Director, Strategic Sourcing

Smithfield Foods • Smithfield, VA

1d

About The Position

As the Director, Strategic Sourcing, you will lead enterprise-wide sourcing strategies for high-impact direct materials. You will manage approximately $1 billion in spend across 300+ vendors, guiding supplier selection, contract negotiations, and relationship development. You’ll oversee a team of direct and indirect reports, driving cost efficiencies, supply assurance, and quality through strategic partnerships and cross-functional collaboration. Your leadership will ensure procurement strategies are fully integrated with company goals while continuously improving cost management, sourcing processes, and vendor performance.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year college or university in business, food science, packaging, agri-business, economics, engineering, supply chain or related discipline and 10+ years’ relevant experience in a multiple facility organization; or equivalent combination of education and experience, required.
• 5+ years of demonstrated experience in team management/development is required.
• Progressive experience utilizing strategic sourcing methodology and techniques such as value stream management, lean concepts, and contractual alternatives.
• Proven ability in contract reading, writing, negotiation, and execution with a track record of delivering results.
• Strong PC skills with Microsoft Office (Excel, Word, PowerPoint); knowledge of Workday or other procurement tools is a plus.
• Strong project management skills to support cross-functional initiatives. Excellent analytical, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities.
• High-level written and verbal communication skills with a collaborative and team-oriented approach.
• Ability to navigate complex, unstructured problems. Must understand production planning and materials requirement planning (MRP).
• Must be comfortable in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. Up to 25% travel to manufacturing plants and vendor locations required.
• Demonstrated ability to be respectful, approachable, and supportive while fostering strong relationships and a positive work environment.

Nice To Haves

• SAP experience is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead Strategic Procurement Initiatives: Develop and oversee procurement programs including purchasing, contract negotiation, vendor selection, and RFP processes with structured evaluation frameworks.
• Drive High-Stakes Negotiations: Apply expert negotiation strategies to secure favorable outcomes, maximize leverage, and manage complex, high-value agreements.
• Execute Cost Reduction Strategies: Establish and manage overall cost reduction goals and drive the execution of initiatives across direct material categories.
• Rick Management: Actively manage supply risks while ensuring procurement and regulatory policy compliance.
• Enhance Supplier Performance: Lead continuous improvement efforts in vendor service levels, adoption of new technologies, and overall alignment with business goals.
• Strengthen Cross-Functional Partnerships: Collaborate with key business leaders to understand needs, uncover cost-saving opportunities, and leverage purchasing power across the enterprise.
• Optimize Supply Chain Costs: Partner with production schedulers, plant teams, and purchasing leads to reduce costs while maintaining supply continuity and material quality.
• Standardize Vendor Relationships: Review and optimize purchasing arrangements to consolidate SKUs and improve cost and service performance with the vendor community.
• Leadership: Drives a positive employee experience through leadership by way of employee development and coaching.

Benefits

• Smithfield is proud to offer robust, flexible and affordable benefit plans and programs to support our team members and their loved ones, and with out-of-pocket costs, on average, 20 percent less than plans offered by other employers.
• Beyond our medical plans, our Be Well programs offer tools and resources to enhance your quality of life, at no additional cost. These programs are uniquely tailored to our Smithfield team and provide support for elective surgeries, weight loss, mental health, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, smoking cessation, asthma, maternity management and more.
• We offer comprehensive training and professional development programs designed to help you reach your full potential.
• Through LinkedIn Learning, employees can access on‑demand courses, professional certificates, and skill‑based training to build capabilities aligned with career and business needs.
• Our partnership with GUILD supports your continuing education with tuition assistance covering English language learning, high school completion, and degree programs, while our leadership development initiatives nurture high‑potential talent.
• We also offer unique benefits like our Smithfield Scholarship Program for employees’ children.
• Smithfield’s Education Reimbursement Program provides financial reimbursement to team members who want to further their formal education by obtaining a GED/High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma or by pursuing an academic degree at an accredited college or university that is not a Guild learning partner.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees