Director, Strategic Sourcing

Pilot Company•Knoxville, TN

7h•Onsite

About The Position

The Director, Strategic Sourcing is responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies that drive enterprise value, with a primary focus on retail merchandising, store operating expenses, and non-perishable goods. This role partners closely with merchandising, food and beverage, and operations leadership teams to balance cost, quality, innovation, and speed-to-market while supporting overall business objectives.

Requirements

Sets the business strategy for own region/group
Retail/Food and Beverage experience
Has management responsibility for a function through subordinate managers.
Requires conceptual thinking in complex/completely new situations. On the whole organization (Pilot Travel Centers).
Developed communication skills to negotiate internally and externally at high levels.
This position requires candidates to be legally authorized to work in the United States without employer sponsorship.

Nice To Haves

Supply chain experience preferred

Responsibilities

Partner with the Vice President of Procurement to establish a vision and strategic direction for the sourcing team.
Develop and implement scalable, cost-effective sourcing and procurement strategies aligned with organizational goals. Act as a strategic sourcing partner to cross-functional leaders, supporting product development cycles, supplier selection, and go-to-market timelines.
Develop annual budget for commodity inflation and savings targets, while supporting finance in tracking performance by category with monthly updates to senior leadership.
Deliver procurement leadership that supports long-term business objectives and enables execution of complex, cross-functional initiatives.
Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers and vendors to drive innovation, product quality, service delivery, and supply continuity.
Leads contract negotiations and oversee supplier agreements to ensure alignment with company standards, merchandising strategies, and operational requirements.
Implement supplier performance programs focused on quality, on-time performance, cost competitiveness, and sustainability.
Identify and execute cost-saving and value creation initiatives, including total cost of ownership optimization, supplier consolidation and negotiation, and value engineering.
Develop and enforce procurement policies and risk management strategies to address supply chain disruptions, regulatory compliance, and ethical sourcing.
Partner with leaders across Merchandising, Operations, Legal, and Finance to ensure sourcing strategies are aligned with broader business goals.
Provide strategic input on vendor selection, sourcing strategies, contract structuring, and process efficiencies to drive enterprise-wide success.
Drive performance through all facets of the sourcing function through the development and tracking of KPI's, including cost reductions, supplier performance metrics, contract lifecycle management, and sourcing cycle time.
Regularly communicate procurement outcomes, cost savings, and key milestones to senior leadership and stakeholders.
Champion the adoption of new tools, technologies, and procurement methodologies to enhance effectiveness and agility.
Support the growth of the sourcing team through the recruitment, training, and structuring of new team members in order to reach long-term organizational objectives.