Purchasing Director - Manufacturing

Vida Group International; Milwaukee (WI); On-site; USD 150,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Vida Group International seeks a Procurement Leader to drive strategic sourcing and supplier management across a high-tech division. You will lead a multi-disciplinary team, shape category strategies, and push for cost, quality, and supply continuity.

You will collaborate with Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Finance to align sourcing decisions with product performance and business goals, while advancing global sourcing programs.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, or related field.
• MBA or Master's in Supply Chain strongly preferred.
• Minimum 10–15 years of progressive procurement in high-tech manufacturing with 4+ years in leadership.

Responsibilities

• Own the procurement strategy for the division's full spend portfolio and set category strategies.
• Lead, develop, and manage a procurement team across sourcing and purchasing.
• Define operating model and accountability for spend category performance.
• Develop multi-year transformation roadmap toward data-driven management and global sourcing.
• Lead supplier performance management, QBRs, and risk mitigation programs.

Skills

Procurement strategy

Strategic sourcing

Commodity management

Supplier management

Negotiation

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

MBA or Master’s in Supply Chain

Tools

SAP MM

Power BI

Tableau

Job description

The Procurement Leader is the operational and strategic leader of the procurement organization, accountable for the performance of all sourcing, commodity management, and operational purchasing activities across the division's full spend portfolio. This individual leads a team spanning strategic commodity managers, operational buyers, and MRO purchasing—building a procurement function that is simultaneously rigorous in operational execution and progressive in strategic sourcing and supplier development capability. The Procurement Manager must be a seasoned, credible supply chain leader with the organizational strength to drive change, the commercial acumen to manage complex supplier relationships, and the technical depth to engage meaningfully with Engineering, Quality, Operations, and Finance on sourcing decisions that directly affect product performance, cost, and supply continuity. This role requires a strong, decisive personality—someone who sets high standards, holds the team and suppliers accountable, and brings structured thinking and relentless follow-through to every procurement challenge. Experience in semiconductor equipment, precision instruments, analytical technology, medical devices, or comparable high-technology manufacturing is required

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Own the procurement strategy for the division's full spend portfolio—establishing category strategies, sourcing priorities, supplier development roadmaps, and cost reduction targets aligned to the division's operational and financial objectives
• es.Lead, develop, and manage a procurement team covering commodity management, strategic sourcing, and operational purchasing, building individual capability, establishing performance standards, and creating a culture of excellence and continuous improveme
• nt.Define the procurement operating model: delineating strategic sourcing versus operational buying responsibilities, establishing commodity ownership assignments, and building structured accountability for spend category performance within the te
• am.Develop and execute a multi-year procurement transformation roadmap, progressing the organization from transactional purchasing toward data-driven commodity management, preferred supplier programs, and global sourcing excellen
• ce.Serve as the primary procurement interface to the Sr. Director of Supply Chain, executive leadership, Finance, and the CLIENT global procurement organization—representing ISS procurement performance, strategy, and investment nee

ds.Strategic Sourcing & Commodity Managem

• entLead high-value and high-complexity competitive sourcing events (RFI/RFQ/RFP) across strategic commodity categories—applying structured total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis, should-cost modeling, and multi-dimensional supplier evaluation criter
• ia.Negotiate and execute multi-year supply agreements with strategic suppliers, securing commercial terms (pricing, payment, lead time, capacity reservation, quality requirements) that protect supply continuity and deliver competitive cost positio
• ns.Partner with CLIENT's global procurement organizations in EU and Asia to identify and capture cross-site spend synergies across the enterprise global spend portfolio—participating in global commodity councils and coordinating joint sourcing strategi
• es.Oversee the management of the supplier base—conducting supplier segmentation (strategic, preferred, approved, tactical), leading rationalization initiatives, and managing supplier transitions with appropriate risk contro
• ls.Build and execute an annual cost reduction roadmap with specific savings targets by category and supplier, tracking and reporting realized savings versus committed targets with full auditabili
• entOwn the Division's supplier performance management system, measuring and reporting OTIF, quality (DPPM, corrective action rate), lead time compliance, and responsiveness for all active suppliers on a structured, regular caden
• ce.Lead quarterly business reviews (QBRs) with strategic and preferred suppliers, driving accountability for performance improvement commitments, technology roadmap alignment, and capacity planni
• ng.Conduct supply chain risk assessments across the supplier base, identifying single-source dependencies, sole-source concentrations, financially at-risk suppliers, and geopolitical exposure—developing and executing mitigation strategies including dual-sourcing, safety stock, and long-term agreemen
• ts.Manage supplier quality escalations in collaboration with the Quality organization, driving root cause analysis, corrective action (SCAR) closure, and systemic process improvements at supplier faciliti

es.Operational Purchasing Oversi

• ghtOversee the operational procurement team's execution of purchase order management, supplier confirmations, delivery expediting, invoice discrepancy resolution, and purchase order change management—ensuring on-time material availability to support production schedul
• es.Establish and enforce procurement policies and procedures: purchase order authorization levels, preferred supplier adherence, sourcing approval workflows, and ERP purchasing process complian
• ce.Own SAP MM procurement process integrity: purchase requisition-to-PO workflow, info record maintenance, source list management, outline agreement utilization, vendor master data quality, and invoice verification complian
• ce.Partner with Finance on budget management, accruals, supplier payment terms optimization, and working capital improvement through strategic use of payment terms negotiati

on.NPI & Engineering Collaborat

• ionPartner with Engineering and New Product Introduction (NPI) teams to engage procurement early in product development cycles, driving Design for Sourcing (DFS) principles—ensuring component standardization, multi-source availability, and cost-effective procurement strategies are incorporated at the design sta
• ge.Lead commodity roadmap alignment with Engineering, ensuring strategic supplier capabilities and technology directions are incorporated into product design decisions and long-term sourcing strategi

REQUIREM

ENTS

Educ

• ationBachelor's degree required in Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Business, or a related technical field. Engineering degree with business development background highly va
• lued.MBA or Master's degree in Supply Chain strongly prefe

rred.Exper

• ienceMinimum 10-15 years of progressive procurement and sourcing experience in a high-technology, precision manufacturing environment, with at least 4 years in a procurement management or team leadership
• role.Demonstrated track record of leading procurement organizations through a transition from tactical buying to strategic sourcing and category manage
• ment.Industry experience in semiconductor equipment, precision instruments, vacuum technology, analytical instrumentation, medical devices, or aerospace/defense requ

ired.Technical & Functional S

• killsSAP MM (Required): Deep, hands-on mastery of SAP MM procurement proc
• essesStrategic Sourcing Methods: Demonstrated proficiency in total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis, should-cost modeling, make-vs.-buy analysis, multi-attribute supplier evaluation, competitive bid management, and contract negotia
• tion.Commodity Management: Experience owning commodity strategies across multiple spend categories, including market analysis, supply risk assessment, technology road mapping, and preferred supplier develop
• ment.Spend Analytics: Proficiency with spend analysis tools and frameworks—spend cube construction, category segmentation, preferred supplier utilization tracking, and PPV measure
• ment.Contract Management: Experience drafting, negotiating, and managing supply agreements—including pricing schedules, delivery terms, quality requirements, capacity commitments, and IP/confidentiality provis
• ions.Analytics & BI Tools: Advanced Excel; proficiency with Power BI or Tableau for procurement dashboard development and performance repor

ting.Certifications (Prefe

• rred)ISM CPSM (Certified Professional in Supply Management) or