Director, Strategic & Tactical Procurement

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.•Wausau, WI

About The Position

The Director of Strategic & Tactical Procurement is responsible for end-to-end procurement leadership across the enterprise, balancing long-term category and supplier strategies with disciplined day-to-day execution. This role drives cost competitiveness, supply continuity, risk mitigation, and supplier performance while enabling manufacturing operations to meet service, quality, and growth objectives. The Director partners closely with Operations, Planning, Logistics, Engineering, Finance, and Commercial teams to ensure procurement strategies are fully aligned with business priorities. This is both a strategic implementation and operational execution position, accountable for building proactive strategic capabilities, setting KPI’s ensuring the business can respond effectively to market shifts and growth opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, Business, Finance or related field required; Master’s degree preferred.
10+ years of progressive procurement and supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment, including both strategic sourcing and tactical execution.
Demonstrated leadership experience managing multi-site, regional, or global procurement organizations.
Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings and performance improvements in complex supply chains.
Strong understanding of manufacturing operations, planning, inventory management, and supplier quality processes.
Experience leading cross-functional initiatives and influencing senior stakeholders.
Strong analytical, negotiation, and change management skills.
Demonstrated ability to balance cost, quality, with delivery expectations to protect production outcome.
Excellent leadership, communication, problem-solving and change management skills.
Strategic thinker with the ability to align tactical operations with long-term sourcing strategies and business goals.
Clear, concise communicator capable of aligning diverse teams toward common objectives.
Collaborative leader who can influence across functions and geographies.
Thrives in managing complex supply situations and rapidly resolving material shortages or supplier issues.
Results-driven, with a focus on continuous improvement and customer value.
Builds strong partnerships with operations, planning, and sourcing teams.
Change agent skilled in driving transformation and continuous improvement across functions.

Nice To Haves

Professional certifications: CPSM, CSCP, CPIM, CLTD or Lean Six Sigma strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Define and execute the enterprise procurement strategy aligned with corporate objectives, operational requirements, and growth plans.
Lead category management strategies across direct materials, indirect materials, and services, incorporating should-cost, market intelligence, and total cost of ownership principles.
Establish supplier segmentation and relationship management models, including strategic partnerships, preferred suppliers, and transactional vendors.
Drive sourcing strategies that balance cost, quality, delivery, innovation, and risk across a global supplier base.
Partner with executive leadership to support make/buy decisions, capital investments, product launches, and network optimization initiatives.
Provide thought leadership on supply market dynamics, geopolitical risk, commodity volatility, and regulatory impacts.
Oversee tactical procurement execution including purchasing, expediting, and issue resolution to support uninterrupted manufacturing operations.
Ensure purchase orders reflect negotiated pricing, terms, and supplier agreements.
Ensure disciplined sourcing, contracting, and purchasing processes that comply with company policies, ethical standards, and regulatory requirements.
Collaborate with Planning, Operations, and Logistics to align material flow, lead times, inventory targets, and production schedules.
Lead supplier negotiations for pricing, terms, capacity, and service-level agreements.
Support new product introductions and engineering changes through early supplier involvement and cross-functional coordination.
Optimize order frequency, lot size, and material flow to balance cost, inventory, and service goals.
Monitor and communicate supply trends and risks to supply chain leadership to support proactive decision-making.
Partner with suppliers to ensure on-time delivery, quality, and responsiveness to changing production needs.
Drive cost reduction initiatives through day-to-day negotiation, flexing dual sourcing options, and process improvement.
Promote use of advanced analytics, AI, and digital dashboards for transparency and action planning.
Benchmark buying processes against industry best practices and lead organizational capability building.
Establish and manage procurement KPIs including cost, service, quality, inventory, risk, and supplier performance. (OTD, Past Due PO’s, Past Due Invoices and more)
Lead regular supplier business reviews to drive accountability, transparency, and continuous performance improvement.
Implement governance models for sourcing decisions, contract compliance, and exception management.
Develop and manage the procurement operating budget and contribute to enterprise financial planning processes.
Deliver sustainable cost savings and productivity improvements through strategic sourcing, demand management, specification optimization, and supplier collaboration.
Lead annual and multi-year savings pipelines with clear targets, tracking, and financial validation in partnership with Finance.
Identify and execute opportunities beyond price, including working capital improvements, risk reduction, quality enhancements, and innovation-driven value.
Ensure savings initiatives do not compromise service, safety, quality, or long-term supplier viability.
Build, lead, coach and develop a high-performing procurement organization encompassing strong category, analytical, and negotiation capabilities as well as a skills matrix for succession.
Serve as an escalation level for the production line for supply constraints impacting line flow and OTC.
Standardize best practices across plants, regions, or business units while allowing flexibility for local requirements.
Work closely with IT and Data Analytics teams to enhance inventory visibility, reporting, and predictive insights.
Act as a key liaison between supply chain leadership and operational teams, ensuring alignment on priorities, trade-offs, and risks.
Foster collaboration and alignment across Procurement, Operations, Engineering, Finance and Sales to ensure sourcing strategies align with product, production and cost objectives.
Build organizational capability for succession, scalability, and future growth.

Benefits

Competitive Benefits Package for employees and their dependents (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, Disability)
Incentive Plans
401(k) with employer contribution and match
Employee Stock Purchase Plan with employer match
Paid Time Off (Vacation and Sick Time)
Paid Holidays
Tuition Reimbursement Program
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Wellness Program
Training and Career Progression