Senior Manager of Procurement

Virginia Transformer Corp; Roanoke (VA); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Virginia Transformer Corp in Roanoke, VA seeks a Senior Manager of Procurement to lead supplier strategy, sourcing, negotiations, and cost reduction across direct and indirect spend in a fast-growing engineer-to-order environment.

The role partners with Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance and leadership to build a high-performing procurement function that improves cost, quality, delivery, and working capital while developing a team of procurement professionals onsite.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, Finance, or related discipline required.
• MBA or Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Operations preferred.
• CPSM, CPM, CSCP, or similar certification is a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead procurement strategy and execution for manufacturing operations and spend categories.
• Develop sourcing strategies aligned with production requirements and growth plans.
• Identify supplier qualifications and lead negotiations for pricing, terms, and lead times.
• Establish procurement KPIs and drive cost, quality, delivery, and inventory improvements.
• Lead cross-functional collaboration with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Finance and Planning.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Strategic sourcing

Negotiation

Supplier management

Cost reduction

ERP/MRP

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

MBA or Master’s degree preferred

Professional certification preferred

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Job description

On the Heels of Achieving 3X Growth, Virginia Transformer Is Hiring to Do It Again!

We’re strategically building our team for the next 3X growth cycle — a phase that is both intense and incredibly rewarding. We’re highly selective about who joins us, because this journey isn’t for everyone.

If you have the drive, grit, and expertise to perform at a high level — and you want to grow your career 3X alongside the Company’s growth — we’d love to talk.

Who We Are

Virginia Transformer is the largest U.S.-owned producer of power transformers in North America. For more than 50 years, we have built our reputation by delivering premium-quality transformers with industry-leading lead times.

As a privately held, organically growing manufacturing company, we thrive on speed, innovation, accountability, and operational excellence. Our continued expansion requires procurement leaders who can build scalable supplier strategies, aggressively manage cost and risk, and ensure material availability in a demanding engineer-to-order manufacturing environment.

Position Overview

The Senior Manager of Procurement will provide strategic and operational leadership for procurement activities supporting Virginia Transformer’s manufacturing operations. Based onsite in Roanoke, Virginia, this position will lead supplier strategy, sourcing, negotiations, cost reduction, supplier performance, risk management, and material availability for critical direct and indirect spend categories.

This is a highly visible, hands‑on leadership position requiring a strong manufacturing procurement background and the ability to operate effectively in a fast‑paced, high‑growth environment.

The Senior Manager will partner closely with Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Planning, and executive leadership to build a high‑performing procurement organization capable of supporting aggressive growth while improving cost, quality, delivery, and working capital performance.

Key Responsibilities

Procurement Leadership & Strategy

• Lead procurement strategy and execution for assigned manufacturing operations, commodities, and spend categories.
• Develop sourcing strategies aligned with production requirements, growth plans, cost objectives, and customer commitments.
• Translate business forecasts and manufacturing demand into actionable supplier and procurement strategies.
• Establish procurement KPIs and operating rhythms focused on cost, quality, delivery, inventory, and supplier performance.
• Drive accountability throughout the procurement organization and supplier base.

Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Management

• Identify, evaluate, qualify, and develop suppliers capable of supporting Virginia Transformer’s quality, cost, capacity, and delivery requirements.
• Lead complex supplier negotiations involving pricing, payment terms, lead times, capacity commitments, warranties, and commercial agreements.
• Develop dual-source and alternate-source strategies for critical materials and components.
• Build long-term strategic relationships with key suppliers while maintaining strong commercial discipline.
• Conduct supplier business reviews and establish corrective action plans for underperforming suppliers.

Cost Reduction & Commercial Management

• Develop and execute aggressive year-over-year material cost reduction strategies.
• Lead should-cost analysis, competitive bidding, value engineering, supplier negotiations, and commercial optimization initiatives.
• Identify opportunities to consolidate spend and leverage purchasing volume across manufacturing locations.
• Track commodity markets and supplier cost drivers to anticipate pricing risks and negotiation opportunities.
• Partner with Engineering and Operations to identify design, specification, and sourcing changes that reduce total product cost.

Material Availability & Operational Support

• Ensure critical materials and components are available to support production schedules and customer delivery commitments.
• Proactively identify material shortages, capacity constraints, supplier disruptions, and other supply risks.
• Lead supplier escalation and recovery efforts when delivery performance threatens production.
• Partner with Planning, Operations, and Inventory Management to balance material availability with working capital objectives.
• Support rapid problem-solving in an engineer-to-order manufacturing environment where requirements and priorities can change quickly.

Supplier Quality & Performance

• Establish and maintain supplier scorecards covering quality, delivery, cost, responsiveness, and continuous improvement.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering to resolve supplier quality issues and implement permanent corrective actions.
• Drive measurable improvements in supplier on-time delivery and quality performance.
• Participate in supplier audits, qualification activities, and supplier development programs.
• Hold suppliers accountable for performance against contractual and operational requirements.

Supply Chain Risk Management

• Identify supply chain vulnerabilities involving sole-source suppliers, long lead-time materials, geographic concentration, capacity limitations, and commodity exposure.
• Develop mitigation strategies including alternative sourcing, supplier development, strategic inventory, and capacity commitments.
• Monitor global supply market conditions and identify emerging risks before they impact manufacturing operations.
• Support business continuity and contingency planning for critical materials and suppliers.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner closely with Manufacturing, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Sales, Project Management, and Planning.
• Support new product introductions and engineering changes by ensuring sourcing and supplier readiness.
• Participate in make-versus-buy analysis and major sourcing decisions.
• Provide procurement input into forecasting, budgeting, capital planning, and operational reviews.
• Communicate procurement performance, risks, savings initiatives, and corrective actions to senior leadership.
• Lead, coach, and develop procurement professionals while building a culture of urgency, accountability, and measurable performance.
• Establish clear expectations, objectives, and performance metrics.
• Develop procurement capabilities in strategic sourcing, negotiation, supplier management, analytics, and cost reduction.
• Build succession plans and strengthen the overall procurement talent pipeline.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Engineering, Operations, Finance, or a related discipline required.
• MBA or Master’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Operations preferred.
• CPSM, CPM, CSCP, or similar professional certification is a plus.

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive procurement, sourcing, or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.
• 5+ years of procurement leadership or management experience preferred.
• Demonstrated experience managing significant direct-material spend and complex supplier relationships.
• Strong experience negotiating major supplier agreements and delivering measurable cost reductions.
• Experience supporting high-volume, high-mix, engineer-to-order, configure-to-order, or complex industrial manufacturing strongly preferred.
• Experience with electrical equipment, transformers, switchgear, generators, industrial equipment, heavy manufacturing, metals, fabricated components, or other engineered products is highly desirable.
• Demonstrated success improving supplier quality, delivery, cost, and lead-time performance.
• Experience operating in a high-growth or rapidly changing manufacturing organization strongly preferred.
• Strategic sourcing and category management
• Advanced supplier negotiation
• Cost reduction and cost modeling
• Supply chain risk mitigation
• Commodity and market analysis
• Contract and commercial management
• ERP/MRP systems and procurement analytics
• Manufacturing and material planning knowledge
• Strong financial and business acumen
• Cross-functional leadership
• Team development and performance management
• Strong sense of urgency and accountability

Leadership Profile

The successful candidate will be a hands-on procurement leader, not simply an administrator of purchasing processes. This individual must be comfortable moving between strategic supplier negotiations, detailed cost analysis, production-critical material escalations, and executive-level discussions.

We are looking for someone who challenges suppliers, develops alternatives, anticipates risk, drives measurable savings, and understands that procurement performance directly impacts manufacturing output, profitability, and customer delivery.

Work Location

Roanoke, Virginia – Onsite

This position requires a strong onsite presence and close collaboration with Virginia Transformer’s Operations, Supply Chain, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and leadership teams.