Senior Strategic Sourcing Specialist (Manufacturing)

Senior Strategic Sourcing Specialist (Manufacturing)

Reports to : Purchasing Manager

Supervises : N / A

A day in this role

You start by reviewing supplier delivery commitments and high-priority purchase orders, then huddle with engineering to align on an alternate component strategy for a critical build. By mid-morning, you’re negotiating pricing and terms with a key supplier, mapping total cost drivers—not just unit price—to lock in savings. After lunch, you evaluate supplier performance KPIs, initiate corrective actions for a late shipment, and update sourcing plans to support upcoming production ramps. You close the day by mentoring a junior buyer on RFQ best practices and documenting purchasing metrics for leadership.

What you will own

• End-to-end procurement of direct and indirect materials, components, and services that keep production and the business running.
• Market and cost analysis to ensure competitive sourcing decisions and sustained cost improvements.
• Compliance with company policies, quality expectations, and relevant regulations across all purchasing activity.
• Strategic supplier relationships : build, maintain, and elevate partner performance; resolve delivery, quality, and cost issues.
• Supplier performance management with on-time delivery, quality, and cost targets; drive corrective actions when needed.
• Cross-functional collaboration with engineering, operations, finance, and quality to align sourcing with organizational objectives.
• Continuous improvement and value engineering to uncover cost savings and streamline processes.
• Lifecycle management of purchase orders—from creation and changes to expediting and discrepancy resolution.
• Coaching junior buyers / procurement staff and sharing best practices.
• Accurate records, reports, and KPI dashboards to inform management decisions.

Scope, interfaces, and decision latitude

Interfaces : Manager, peers, manufacturing personnel, and engineers.

Decision-making : Empowered to make purchasing decisions within established procedures and guidelines.

Impact of error : Direct effect on incoming material quality and availability, design and production continuity, service performance, and on-time customer delivery.

What you bring

Core proficiencies