Senior Commodity Manager

Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co., LLC•Northbrook, IL

3d•$130,000 - $145,000

About The Position

HuFriedyGroup is a leading manufacturer of dental instruments and infection prevention products. The Senior Commodity Manager provides strategic ownership for the company’s highest-spend, most complex, and highest-risk commodity categories while helping shape the overall sourcing organization. This is a high-impact build role within a growing, private-equity-backed manufacturing organization. The Senior Commodity Manager will operate with significant independence and is expected to establish and strengthen category management practices, sourcing governance, supplier performance standards, and savings-validation processes that will be adopted across the broader procurement team. This role has significant influence across the organization and serves as a key connection between Procurement, company leadership, Finance, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, R&D, and Operations. The Senior Commodity Manager will translate sourcing performance into measurable business results, including cost savings, margin improvement, supply continuity, supplier performance, and enterprise value creation. The ideal candidate is a strategic sourcing leader who can think strategically, negotiate independently, build processes from the ground up, and confidently influence senior stakeholders.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, or a related field.
8–10+ years of progressively responsible experience in strategic sourcing, commodity management, category management, or procurement within a manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated ownership of $10M+ in annual spend or comparable experience managing significant, complex commodity categories.
Proven track record of delivering Finance-validated, benefited savings against formal cost-improvement targets.
Demonstrated ability to independently lead complex negotiations and make sound commercial decisions within delegated authority.
Prior experience mentoring, leading projects, or providing informal people leadership; formal management experience is a plus.
Advanced negotiation, analytical, and financial-management skills.
Deep experience with should-cost modeling, TCO analysis, cost-driver analysis, and supplier economics.
Advanced proficiency with ERP/MRP and procurement analytics systems, such as SAP or comparable platforms.
Strong executive-level communication and presentation skills.
Demonstrated ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and drive decisions without direct authority.
Strong business judgment, integrity, and accountability.

Nice To Haves

Experience working in a private-equity-backed, carve-out, newly formed, or rapidly scaling procurement organization.
Experience building sourcing processes and governance from an immature or limited starting point.
Experience in medical device, dental, or other regulated/highly engineered manufacturing.
Familiarity with ISO 13485, FDA Quality System Regulation (QSR), or other regulated-manufacturing requirements.
MBA preferred.
CPSM, CSCP, CIPS, or comparable professional certification.
PMP or other project-management certification.
Experience with specialty metals and alloys, precision machining, or outsourced/contract manufacturing.
Experience sourcing and negotiating indirect materials and services.
Six Sigma, Lean, or other formal continuous-improvement certification or experience.

Responsibilities

Own sourcing strategy for the company’s largest, most complex, and highest-risk commodity categories, including approval of negotiation outcomes and supplier cost increases within delegated authority.
Lead large-scale, cross-functional, and multi-site sourcing initiatives, including supplier transitions, dual-sourcing programs, and site or network consolidations.
Develop and apply sophisticated should-cost models, total-cost-of-ownership (TCO) analysis, and market benchmarking to validate sourcing decisions and negotiated outcomes.
Maintain a risk-adjusted pipeline of cost-reduction, cost-avoidance, value-engineering, and supplier-consolidation opportunities aligned with annual improvement targets.
Establish and govern the sourcing organization’s savings methodology, including baseline definitions, Finance validation requirements, and the distinction between hard-dollar savings, cost avoidance, and soft savings.
Lead quarterly savings reconciliation with Finance/FP&A and prepare Procurement’s contribution to value-creation and executive reporting.
Analyze supplier cost-increase proposals and develop negotiation strategies to protect product margins and minimize financial impact.
Exercise delegated authority to accept or reject supplier cost increases and escalate significant financial exposure to leadership with a clear recommendation.
Design and document the category management operating model, including spend taxonomy, sourcing playbooks, supplier segmentation, sourcing governance, and savings-tracking standards.
Establish supplier scorecards, business-review processes, preferred-supplier programs, and governance standards across the sourcing organization.
Develop scalable procurement processes, tools, and reporting that improve visibility, accountability, supplier performance, and financial results.
Mentor and provide strategic, technical, and negotiation guidance to Commodity Managers and Sourcing Specialists and review sourcing initiatives and savings claims for consistency and quality.
Lead executive-level supplier negotiations and business reviews for strategic, sole-source, and other critical suppliers.
Build strong relationships with key suppliers while holding suppliers accountable for cost, quality, delivery, capacity, innovation, and overall performance.
Partner with Legal to negotiate and execute strategic supply agreements that protect the company’s commercial and operational interests.
Develop supplier strategies that support long-term business objectives, including supply continuity, competitive positioning, and cost improvement.
Partner with Engineering, Quality, R&D, Manufacturing, and Operations on new product development, supplier qualification, design-for-manufacturability, and value-analysis/value-engineering initiatives.
Represent Procurement in cross-functional supplier escalations and strategic business decisions.
Ensure sourcing strategies and supplier decisions for regulated products and materials comply with applicable quality and regulatory requirements, including ISO 13485 and FDA requirements.
Identify and mitigate single-source, geographic, capacity, financial, and other supply risks within assigned categories.
Develop and maintain contingency and dual-source strategies for critical materials and components.
Partner with Planning and Operations to improve inventory strategy, lead times, supply continuity, and overall working capital performance.