Strategic Sourcing Manager

Avantor; Vlaams-Brabant; On-site; EUR 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Avantor is seeking a Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager to lead large-scale sourcing initiatives for a complex portfolio. You will drive supplier selection, negotiations, and contract execution while protecting supply continuity and delivering measurable savings.

Based in Belgium, you will partner with global teams across operations, finance, quality, and regulatory to translate business needs into effective sourcing plans and high-performing supplier relationships.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, engineering, science, or related field; advanced degree preferred.
• 5+ years in strategic sourcing, category management, procurement, or supply chain in global or regulated environment.
• Proven success leading competitive sourcing events, negotiations, supplier selection, and contract implementation.
• Experience with tendering chemicals and life-science products, market analysis, spend analytics, and TCO models.
• Professional sourcing or supply-chain certification (CPSM/CIPS) is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute multi-year category strategies for a complex supplier portfolio, aligned with growth and supply-continuity priorities.
• Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing initiatives: opportunity assessment, RFPs, tendering, supplier evaluation, negotiation and contracting.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supplier relationship

Contract negotiation

Spend analytics

Market intelligence

Education

Bachelor's degree (supply chain/related)

CPSM / CIPS certification (plus)

Tools

ERP systems

Contract management tools

Job description

The Opportunity

Manages large-scale sourcing projects and oversees critical sourcing activities like supplier selection and performance management, contract negotiations and risk mitigation. Addresses complex sourcing challenges, like unexpected demand shifts or fluctuating raw material prices, performing in-depth evaluations of variable factors and developing innovative solutions that often require adapting precedents and departing from traditional approaches. Communicates and negotiates effectively with management to influence strategic decisions and ensure sourcing objectives are achieved. Cultivates relationships and networks with internal stakeholders and external suppliers. The Strategic Sourcing Manager partners in the development and executes category and supplier strategies for a complex portfolio exceeding $150 million in cost of goods sold. This role combines market intelligence, spend analytics, competitive sourcing, contract negotiation, supplier relationship management, and risk mitigation to deliver sustainable value, protect supply continuity, and advance business growth and margin objectives. Working across global sourcing, portfolio teams, operations, commercial, quality, regulatory, finance, and legal teams, the manager converts business requirements into actionable sourcing plans and high-performing supplier partnerships.

Key Responsibilities

• Partners in the development and execution of multi-year category strategies for a complex supplier portfolio, aligned with business, growth, margin, quality, and supply‑continuity priorities.
• Lead end-to-end strategic sourcing initiatives, including opportunity assessment, market analysis, request-for-proposal development, competitive tendering, supplier evaluation, negotiation, selection, contracting, and implementation.
• Use spend, cost, demand, and market data to identify value opportunities; build fact‑based business cases; establish savings targets; and drive initiatives through execution and benefits realization.
• Negotiate commercial agreements that optimize total cost of ownership, service, quality, innovation, payment terms, capacity, and risk protection.
• Build strategic relationships with key suppliers; establish performance expectations and scorecards; conduct business reviews; and lead corrective, development, and continuous‑improvement actions.
• Partner with portfolio, operations, commercial, marketing, quality, finance, and other stakeholders to translate business needs into sourcing strategies and ensure successful adoption.
• Collaborate with Global Sourcing to aggregate demand, leverage enterprise scale, and identify regional and global opportunities.
• Source chemicals and life‑science products and company‑branded manufacturing operations.
• Assess and mitigate supplier, geopolitical, capacity, quality, regulatory, and continuity risks; develop contingency and alternate‑source strategies where appropriate.
• Partner with legal counsel and relevant stakeholders to ensure contracts meet company standards and applicable legal, regulatory, and compliance requirements.
• Lead annual price negotiations and proactively monitor commodity, inflation, supplier, and market trends to inform sourcing decisions and forecasts.
• Provide clear updates on sourcing pipelines, financial impact, supplier performance, key risks, and recommended actions to business leaders.
• Lead and develop sourcing professionals, where applicable, fostering accountability, commercial excellence, collaboration, and a continuous‑improvement mindset.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, engineering, science, or a related field; an advanced degree is preferred.
• Five or more years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, category management, procurement, or supply chain within a complex, global, or regulated environment.
• Demonstrated success leading competitive sourcing events, complex negotiations, supplier selection, and contract implementation.
• Relevant category experience in laboratory chemicals and life‑science products, raw materials.
• Experience managing significant spend portfolios and delivering measurable savings, value creation, supplier performance, and risk‑reduction outcomes.
• Experience with tendering chemicals and life‑science products, market analysis, spend analytics, and total‑cost‑of‑ownership models.
• Professional sourcing or supply‑chain certification, such as CPSM or CIPS, is a plus.

Knowledge, Skills, And Abilities

• Strategic and commercial mindset with the ability to connect sourcing decisions to growth, margin, working capital, quality, and supply resilience.
• Advanced negotiation, influencing, and relationship‑management skills across suppliers, executives, and cross‑functional stakeholders.
• Strong analytical capability, including spend analysis, cost modeling, market intelligence, benchmarking, scenario analysis, and financial business cases.
• Sound knowledge of category management, strategic sourcing methodologies, supplier segmentation, performance management, and risk mitigation.
• Ability to lead multiple complex initiatives, establish clear governance, manage competing priorities, and deliver results in a fast‑paced environment.
• Clear, persuasive written and verbal communication, with the ability to present recommendations and trade‑offs to senior leaders.
• Working knowledge of contract principles, international trade, procurement compliance, and relevant product or industry regulations.
• Collaborative, proactive, and results‑oriented approach, with sound judgment and the ability to work effectively across cultures and geographies.
• Proficiency with enterprise resource planning, e‑sourcing, contract‑management, supplier‑performance, and data‑visualization tools.
• Market knowledge of manufacturers across chemicals, reagents, raw materials, and related categories.

ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING CONDITIONS & PHYSICAL EFFORT (Under Typical Positions)

Typically works in an office environment with adequate lighting and ventilation and a normal range of temperature and noise level. Work assignments are diversified. Examples of past precedent are used to resolve work problems. New alternatives may be developed to resolve problems. A frequent volume of work and deadlines impose strain on routine basis. Frequent travel required. Minimal physical effort is required. Work is mostly sedentary but does require walking, standing, bending, reaching, lifting or carrying objects that typically weigh less than 10 lbs.

Disclaimer

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by employees assigned to this classification. They are not intended to be construed as an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required of employees assigned to this position. Avantor is proud to be an equal opportunity employer.

Why Avantor?

Dare to go further in your career. Join our global team of 14,000+ associates whose passion for discovery and determination to overcome challenges relentlessly advances life‑changing science.

The work we do changes people's lives for the better. It brings new patient treatments and therapies to market, giving a cancer survivor the chance to walk his daughter down the aisle. It enables medical devices that help a little boy hear his mom's voice for the first time. Outcomes such as these create unlimited opportunities for you to contribute your talents, learn new skills and grow your career at Avantor.

We are committed to helping you on this journey through our diverse, equitable and inclusive culture which includes learning experiences to support your career growth and success. At Avantor, dare to go further and see how the impact of your contributions set science in motion to create a better world.

EEO Statement

We are an Equal Employment/Affirmative Action employer and VEVRAA Federal Contractor. We do not discriminate in hiring on the basis of sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religious creed, national origin, physical or mental disability, protected Veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state/province, or local law. If you need a reasonable accommodation for any part of the employment process, please contact us by email at [e-mail] and let us know the nature of your request and your contact information. Requests for accommodation will be considered on a case‑by‑case basis. Please note that only inquiries concerning a request for reasonable accommodation will be responded to from this email address.

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By submitting candidates without having been formally assigned on and contracted for a specific job requisition by Avantor, or by failing to comply with the Avantor recruitment process, you forfeit any fee on the submitted candidates, regardless of your usual terms and conditions. Avantor works with a preferred supplier list and will take the initiative to engage with recruitment agencies based on its needs and will not be accepting any form of solicitation.