Senior Manager, Supplier Development & Continuous Improvement, Global Mobility

Gates Corporation; Rochester Hills (MI); On-site; USD 160,000 - 190,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision Insurance

401(k) with company match

Tuition Reimbursement

3 weeks of paid vacation

Job summary

Gates Corporation in Rochester Hills, Michigan, seeks a Senior Manager, Supplier Development and Continuous Improvement. This role involves leading supplier development teams, ensuring product quality enhancements, and applying Lean principles for continuous improvement. The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's in Engineering, 15+ years of experience in supplier development, and strong communication skills. The position offers a salary range of $160,000 to $190,000, extensive benefits, and a collaborative work environment.

Qualifications

• 15+ years of experience with 5+ in supplier development, quality, or CI.
• Experience in managing product development and NPI processes.
• Ability to resolve quality issues with urgency and flexibility.

Responsibilities

• Lead supplier development teams across regions to enhance performance.
• Coordinate with engineering and quality organizations for quality issues.
• Develop CI programs and apply Lean methods for process improvements.

Skills

Lean Principles

Root Cause Analysis

Statistical Analysis

Project Management

Excellent Communication

Education

Bachelor of Engineering

MBA or advanced degree

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

Are you inspired by challenging the status quo? Do you thrive in collaborative environments that drive results? If so, Gates could be for you.

Gates is a leading manufacturer of application-specific fluid power and power transmission solutions. We push the boundaries of material science to engineer solutions that continually exceed customer expectations.

Let’s simplify it—think belts and hoses. Found in motorcycles, conveyor belts, cars, tractors, blenders, vacuum cleaners, bicycles, and 3D printers just to name a few. Because why not do it all?

About the Role

At Gates, we welcome challenges, celebrate hard work, and continually seek new talent to join our global company. We are looking for a Senior Manager, Supplier Development and Continuous Improvement within our Global Mobility business. Our Mobility business is passionate about personal mobility and reinventing the way the world moves. The Gates Mobility business builds products for bicycles, motorcycles, powersports, and scooters applications. As a product organization leader, you will be responsible for leading the development of new suppliers and the improvement of existing suppliers/products. You will work with corporate and regional product development, quality and procurement teams to ensure enterprise goals are met. Ideally this person is located in the Southeast Asia region with the ability to travel freely to all applicable countries globally. This position will report to the Director of Product Strategy – Mobility. Please review below to see if this might be the right opportunity for you.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Supplier Development

• Lead and build direct and contract supplier development teams in India, China, and Southeast Asia. Develop and oversee suppliers in North America and Europe as necessary.
• Lead comprehensive supplier analysis to formulate a strategic sourcing plan that identifies new/suitable suppliers, optimizes cost structures, and proactively ensures continuity of supply per demand.
• Create sourcing strategies to reduce risk, enable continuous cost reduction, and align with company strategy on terms and conditions, cash targets, on-time delivery, and cost savings.
• Direct and execute initiatives that support aggressive improvements in supplier operations, total cost effectiveness, service levels, delivery, pricing, lead-times, payment, risk compliance, and other areas as identified.
• Develop strong relationships with internal stakeholders to best understand their needs and consult with them to build quality procurement strategies aligned to business requirements.

Product Quality

• Lead and build a product quality team to immediately support regional customers with sustainability of supply, containment, and corrective action in quality incidents.
• Coordinate with engineering and corporate quality organizations to determine cause of rejected material and to drive appropriate changes to ensure elimination/reduction of those quality issues.
• Build genuine relationships both internally, externally, and within cross-functional teams to achieve corrective action consensus.

Continuous Improvement

• Develop and implement a strategic roadmap of CI programs, 80/20, and resulting organization requirements.
• Provides leadership with project schedules and status updates monthly. Maintaining a record of internal KPIs and leverage to generate ideas for future focus areas.
• Facilitates the development, refinement and implementation of Standard Work in partnership with respective process owners and stakeholders. Facilitates cross-functional collaboration to understand business requirements and integrate them into process improvements and initiatives.
• Apply Lean Principles of waste reduction to projects and ensure tools/processes are in place to ensure gains are sustained. Leads the design and implementation of process improvement strategies with measurable ROI.
• Helps drive repeated use of Lean Principles for continuous improvement internally as well as externally with customers and suppliers.
• Oversees the design and delivering of CI training programs to ensure team CI competence development e.g., training team members in the application of appropriate Lean Principles, equipping team members and process owners with CI tools in order to ensure project controls are sustainable, conducting training for employees on Lean Principles and Kaizen events.
• Interfaces, as necessary, with entire business chain to educate and integrate Lean principles.

Experience Requirements and Preferred Skills

• Bachelor of Engineering degree from an accredited institution required. MBA or other advanced degree a plus.
• 15+ years of experience with 5+ in related supplier development, quality, or CI fields.
• Experience in managing product development, new product introduction (NPI), and mass production (MP) processes.
• Considerable experience working with global suppliers in Asia and can adjust quickly to be effective with cultural differences.
• Broad technical knowledge in materials, part forming (metals, plastics, composites) and assembly processes.
• Experience sourcing from a global supply base and managing sourcing phases from supplier research, supplier evaluation and selection, negotiations, and supplier onboarding.
• Proven success working on cross-functional and new product introduction projects, cost models, benchmarking, and negotiations.
• Familiarity with ERP systems and purchasing/planning functions.

Skills And Capabilities

• Formal training/education in Lean, 80/20, and CI Principles.
• Demonstrated knowledge of and experience in Root Cause Analysis, Statistical Analysis, APQP and Six Sigma tools and methodologies.
• Demonstrated ability to organize and prioritize in highly dynamic global environment.
• Able to work well under pressure while managing competing demands and tight deadlines.
• Ability to resolve quality issues with urgency, which require flexibility when the need arises. Remain engaged, proactive, and positive in tough circumstances.
• Dependable leader and professional problem solver that seek solutions rather than only pointing problems.
• Excellent communicator in English, both oral and written. Additional languages from the Asia region are highly preferred (Mandarin, etc.).
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills for data analysis and graphical representation of large data sets.
• Advanced Microsoft PowerPoint skills to deliver high quality, executive-ready presentations.
• Strong planning and organizational skills. Proactive behavior. Results oriented with the ability to lead through influence, a thick skin is necessary.
• Superior attention to detail with and ability to manage complex projects and detailed planning.
• Ability to filter and distill relevant information for the right audience, coupled with excellent verbal and written communication and presentation skills.
• Self-motivated and proactive with demonstrated creative and critical thinking capabilities.
• A successful candidate will have a proven track record of working with internal and external parties.
• High level of interpersonal skills; must be able to influence and collaborate across multiple levels within the company, at various locations, and with suppliers.
• Highest values on safety in personal work practices.
• Passion for bikes, motorcycles or other two-wheel mobility preferred.

Pay & Benefits

• Full-Time
• Salary Range: $160,000 - $190,000
• Bonus Eligible
• Relocation is not provided
• Medical, Dental, Vision insurance and other voluntary benefit options: benefits begin on the first day of the month immediately following your date of hire
• Eligible for 3 weeks of paid vacation + 11 holidays (9 scheduled & 2 floating) + 8 sick days. All vacation days are accrued
• 401(k): 3% company contribution and additional 3% company match
• Tuition Reimbursement

Work Environment

Gates is an Equal Opportunity and is committed to ensuring equal employment opportunities for all job applicants and employees. Employment decisions are based upon job-related reasons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, age, disability, pregnancy, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, protected veteran status, genetic information, marital status, or any other consideration defined by law.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit; use hands and fingers to work with objects, tools, or controls; and use office equipment including computers, telephones, and/or copiers/scanners. The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 10 pounds.

For individuals assigned and/or hired to work in Colorado, Gates is required by law to include a reasonable estimate of the compensation for this role. This compensation range is specific to the State of Colorado and takes into account various factors that are considered in making compensation decisions, including but not limited to the candidate's relevant experience, qualifications, skills, competencies, and proficiency for the role.