Strategic Sourcing Manager

Origin Sustainables; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 80,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading sustainable packaging firm in Vancouver is looking for a Strategic Sourcing Manager. You will oversee global supplier partnerships, lead sourcing strategies, and negotiate contracts ensuring high quality and competitive pricing. This role requires strong negotiation skills, a background in procurement, and the ability to manage vendor relationships effectively. The position offers competitive salary, benefits, and opportunities for travel.

Benefits

Quarterly bonus tied to performance

Extended health benefits plan

3 weeks vacation + 5 personal days

Qualifications

• 5+ years in sourcing, procurement, or supply chain.
• Deep understanding of global sourcing and manufacturing.
• Ability to travel internationally for supplier visits.

Responsibilities

• Own global sourcing strategy across all categories.
• Lead negotiations on pricing and supplier agreements.
• Manage vendor performance and implement scorecards.

Skills

Negotiating with overseas manufacturers

Vendor performance management

Attention to detail

Commercial skills

Critical thinking

Collaboration skills

Tools

ERP experience (NetSuite or similar)

Excel/Sheets skills

Job description

Strategic Sourcing Manager

Location: Vancouver, BC (full-time, in-office)

Reports to: Director, Operations

Collaborates with: Sales; Operations; Quality Control; Buyer

Overview

Origin partners with top North American quick-service restaurants and distributors to provide sustainable, custom takeout packaging and reliable supply chain solutions. With over 35 years of experience, we offer tailored procurement services to ensure consistent quality, brand visibility, and on-time delivery across Canada. We specialize in compostable and recyclable packaging made from sustainable materials, helping the foodservice industry reduce its environmental footprint.

Purpose of this Role

As we scale, we’re looking for a Strategic Sourcing Manager to take our global supply partnerships to the next level. You will manage and evolve our global supply base to support new business growth, reduce risk, and unlock margin opportunities. This role is equal parts strategic and hands-on, ensuring we have the right products, partners, and pricing to meet complex client needs and support product expansion. You will lead sourcing strategy, vendor management, procurement, and cross-functional support for customer initiatives by translating commercial and technical requirements into production-ready solutions, ensuring Origin continues to deliver on our promise of clarity, confidence, and convenience.

Key Mandates and Responsibilities

Sourcing Strategy

• Own the global sourcing strategy across all categories, leveraging our established Asia supplier base while developing options in new regions based on business priorities, market dynamics, and customer needs.
• Lead structured RFIs/RFQs/RFPs, supplier evaluations, price negotiations, and vendor onboarding to ensure competitive pricing, high quality, and reliable supply.
• Identify, evaluate/qualify, and onboard new suppliers to diversify risk, improve lead times and landed cost, and enable new categories.
• Maintain visibility into market trends, geopolitical risks, and cost drivers (raw materials, energy, freight, FX) and advise stakeholders on implications.
• Identify and mitigate supply chain risks, including over-reliance on specific vendors or regions; build dual-sourcing strategies and contingency plans for key categories.
• Serve as the point of escalation for vendor issues; manage conflict resolution with tact and professionalism.

Vendor Management and Performance

• Own key supplier relationships across strategic categories, managing escalations and acting as primary accountability for performance.
• Implement scorecards, develop standards, and establish KPIs; conduct quarterly supplier reviews to ensure quality, pricing, OTIF delivery, and service standards are met.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with ethical, sustainability, and certification requirements; partner with Quality on sampling, inspections, and continuous improvement.
• Drive corrective action plans when performance gaps are identified.

New Product Development and Expansion

• Collaborate with Sales and Product to evaluate feasibility and source solutions for new customer requirements.
• Recommend and source new products or materials that align with sustainability trends and market demand; identify opportunities to expand categories and create new revenue streams.
• Lead supplier-side execution for customization, samples, testing, and rollouts; build costed BOMs and lead-time models to support proposals and launches.

Procurement and Deal Support

• Lead negotiations on pricing, payment terms, rebates, and Incoterms; draft and manage supplier agreements in line with company policies.
• Provide commercial options and supplier insights to support bids, proposals, and renewals; act as a bridge between Sales and suppliers by translating customer needs into actionable production requirements.
• Set purchasing strategy for strategic SKUs (MOQ, safety stock, lead times, cost optimization) in partnership with Operations; the Buyer executes transactional purchase orders.
• Coordinate with Operations on purchase planning, production scheduling, inventory planning, logistics, and with Finance on payment terms and contracts. Maintain visibility into production timelines and lead times.
• Analyze cost structures and market trends to identify savings and margin improvement opportunities.

Required Skills and Qualifications

• 5+ years in sourcing, procurement, or supply chain within packaging, consumer products, or industrial manufacturing.
• Proven success negotiating with overseas manufacturers and managing vendor performance.
• Deep understanding of global sourcing and manufacturing, ideally with experience in East Asia (e.g. China) and Southeast Asia (e.g. Vietnam, Thailand, etc.); exposure to the United States, Latin America, or Europe is a plus.
• Fluent in English; Mandarin proficiency strongly preferred. Able to navigate Asian business culture and communicate effectively across time zones.
• Strong commercial skills and attention to detail; comfortable with RFIs/RFQs, TCO analysis, Incoterms, FX, and freight dynamics.
• Clear and responsive critical thinker who anticipates issues and proactively resolves them.
• Hands-on, entrepreneurial mindset; effective collaborator in a lean, fast-moving environment.
• Ability to travel internationally for supplier visits, audits, and trade shows is required. Must have a valid driver’s license and access to a vehicle.
• ERP experience (NetSuite or similar) and strong Excel/Sheets skills.

Nice to Have

• Experience sourcing foodservice packaging made from paper, molded fiber, or plastic.
• Familiarity with vendor-managed inventory, international logistics, and overseas QC processes.

What Success Looks Like

• Seamless supplier transitions with minimal business disruption.
• Strategic cost savings and measurable improvements in supplier quality, lead times, MOQ, contract terms, OTIF, and service.
• Rapid onboarding of new customer SKUs with well-executed supplier solutions.
• A strengthened sourcing function that complements Operations and Sales without friction, with reliable production lead times and delivery.

Compensation & Benefits (Vancouver, BC)

• Base salary: Competitive base salary commensurate with experience, skills, and qualifications.
• Bonus: Quarterly bonus tied to individual and company performance (contribution margin).
• Benefits: Participation in company extended health benefits plan.
• Time off: 3 weeks vacation + 5 personal days

We appreciate your interest in Origin Sustainables! Due to application volume, only applicants invited to interview will be contacted.