Sr Director Analyst, Direct Procurement

Gartner; Stamford (CT); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Gartner in Stamford, CT seeks an experienced analyst to lead supplier strategy coverage across lifecycle management, supplier quality, innovation, and ecosystem management, emphasizing executive advisory leadership and Should Cost expertise.

The role delivers insight-rich content, develops market forecasts, advises clients on inventory optimization and regulatory impacts, and supports sales with market voices, mentoring junior team members.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, procurement, engineering, business, economics or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in direct procurement and supply chain leadership.
• Executive advisory experience supporting CPOs, CSCOs, CFOs, and senior executives.
• Recognized expertise in direct materials sourcing, commodity strategy, and procurement transformation.
• Exceptional analytical, presentation, research, and communication skills.
• Proven manufacturing background (CPG, heavy industry) within global procurement footprints.

Responsibilities

• Create innovative, thought provoking, and highly leveraged 'must-have insights' content.
• Develop new insights through thought leadership and offer compelling, actionable approaches to client's needs and requests that accelerate the client's ability to act.
• Develop in-depth analysis to identify the root cause of a client’s barriers or overall needs and reframe thinking to drive strategy forward.
• Demonstrate thought leadership in establishing Insights positions across a team of analysts.
• Bring provocative, independent insights to Gartner leaders that can evolve the course of a research agenda.
• Research, analyze and predict market trends and shifts to provide clients and vendors with actionable insights.
• Provide clients and prospects with actionable advice aligned to their designated content area via virtual or face-to-face interactions.
• Create and deliver high value presentation materials on and off stage for Gartner events, industry and professional association conferences, and client briefings.
• Support research and Sales: Provide sales support serving as voice of the market to help Insights teams create content and to drive engagement with clients to make progress against their critical priorities to grow their business.
• Provide high quality and timely content peer review.
• Build credibility as an industry expert to represent Gartner insights, methodology and strategy.
• Actively participate in innovation, ideation, and research discussions and collaborate effectively with peers in the Insights community.
• Identify research process improvements or develop new processes that help the team and research provide excellent service delivery.
• Be a mentor and a coach by supporting more junior team members.
• Be client-centric while actively seeking to help clients engage regularly and often with Gartner insights and interactions.

Skills

Executive advisory experience

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Presentation skills

Leadership

Sourcing & procurement

Strategic thinking

Education

Bachelor's degree in supply chain, procurement, engineering, business, economics or related field

Job description

• Supplier Relationship & Lifecycle Management
• Supplier Quality
• Supplier Innovation
• Supplier Ecosystem Management

We need to emphasize executive advisory leadership, Should Cost expertise, inventory management, geopolitical risk, regulatory impacts, and commodity intelligence.

The Gartner Analyst Role

• Create innovative, thought provoking, and highly leveraged 'must-have insights' content
• Develop new insights and ideas through thought leadership and offer compelling, actionable approaches to client's needs and requests that accelerate the client's ability to act
• Develop in-depth analysis to identify the root cause of a client’s barriers or overall needs and reframe thinking to drive strategy forward
• Demonstrate thought leadership in establishing Insights positions across a team of analysts
• Bring provocative, independent insights to Gartner leaders that can evolve the course of a research agenda
• Research, analyze and predict market trends and shifts to provide clients and vendors with actionable insights
• Provide clients and prospects with actionable advice aligned to their designated content area via virtual or face-to-face interactions
• Create and deliver high value presentation materials on and off stage for Gartner events, industry and professional association conferences, and client briefings
• Support research and Sales: Provide sales support serving as voice of the market to help Insights teams create content and to drive engagement with clients to make progress against their critical priorities to grow their business
• Provide high quality and timely content peer review
• Build credibility as an industry expert to represent Gartner insights, methodology and strategy
• Actively participate in innovation, ideation, and research discussions and collaborate effectively with peers in the Insights community
• Identify research process improvements or develop new processes that help the team and research provide excellent service delivery
• Be a mentor and a coach by supporting more junior team members
• Be client-centric while actively seeking to help clients engage regularly and often with Gartner insights and interactions

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, Procurement, Engineering, Business, Economics or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in direct procurement and supply chain leadership.
• Executive advisory experience supporting CPOs, CSCOs, CFOs, and senior executives.
• Recognized expertise in direct materials sourcing, commodity strategy, and procurement transformation.
• Exceptional analytical, presentation, research, and communication skills.
• Proven manufacturing background (CPG, heavy industry) within global procurement footprints.

Focus Areas

• Develop and execute global direct procurement and commodity strategies that ensure cost competitive, agile supply chains aligned with business objectives
• Advise on leveraging strong cross-functional collaboration across Operations, Finance, R&D, Engineering, Supplier Quality, and Quality to optimize the end-to-end supply chain through joint governance, shared KPIs, and change management - enhancing inventory and working capital optimization, VMI, sustainability, and risk management.
• Advise clients on Should Cost Analysis, clean-sheet costing, total cost of ownership, and supplier economics.
• Analyze commodity markets, industry trends, cost drivers, and supply market dynamics (not looking for specific categories or markets, but the mechanics of such analyses).
• Assess geopolitical, tariff, sanctions, trade policy, and regulatory impacts on sourcing decisions.
• Translate complex market developments into actionable executive guidance.
• Provide guidance on inventory optimization, supply continuity, working capital tradeoffs, and VMI.
• Lead supplier risk, dependency, qualification, onboarding, development, and performance strategies.
• Advise on procurement technology, analytics, AI, and transformation initiatives.
• Experience in global organizations with hybrid, regional and global procurement operating models.

Areas of Expertise

• Should Cost Analysis & Cost Modeling
• Inventory Management & Supply Continuity
• Geopolitical Risk & Trade Policy
• Regulatory Impact Analysis
• Commodity Markets & Commodity Risk Management