Senior Group Manager, Direct Procurement, Ford Energy

Ford; Dearborn (MI); On-site; USD 142,000 - 268,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision coverage

Vehicle discount program

Tuition assistance

Paid time off

Paid holidays

Job summary

Ford Energy is seeking a Sr, Group Manager – Direct Procurement to lead the direct materials procurement team for battery energy storage systems. You will set sourcing strategy, govern supplier partnerships, and drive cost reductions across power electronics, thermal systems, battery packs, and enclosures.

You will manage a team of procurement professionals, establish budgets, and partner with Engineering, Manufacturing, and Quality to meet aggressive program milestones and profitability targets.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business Administration, or Engineering.
• 10+ years of direct procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, or supplier commercial experience.
• 3+ years of formal people leadership experience, managing procurement professionals, category managers, or teams.
• 3+ years of experience in automotive, battery energy storage systems (BESS), power electronics, industrial equipment, or high-volume manufacturing.
• 3+ years of commercial experience across complex commodities (e.g., power electronics, inverters, thermal management, lithium-ion battery cells/modules, enclosures, or HV distribution).
• 25% travel (Domestic and International).

Responsibilities

• Build, lead, and develop a department of procurement managers, category leads, and sourcing specialists with significant independence.
• Define departmental budgets, resource allocation, and operating priorities for rapid scaling.
• Define and drive mid- to long-term direct procurement strategy and policies across major BESS subsystems.
• Translate business goals into actionable category plans and cost-reduction roadmaps.
• Own overall commercial accountability and financial performance for direct procurement spend; lead negotiations on contracts and IP terms.
• Oversee supplier industrialization, ramp, and risk-management to ensure continuity and performance.

Skills

People leadership

Procurement strategy

Commercial negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Cost reduction

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business Administration, Engineering

Job description

Ford Energy is a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company dedicated to accelerating U.S. energy independence. Leveraging Ford's century of manufacturing excellence and world-class battery energy storage systems (BESS) technology, Ford Energy designs, manufactures, and services grid-scale and commercial DC battery energy storage systems (BESS). Ford Energy is uniquely positioned to capture the growing demand for reliable, US-built energy storage systems. We are not just building batteries; we are building the infrastructure for the next generation of the American grid.

Why Ford Energy?
At Ford Energy, you have the backing of an industrial manufacturing powerhouse with the agility of a dedicated energy startup offering industry leading technology. We offer a competitive compensation package including performance-based bonuses, Ford vehicle discounts, and the opportunity to shape the energy strategy of one of the world's most iconic brands. Learn more at https://fordenergy.com.

In this position...
The Ford Energy Supply Chain team is seeking a high-caliber Sr, Group Manager – Direct Procurement to lead, scale, and manage the direct material procurement department supporting Ford Energy battery energy storage systems. In this role, you will be accountable for establishing the departmental sourcing strategy, commercial governance, and supplier partnerships across multi-million-dollar direct material portfolios spanning power electronics, thermal systems, battery packs and modules, safety systems, structural enclosures, and balance-of-plant components.

You will lead a team of procurement professionals, category managers, and sourcing leads to build resilient, competitive, and scalable supply chains that meet Ford Energy's quality, cost, capacity, and aggressive industrialization timelines.

What you'll do...

People Leadership & Departmental Management

Build, lead, and develop a high-performing department of procurement managers, category leads, and experienced sourcing specialists who exercise significant independence and latitude in their commodities.

Establish departmental operating rhythms, performance standards, KPIs, workload balancing, and professional development roadmaps.

Define and manage departmental budgets, resource allocation, and operational priorities to support rapid organizational scaling and aggressive program milestones.

Procurement Strategy & Operating Policies

Define and drive the mid- to long-term direct procurement strategy, commodity roadmaps, and sourcing policies across all major BESS subsystems.

Translate business goals into actionable category plans, localization strategies, and multi-year cost-reduction roadmaps.

Establish and continuously improve procurement operating processes, governance frameworks, and supplier risk-management protocols across the department.

Commercial Delivery, Cost & Financial Impact

Own overall commercial accountability and financial performance for direct procurement spend, delivering competitive total cost of ownership (TCO) and sustainable year-over-year cost improvements.

Lead high-stakes commercial negotiations for enterprise-critical supply contracts, master service agreements, tooling commitments, capacity reservation agreements, and intellectual property terms.

Develop should-cost modeling standards and financial business cases; evaluate commercial trade-offs and make authoritative recommendations that protect program profitability and schedule integrity.

Supplier Industrialization, Continuity & Risk Mitigation

Conduct rigorous stakeholder, market, and supply chain risk analyses to safeguard against single-source bottlenecks, geopolitical constraints, and capacity shortfalls.

Oversee supplier industrialization, launch readiness, and ramp execution in close alignment with Manufacturing and Supplier Technical Assistance (STA), ensuring suppliers achieve production part approval and volume commitments.

Serve as the senior escalation point for critical supplier disputes, commercial claims, and supply continuity disruptions to prevent program delays.

Cross-Functional Leadership & Executive Engagement

Partner closely with peer leaders across Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Program Management, Finance, Legal, and Logistics to drive design-to-value, make-vs.-buy evaluations, and technology roadmaps.

Synthesize complex commercial positions, market dynamics, and supplier performance data into clear, actionable briefings and recommendations for executive leadership.

Represent Ford Energy in senior-level external engagements, building strategic relationships with C-suite and VP-level supplier leadership.

You'll have...

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business Administration, Engineering.
• 10+ years of direct procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, or supplier commercial experience.
• 3+ years of formal people leadership experience, successfully managing, mentoring, and developing teams of procurement professionals, category managers, or subordinate management.
• 3+ years of experience in automotive, battery energy storage systems (BESS), power electronics, industrial equipment, or high-volume manufacturing environments.
• 3+ years of commercial experience across complex commodities (e.g., power electronics, inverters, thermal management, lithium-ion battery cells/modules, fabricated structural enclosures, or high-voltage electrical distribution).
• 25% Travel (Domestic and International).

Even better, you may have...

• Master's degree in Supply Chain Management, Purchasing, Business Administration, Engineering.
• Demonstrated ability to direct a functional department, set clear strategic direction, manage performance, and foster a collaborative, high-accountability team culture.
• Proven track record of structuring and negotiating multi-million-dollar, complex supply agreements covering commercial terms, warranties, tooling, capacity, and risk-allocation mechanisms.
• Deep command of should-cost modeling, total cost of ownership drivers, design-to-cost principles, capital budgeting, and manufacturing cost structures.
• Strong capability to diagnose ambiguous supply chain challenges, conduct risk assessments, and implement innovative mitigation strategies under fast-paced, constrained timelines.
• Exceptional communication skills with demonstrated success influencing peer managers, cross-functional partners, executive leadership, and senior external counterparts.

As an established global company, we offer the benefit of choice. You can choose what your Ford future will look like: will your story span the globe, or keep you close to home? Will your career be a deep dive into what you love, or a series of new teams and new skills? Will you be a leader, a changemaker, a technical expert, a culture builder…or all of the above? No matter what you choose, we offer a work life that works for you, including:

• Immediate medical, dental, vision and prescription drug coverage
• Flexible family care days, paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments, and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• A generous schedule of paid holidays, including the week between Christmas and New Year's Day
• Paid time off and the option to purchase additional vacation time.
  

This position is leadership level 5 and ranges from $141,700-$268,300.
Final determination of salary grade will be based on candidate's skills and experience, and base salary will be set within the applicable range according to job scope, responsibility and competitive market value.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.
Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at the time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.

Company: As Ford establishes a wholly owned subsidiary focused on Battery Energy Storage Systems, this role will initially be employed by Ford and is expected to transition to the subsidiary within one year.

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