Company Overview
We are partnering with a global engineered-products organization to identify a Director of Global Sourcing. The company is backed by one of the largest privately held organizations in the U.S., providing significant resources, long-term ownership and a strong people-focused culture with longstanding recognition among the country’s top workplaces.
The business designs, engineers and distributes highly customized components, automation products and related solutions used within residential and commercial applications. Its model combines engineered products, distribution and mass customization, with thousands of components supporting a broad range of finished-product configurations. Motorization and automation are important areas of continued growth and investment.
Despite the scale and resources behind the organization, the operating environment remains lean, entrepreneurial and highly collaborative, giving leaders significant visibility, broad responsibility and the ability to influence the business directly.
The opportunity is particularly well suited for a proven global sourcing leader ready to step into broader executive visibility and ownership.
What You Will Be Doing
As the Director of Global Sourcing, you will report directly to the CEO, participate in senior strategic leadership discussions and lead a small, internationally distributed sourcing team.
You will be responsible for approximately $75 million to $100 million in global sourcing spend across a diverse contract-manufacturing and supplier network, with significant exposure to Asia and China. Key categories include aluminum extrusions, plastics, steel hardware, textiles/fabrics, motors and automation components.
A major focus of the role will be supplier rationalization and supply-chain risk reduction. You will evaluate the existing supplier network, determine where spend should be consolidated or competitively sourced, strengthen supplier quality and performance, improve global leverage and reduce unnecessary supplier and country concentration.
You will also play a central role in developing the company’s response to tariffs, China concentration and broader geopolitical supply risk, balancing cost, continuity, quality and total landed cost.
This is a hands-on leadership role. The successful candidate must be equally comfortable developing global sourcing strategy, negotiating with contract manufacturers, visiting suppliers, reviewing data in Power BI and working directly with Product, Engineering, Quality and Planning teams.
Major Tasks, Responsibilities, and Key Accountabilities
Global Sourcing Strategy & Supply Base Optimization- Develop and execute an integrated global sourcing strategy across the U.S., Australia and international supplier markets
- Lead the rationalization of the global supplier network, including supplier consolidation, competitive resourcing, supplier exits and development of new sources where appropriate
- Evaluate suppliers across cost, quality, capability, geographic risk, capacity and long-term strategic fit
- Identify opportunities to consolidate purchasing volume across regions and improve negotiating leverage
- Reduce supplier and country concentration while protecting continuity of supply
- Develop appropriate dual-sourcing, diversification, nearshoring or alternate-country strategies
- Continuously market-test established supplier relationships to ensure the company remains competitive
- Balance cost improvement with quality, supply continuity, tariff exposure and geopolitical risk
Contract Manufacturer & Supplier Management- Personally manage and develop relationships with key contract manufacturers and strategic suppliers
- Lead supplier selection, qualification, negotiation, contract development and performance management
- Work across a high-mix supply environment where requirements may range from thousands of units for specialty components to very high-volume products
- Establish clear supplier expectations around cost, service, quality, delivery and continuous improvement
- Improve supplier accountability and strengthen the use of scorecards and performance metrics
- Partner with Quality to shift inspection and quality ownership further upstream into the supplier manufacturing process
- Address long-standing supplier relationships where capability has not evolved with the needs of the business
Cost, Risk & Global Supply Resilience- Identify sustainable cost-reduction opportunities without creating unacceptable supply or quality risk
- Develop sourcing strategies that account for tariffs, duties and changing international trade conditions
- Reduce dependence on individual countries where geopolitical or tariff exposure could materially affect the business
- Evaluate total landed cost rather than unit price alone
- Improve visibility into global sourcing economics and supplier performance
- Support annual savings objectives and other sourcing-related business targets
- Develop contingency strategies for critical categories and suppliers
Product, Engineering & Cross-Functional Partnership- Work closely with Product Management and Engineering during new-product development and initial sourcing
- Translate technical and product requirements into supplier strategies and manufacturing solutions
- Partner with Quality, Planning and Materials once products move into regular production
- Collaborate with regional operating leaders while maintaining a global sourcing perspective
- Connect U.S. and Australian sourcing activities where product types, suppliers or economics create opportunities for global leverage
Team Leadership- Lead a small, internationally distributed sourcing organization
- Provide direction to sourcing resources supporting Australia and Asia
- Work closely with dedicated resources located in Indonesia and China
- Partner with a U.S.-based sustaining engineering resource supporting supplier qualification and technical sourcing activity
- Create accountability while maintaining the collaborative, entrepreneurial culture of the business
Analytics, Systems & Decision Support- Use data independently to understand spend, margins, purchasing activity, supplier performance and sourcing opportunities
- Work effectively within a Microsoft Dynamics 365 environment
- Utilize Power BI and related analytical tools to evaluate sourcing and supplier performance
- Develop and improve supplier scorecards, KPIs and management reporting
- Partner with strategic finance and technology resources for deeper analysis while remaining personally capable of accessing and interpreting day-to-day data
- Help the organization continue moving from spreadsheet-driven processes toward more scalable systems and analytics
Qualifications & Experience- 10+ years of progressive sourcing, strategic procurement or supply-chain experience
- Significant hands-on experience managing contract manufacturers and international suppliers
- Meaningful experience sourcing from Asia, including direct interaction with overseas manufacturing partners
- Demonstrated success developing and executing global sourcing strategies across multiple suppliers, categories and geographies
- Proven experience with supplier rationalization, competitive sourcing, supplier consolidation, negotiation and cost improvement
- Experience navigating tariffs, geopolitical risk and geographic supply concentration
- Strong understanding of total landed cost and international sourcing economics
- Experience sourcing engineered components such as aluminum extrusions, plastics, steel components, motors/electronics or comparable products; experience across every category is not required
- Experience partnering with Engineering, Product Management, Quality, Operations and Planning in a product-based environment
- Strong analytical orientation with the ability to personally access, interpret and use sourcing and business data
- Experience with Power BI or comparable analytical tools and comfort working within an ERP environment such as Microsoft Dynamics 365
- Ability to operate strategically while remaining personally involved in supplier negotiations, analysis and execution
- Experience leading and influencing teams across multiple countries or regions
- Comfortable operating with significant autonomy in a lean, entrepreneurial environment
- Strong judgment, initiative, accountability and collaborative leadership style
- Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent relevant experience
Preferred Experience- Experience sourcing textiles or fabrics is helpful but not required
Travel / Location- Position is based in Fort Worth / Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- Approximately 15–20% travel, including international travel, to support supplier relationships, contract manufacturers and global business partners
- Relocation assistance may be considered for the right candidate
BrainWorks specializes in connecting industrial organizations with top-tier talent to drive operational excellence and business performance. Our Industrial Practice partners with organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies to deliver exceptional professionals who align with your business goals and industry demands.
With extensive knowledge of the challenges and opportunities in the industrial sector, our consultants leverage deep expertise and a vast candidate network to provide tailored solutions. Through our proven process BrainWorks delivers quality, speed, and results. Learn more at brainworksinc.com.
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