procurement function that supports growth, margin, and operational scalability. This role ensures the right materials, components, services, and partners are available at the right cost, quality, and lead time to support internal manufacturing, contract manufacturing, and long-term business needs.

This is a hands-on leadership role in a growing organization, responsible for both strategic sourcing and day-to-day execution, while establishing scalable processes, systems, governance, and supplier partnerships that integrate tightly with SIOP, Manufacturing, Engineering, Logistics & Warehousing, Finance, and Business Systems.

Position Overview

The Director of Procurement owns all procurement activities across direct and indirect spend, including supplier strategy, sourcing, qualification, negotiation, contracting, and supplier performance management. This role serves as the organizations primary procurement authority, translating strategic objectives into executable procurement plans while ensuring strong governance, risk mitigation, and data integrity.

This leader is accountable for developing a disciplined, data-driven procurement organization that leverages NetSuite and analytics to support end-to-end planning, execution, and continuous improvement.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management

- Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy aligned to business, margin, and risk objectives.

- Lead supplier sourcing, qualification, onboarding, negotiation, contracting, and ongoing performance management across all spend categories.

- Establish and maintain a formal supplier qualification process including capability, quality, capacity, financial stability, and risk assessment.

- Implement and maintain supplier scorecards for all critical suppliers measuring cost, quality, delivery, responsiveness, and risk.

- Conduct quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with critical suppliers to review performance, risks, improvement opportunities, and forward-looking capacity.

- Own supplier segmentation and preferred supplier strategies, including long-term partnership models.

- Drive continuous year-over-year cost reduction initiatives across direct and indirect spend without compromising quality or service.

- Ensure no single point of failure exists within the supply base for critical materials and services.

Operational Procurement & Execution

- Direct the daily operations of the procurement function, ensuring timely and accurate purchasing execution.

- Ensure effective purchase planning, purchase order management, supplier communication, and issue resolution.

- Partner with SIOP to align procurement strategies with demand profiles, inventory targets, and capacity plans.

- Support resolution of shortages, expedites, substitutions, and supplier performance issues.

Cost, Margin & Risk Management

- Own material cost management, cost roll-ups, and purchase price variance (PPV).

- Identify and analyze top cost drivers across all materials, components, and services.

- Develop cost transparency and total landed cost models to support sourcing decisions and negotiations.

- Understand and manage the impact of tariffs, duties, customs, trade compliance, and Incoterms on total landed cost.

- Proactively identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including geopolitical, regulatory, and supplier concentration risks.

- Partner with Finance on budgeting, forecasting, cost-down roadmaps, and working capital optimization.

Contracts & Co-Manufacturing Management

- Ensure robust terms & conditions, contracts, and supplier agreements are in place for all suppliers.

- Lead negotiation, execution, and governance of supplier contracts and agreements.

- Own contract manufacturing (Co-Man) commercial relationships including pricing, delivery, quality expectations, service levels, and corrective actions.

- Partner with Manufacturing, Quality, and Engineering to drive Co-Man performance and continuous improvement.

Systems, Data & Process Ownership

- Serve as procurement process owner within NetSuite, ensuring master data integrity for items, vendors, pricing, lead times, MOQ, and planning parameters.

- Partner with Business Systems to design, implement, and continuously improve procurement workflows tied to MRP and SIOP.

- Develop, maintain, and continuously improve a procurement spend cube across all spend categories.

- Establish and maintain SOPs, governance, and controls for sourcing, contracting, vendor management, and purchasing.

- Champion adoption of analytics, dashboards, and reporting to support data-driven decision making.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

- Work closely with Manufacturing to support production schedules, material availability, and capacity planning.

- Partner with Engineering and R&D on NPI, supplier selection, cost targets, and BOM transitions.

- Collaborate with Logistics & Warehousing on inbound logistics strategy, supplier delivery performance, and inventory optimization.

- Coordinate with Finance and Legal on contract standards, compliance, and audit readiness.

People Leadership & Organizational Development

- Build, lead, and develop the procurement organization as the business scales.

- Establish clear roles, responsibilities, KPIs, and development paths for procurement team members.

- Promote professional development, ethical procurement practices, and continuous improvement.

- Set performance standards and accountability across the procurement team.

Qualifications

Key Qualifications

- Bachelors degree in Operations, Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or a related field; Masters preferred.

- 7+ years of progressive procurement and/or supply chain experience, ideally in a manufacturing environment.

- Experience managing international suppliers and contract manufacturers, including global trade, tariffs, customs, Incoterms, and total landed cost.

- Proven track record of driving cost reductions, improving supplier performance, and mitigating supply chain risk.

- Hands-on experience with ERP systems; NetSuite strongly preferred.

- Strong negotiation, analytical, and people leadership skills.

- Strategic, data-driven leader with strong business judgment and an execution-focused, high-ownership mindset.

- Collaborative, clear communicator able to influence across functions in a fast-paced, growth-oriented environment.

Certifications (Preferred)

- Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)

- Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)