Director of Strategic Sourcing

Position Summary

We have been retained to identify a Director of Strategic Sourcing for a growing vehicle manufacturer that is scaling its operations and supply base. This is a highly visible leadership role responsible for building and executing the strategic sourcing strategy required to support new product launches, production growth, cost competitiveness, and supply continuity.

We are looking for a hands-on sourcing leader who has operated within automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy equipment, or EV manufacturing and understands what it takes to build a scalable supplier network. This individual will work closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance, and Program Management to ensure new products launch on time, at target cost, and with a resilient supply base.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing Leadership

• Develop and execute the strategic sourcing roadmap to support aggressive production and business growth.
• Build and lead a high-performing strategic sourcing organization.
• Develop commodity strategies utilizing market intelligence, supplier capabilities, and total cost of ownership.
• Establish sourcing governance, procurement policies, and supplier management processes consistent with automotive OEM best practices.
• Establish and lead sourcing council processes across vehicle programs.

Supplier Development & Management

• Identify, qualify, and develop strategic suppliers for direct materials and production components.
• Lead competitive RFQ/RFP and supplier selection processes.
• Negotiate long-term agreements covering pricing, commercial terms, capacity commitments, and service expectations.
• Develop executive-level relationships with key suppliers.
• Lead supplier business reviews focused on quality, delivery, cost, innovation, capacity, and risk.

Cost Management

• Drive annual material cost reductions through should-cost analysis, value engineering, competitive sourcing, and supplier negotiations.
• Deliver year-over-year productivity savings while protecting quality and delivery.
• Partner with Engineering to influence design and platform decisions that improve manufacturability and reduce total product cost.
• Develop strategies to manage commodity inflation and supply volatility.

New Product Introduction

• Partner with Engineering and Program Management throughout the product development process to ensure sourcing readiness.
• Support supplier tooling, APQP, PPAP, and launch-readiness activities.
• Ensure supplier capacity, production timing, and material availability support manufacturing schedules.
• Support successful vehicle launches without supply disruption.

Supply Risk & Supplier Performance

• Develop mitigation strategies for single-source suppliers, constrained materials, and geopolitical risks.
• Establish business continuity plans for critical components.
• Monitor supplier financial health, capacity, quality, and operational performance.
• Partner with Supplier Quality Engineering to implement supplier scorecards and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Drive corrective actions for supplier quality and delivery issues.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Logistics, Program Management, and Finance.
• Participate in executive planning, S&OP, and capacity planning.
• Align sourcing strategies with product roadmaps and customer requirements.
• Build procurement processes and governance capable of scaling from a startup environment to full-rate production.

Candidate Profile

We are targeting candidates with:

• 10+ years of progressive strategic sourcing or procurement experience within automotive, commercial vehicle, heavy equipment, or EV manufacturing.
• 5+ years of experience leading strategic sourcing teams.
• Demonstrated experience supporting new vehicle or automotive program launches.
• Strong supplier negotiation, contract management, and commodity strategy experience.
• Experience managing global suppliers across North America, Europe, and Asia.
• Strong understanding of automotive/heavy-duty manufacturing and supplier development.
• Experience with APQP, PPAP, supplier quality, cost modeling, should-cost analysis, and total cost of ownership.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial manufacturing environment.
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, or a related discipline.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally approximately 25%.

Preferred Experience

• Vehicle manufacturing and/or battery supply chain experience.
• MBA, Master's degree, CPSM, CPIM, CPM, or similar certification.
• Familiarity with IATF 16949, ISO 9001, APQP, DFMEA, FMVSS, PPAP, Altoona Bus Testing, and Buy America requirements.
• Experience with SAP, Oracle, EPICOR, Microsoft Dynamics, or similar ERP/MRP platforms.
• Experience developing and utilizing business intelligence tools.

What Success Looks Like

During the first 12 months, this leader will be expected to build a scalable strategic sourcing organization, establish commodity strategies across major vehicle systems, and develop a preferred supplier network capable of supporting significant production growth. They will implement stronger supplier performance management and sourcing governance while delivering measurable material cost savings and improving quality and delivery.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who can build rather than simply maintain—a sourcing executive comfortable operating with urgency, solving problems hands-on, developing supplier partnerships, and creating the processes and organization required to support the company's next stage of growth.