Purchasing & Procurement Associate Director

Jobtailor; Illinois; On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Job summary

Jobtailor in Illinois seeks a senior sourcing leader to drive complex procurement initiatives and negotiate with strategic suppliers. You will guide a team, prioritize workload, and resolve delivery challenges while aligning with business goals.

Ideal candidates bring 8+ years in strategic sourcing, strong leadership, and global experience. You’ll influence stakeholders, optimize processes, and leverage AI-enabled procurement tools to enhance performance.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, procurement, finance or related discipline.
• 8+ years in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management or related fields.
• Leadership experience managing sourcing teams or procurement functions.
• Experience in global, matrixed organizations and in workload planning & service delivery.

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver complex sourcing projects, supplier negotiations, and strategic sourcing initiatives.
• Support sourcing managers and professionals in successful delivery and stakeholder engagements.
• Manage workload allocation, prioritization, and operational delivery across the sourcing team.
• Act as escalation point for sourcing, supplier, stakeholder, and delivery challenges.
• Lead, coach, and develop sourcing professionals to build capability and career growth.
• Monitor performance, turnaround times, and resource utilization to support service delivery.
• Lead process improvement and transformation to boost sourcing effectiveness and stakeholder experience.
• Support adoption of sourcing tools, procurement tech, and AI-enabled capabilities.
• Build strong relationships with stakeholders and provide sourcing guidance.
• Develop reporting, insights, and recommendations for decision-making.

Skills

Leadership

Strategic Sourcing

Supplier Management

Negotiation

Stakeholder Management

Data Analysis

Problem-Solving

Communication

Coaching

Relationship Building

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, or related discipline

Tools

Procurement Technology

AI-Enabled Capabilities

Reporting and Insights

Job description

Responsibilities

• Lead and deliver complex sourcing projects, supplier negotiations, and strategic sourcing initiatives
• Support sourcing managers and sourcing professionals in the successful delivery of sourcing activities and stakeholder engagements
• Manage workload allocation, prioritization, and operational delivery across the sourcing team
• Act as an escalation point for sourcing, supplier, stakeholder, and delivery challenges
• Lead, coach, and develop sourcing professionals to build capability and support career development
• Monitor sourcing performance, turnaround times, and resource utilization to support effective service delivery
• Lead process improvement and transformation initiatives that improve sourcing effectiveness, efficiency, and stakeholder experience
• Support the implementation and adoption of sourcing tools, procurement technology, and AI-enabled capabilities
• Build strong relationships with business stakeholders and provide sourcing expertise and commercial guidance
• Develop reporting, insights, and recommendations to support operational and strategic decision-making

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance, or a related discipline
• 8+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or related disciplines
• Leadership experience managing sourcing teams or procurement functions
• Technology-based commodity experience - software sourcing, a strong plus
• Experience working within global and matrixed organizations
• Experience managing sourcing operations, workload planning, prioritization, and service delivery performance
• Strong commercial, negotiation, supplier management, and stakeholder management capabilities
• Strong analytical, leadership, communication, and problem-solving skills

Hard Skills

• Strategic Sourcing
• Supplier Management
• Procurement
• Workload Planning
• Service Delivery Performance
• Process Improvement
• Data Analysis
• Commercial Guidance
• AI-Enabled Capabilities
• Reporting and Insights

Soft Skills

• Leadership
• Communication
• Problem-Solving
• Relationship Building
• Coaching