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 is accountable for 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. Digital and approved AI-enabled tools are used to improve analysis, forecasting, and procurement decisions. The role leads industrial and specialty gas category planning, competitive sourcing, negotiations, supplier recommendations, contract implementation, productivity delivery, supply-risk mitigation, continuity planning, and supplier performance management. It analyzes purchasing, consumption, invoice, contract, delivery, and supplier data; uses approved digital and AI-enabled tools with human verification; and works with Procurement Enablement and site teams to improve data quality, dashboards, workflows, and adoption of digital tools. The Manager serves as a procurement partner to North America sites and functional stakeholders and leads cross-functional sourcing and improvement projects across multiple sites. The role coordinates with global category teams and relevant functions, including Legal, and owns assigned annual productivity and performance commitments. Sourcing and supplier activity must comply with Thermo Fisher procurement policies, financial controls, contracting requirements, gas quality and safety expectations, applicable regulatory standards, and sustainability requirements.

Requirements

Typically 7+ 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.
Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Operations, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant education and experience will also be considered.

Nice To Haves

Direct industrial-gas sourcing experience is strongly preferred; 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.
Professional certifications such as CPSM, CIPS, or APICS.
Familiarity with ERP, e-procurement, sourcing, contract, and reporting tools.
Experience applying analytics or approved AI-enabled tools to procurement work.
Experience in a regulated, life sciences, laboratory, or manufacturing environment.
Familiarity with industrial gas supply models, supplier risk, or safety-sensitive procurement.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute category plans for assigned industrial and specialty gases, aligned with site requirements, global category direction, and North America business priorities.
Assess site consumption, 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 policies 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 results with Finance.
Evaluate bulk, cylinder, pipeline, or on-site gas 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, coordinate recovery actions and owners, and communicate promptly to help sites maintain reliable operations.
Segment suppliers according to operational criticality, spend, risk, and improvement potential; establish appropriate governance and review cadence.
Set measurable supplier expectations 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, tracking recurring service or commercial issues 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 acting and apply sound 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 practical adoption of digital tools; 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 while retaining 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.