Procurement Director - Global 3rd Party Materials

3M; Maplewood (MN); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

3M is seeking a Director for 3rd Party Materials - Global Procurement in Minnesota. You will develop and execute global procurement strategies across multiple material categories, leading supplier relationships and ensuring supply continuity for the Americas region.

You will partner with R&D, Design, Engineering, Marketing and Finance to align sourcing with product development, cost targets, and sustainability goals, while driving innovation and value across the supply chain.

Qualifications

• Global procurement leadership experience desired.
• Knowledge of packaging materials and related supply markets.

Responsibilities

• Own global category strategy development for Molding, Metals, Electronics, Tapes, Abrasives, and Films.
• Lead supplier relationships and performance management with strategic partners.
• Embed procurement early in product development with R&D, design, and engineering teams.
• Drive cost optimization, risk mitigation, and innovation across categories.
• Establish governance for NPI sourcing and ensure timely launches across regions.

Job description

Job Title

Director, 3rd Party Materials - Global Procurement

Collaborate with Innovative 3Mers Around the World

Choosing where to start and grow your career has a major impact on your professional and personal life, so it's equally important you know that the company that you choose to work at, and its leaders, will support and guide you. With a wide variety of people, global locations, technologies and products, 3M is a place where you can collaborate with other curious, creative 3Mers.

This position provides an opportunity to transition from other private, public, government or military experience to a 3M career.

The Impact You'll Make in this Role

The Director, 3rd Party Materials - Global Procurement is responsible for developing and executing procurement and category strategies across packaging materials and related supply markets throughout the Americas region. This role provides strategic leadership for supplier relationships, category management, supply continuity, cost competitiveness, sustainability, innovation, and risk mitigation while supporting 3M's growth, operational excellence, and new product development initiatives.

The position partners closely with business groups, manufacturing, engineering, quality, R&D, supply chain, finance, and regional/global procurement teams to leverage 3M's purchasing scale, accelerate supplier innovation, and create sustainable competitive advantage. The Senior Manager leads a team of procurement professionals and serves as a key advisor to business leadership on packaging market trends, supplier capabilities, and sourcing strategies. This role supports Divisions across 3M, giving the successful candidate broad exposure to 3M's diverse businesses & products.

Here, you will make an impact by:

Category Strategy Leadership

• Own global category strategy development and execution for Molding, Metals, Electronics, Tapes, Abrasives, and Films, ensuring alignment with business growth plans, manufacturing needs, and customer requirements.
• Translate market intelligence-raw material trends, supplier capacity, technology shifts, and competitive dynamics-into actionable sourcing strategies across each sub-category.
• Lead supply-base optimization and rationalization efforts to balance cost, quality, resiliency, and innovation.
• Identify and prioritize sourcing initiatives that deliver measurable improvements in total value delivered to the business.

Global NPI Leadership - Consumer Business Group

• Embed procurement early in the product development lifecycle, partnering with R&D, Design, Engineering, and Marketing to influence material selection, supplier capability, and cost targets from concept through launch.
• Build and manage a global NPI supplier pipeline across relevant material categories, ensuring suppliers are qualified, capacity-ready, and technically capable to support new product launches on schedule.
• Establish governance and stage-gate processes for procurement involvement in NPI, ensuring consistent global execution across regions and portfolios.
• Balance speed-to-market pressures with cost, quality, and supply risk considerations specific to consumer product launches (e.g., shorter lifecycles, higher SKU variability, retail timing constraints).
• Partner with category teams (Molding, Metals, Electronics, Tapes, Abrasives, Films) to ensure NPI sourcing decisions align with broader category strategy, supplier roadmaps, and negotiated commercial terms.
• Track and report NPI procurement performance metrics (e.g., on-time supplier readiness, cost-to-target achievement, launch delay risk) to business and procurement leadership.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Build and maintain strategic, global partnerships with key suppliers across all six material categories.
• Lead supplier selection, qualification, and performance management, including executive business reviews and formal improvement plans where needed.
• Drive supplier-led innovation to support new product development and advancements in materials and process technology (e.g., molding compounds, metal alloys, electronic components, adhesive tapes, abrasive media, film substrates).
• Develop multi-year supplier roadmaps aligned to 3M's technology and business requirements, with specific attention to suppliers critical to Consumer Business Group NPI pipelines.

Cost, Contracting & Negotiation

• Lead complex, global commercial negotiations and manage long-term supply agreements across diverse material categories.
• Apply should-cost modeling, market intelligence, and total-cost-of-ownership analysis to drive value-based sourcing decisions.
• Deliver annual productivity, cost reduction, and working capital targets, including cost-to-target achievement for NPI programs.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders on contract structuring, risk allocation, and commercial terms.

Supply Chain Risk & Sustainability

Develop strategies that strengthen supply resiliency, particularly given the geographic