Manager, Procurement – Industrial Gases

Thermo Fisher Scientific•Morrisville, NC

About The Position

The Manager, Procurement – Industrial Gases develops and executes sourcing and supplier strategies for assigned North America Site Services industrial gas categories. The role delivers measurable productivity while protecting reliable supply, site service, product quality, and continuity for manufacturing, laboratory, and facility operations. It partners with site Operations, Engineering, EHS, Quality, Finance, and Procurement colleagues to translate gas demand and technical requirements into practical commercial plans and supplier performance improvements. The role also uses digital and approved AI-enabled tools to improve analysis, forecasting, and procurement decisions. The position owns industrial and specialty gas category plans, sourcing events, negotiations, supplier recommendations, and contract implementation. It analyzes site consumption, supply arrangements, contracts, demand patterns, supplier markets, and cost opportunities; evaluates appropriate supply models; and delivers validated savings and other productivity. It also develops continuity plans, manages supplier risks and performance, and coordinates issue resolution with site and supplier partners. The Manager leads cross-functional sourcing and improvement projects across multiple sites, works with global and site stakeholders, and coordinates with the MRO procurement manager on shared suppliers and site requirements while retaining ownership of Industrial Gases sourcing and supplier performance. The role owns assigned productivity and performance commitments, reports results and risks, and ensures activity complies with procurement policies, financial controls, contracting requirements, gas quality and safety expectations, applicable regulatory standards, and sustainability requirements.

Requirements

Typically 7 or more years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, or related operations.
Demonstrated success leading sourcing and supplier initiatives that deliver measurable productivity or service improvements while protecting operational continuity and quality.
Experience with competitive sourcing, commercial negotiations, contract management, supplier performance, and cross-functional project execution.
Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including the ability to interpret consumption, spend, pricing, delivery, and supplier data and turn findings into recommendations.
Ability to build trusted relationships with technical and business stakeholders, influence across a matrix, manage competing priorities, and communicate decisions and risks clearly.
Familiarity with ERP, e-procurement, sourcing, contract, and reporting tools.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related field; equivalent relevant education and experience may also be considered.
Professional certifications such as CPSM, CIPS, or APICS.
Direct industrial-gas sourcing experience; experience in energy, utilities, or other critical technical supply categories is also relevant.
Experience across industrial gases and MRO procurement, especially in complex, multi-site manufacturing or laboratory settings.
Experience applying analytics or approved AI-enabled tools to procurement work.
Experience in a regulated, life sciences, laboratory, or manufacturing environment and familiarity with industrial gas supply models, supplier risk, or safety-sensitive procurement.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute category plans for assigned industrial and specialty gases in alignment with site requirements, global category direction, and North America business priorities.
Assess site consumption profiles, supply arrangements, contract coverage, demand patterns, and supplier markets to identify opportunities and prioritize sourcing activity.
Lead RFIs, RFPs, RFQs, negotiations, supplier recommendations, and contract implementation in accordance with procurement policy and approval requirements.
Deliver measurable savings, cost avoidance, and other productivity through competitive sourcing, demand and delivery optimization, supplier consolidation, contract improvements, and total-cost-of-ownership actions; validate financial results with Finance.
Evaluate bulk, cylinder, pipeline, or on-site supply models with technical and site stakeholders, considering cost, reliability, service, and implementation requirements.
Partner with site Operations, Engineering, EHS, and technical teams to understand gas criticality, specifications, consumption, storage, replenishment needs, and interruption impacts.
Identify and mitigate supply risks, including single-source exposure, supplier capacity, production or transportation constraints, long lead times, weather events, and contract or service gaps.
Develop continuity plans with site and supplier partners, including escalation paths, emergency response, delivery coverage, backup capacity, and qualified alternatives where appropriate.
Monitor supply and service issues through resolution and coordinate owners, recovery actions, and timely communications to support reliable site operations.
Segment suppliers based on operational criticality, spend, risk, and improvement potential, and establish appropriate governance and review cadence.
Set supplier expectations and measurable indicators for product quality, on-time delivery, order fulfillment, responsiveness, service reliability, contract compliance, and issue resolution.
Lead performance reviews and corrective-action follow-up for priority suppliers, address recurring service or commercial issues, and track actions through closure.
Build supplier partnerships that improve reliability, productivity, service, and innovation while maintaining appropriate competition and commercial controls.
Analyze purchasing, consumption, invoice, contract, delivery, and supplier data to identify demand patterns, pricing or fee discrepancies, service gaps, and improvement opportunities.
Use approved digital and AI-enabled tools for forecasting, market and supplier-risk analysis, contract review, and routine procurement work; verify outputs before action and apply commercial judgment.
Protect confidential, personal, and business-sensitive information and follow company requirements for approved technology, data use, and human review of AI-assisted work.
Partner with Procurement Enablement and site teams to improve data quality, dashboards, procurement workflows, and adoption of digital tools, and measure improvements in decision speed, service, and outcomes.
Serve as a procurement partner to North America site and functional stakeholders, translating gas requirements into sourcing plans with clear decisions, owners, milestones, and outcomes.
Lead cross-functional sourcing and improvement projects across multiple sites, influencing stakeholders without direct authority and communicating trade-offs clearly.
Coordinate with global category teams, site procurement, Operations, Engineering, EHS, Quality, Finance, Legal, and other functions to align requirements, manage approvals, and resolve issues.
Coordinate with the MRO procurement manager on shared suppliers and site requirements, maintaining clear ownership of Industrial Gases sourcing and supplier performance.
Promote consistent procurement practices, supplier accountability, continuous improvement, and knowledge sharing across the industrial gases portfolio.
Own assigned annual productivity and performance commitments; maintain a transparent pipeline and report realized results, implementation status, risks, and corrective actions.
Monitor category and supplier indicators, including productivity, service, quality, delivery, continuity, contract coverage, and stakeholder outcomes, and adjust priorities based on findings.
Ensure sourcing and supplier activity follows procurement policies, financial controls, contracting requirements, gas quality and safety expectations, applicable regulatory standards, and sustainability requirements.