Strategic Sourcing Specialist

Aston Carter•Tomball, TX

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Specialist, Strategic Sourcing & Procurement supports the organization’s mission to provide customers with innovative, high-quality products delivered on time and at competitive prices. This role applies sourcing and procurement best practices to manage contracts, develop and maintain strong supplier relationships, and support internal stakeholders throughout the Procure-to-Pay process. The Senior Specialist partners closely with leadership, customers, business groups, and suppliers to ensure goods and services are acquired efficiently, risks are minimized, and the supply base effectively supports current and future business needs.

Requirements

5 to 7 years of related experience in Strategic Sourcing & Procurement and/or equivalent training or a combination of education and experience.
Proven experience in procurement, purchasing, and supply chain management.
Demonstrated expertise in strategic sourcing and vendor management.
Experience in category management and contract management.
Strong project management skills, including coordination of cross-functional stakeholders.
Proficiency in managing Purchase Orders and supporting the Procure-to-Pay process.
Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university.
Proficiency with Microsoft Office products, including Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
Experience working with Odoo and AX or similar enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems.
Strong communication skills to interact effectively with leadership, customers, internal teams, and suppliers.
Ability to analyze supplier performance, financial stability, and risk.
Capability to negotiate agreements and develop Statements of Work that support business needs.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing and implementing standardized supplier bid processes.
Background in building and managing supplier audit frameworks and compliance programs.
Familiarity with contract repositories and documentation control, including Certificates of Insurance and supporting documents.
Experience supporting or collaborating with Legal teams on contracts and sales agreements.
Demonstrated ability to drive process improvements and promote best practices in sourcing and procurement.
Experience in resolving invoice holds through coordination with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
Ability to develop and execute long-term and short-term supplier and customer support strategies.
Comfort working with cross-functional teams, including Engineering, Operations, Sales, and Project Management.
Ability to manage multiple priorities in a dynamic environment while maintaining high attention to detail.
Willingness and ability to travel domestically and internationally up to approximately 20% of the time.

Responsibilities

Obtain customer requirements and coordinate communications between Engineering, Operations, Sales, and Project Management to support customer needs.
Research, identify, and qualify suppliers based on customer requirements and organizational needs.
Provide customer-facing support by coordinating and organizing deliverables required to bid on new customer programs and to set up new customers.
Maintain and improve the new customer setup process, including standardizing internal relationships and forms required to support new business.
Collaborate with internal stakeholders and suppliers to negotiate agreements or develop Statements of Work that fully support business requirements.
Expand and strengthen the supply base to support business continuity and enable competitive supplier bidding.
Develop both long-term and short-term customer support and supplier strategies that align with organizational goals.
Own supplier communications and supplier relationship management, including translating customer forecasts and communicating supplier capacity updates.
Promote long-term, fair supplier relationships that prioritize business needs while ensuring suppliers are treated with respect and in alignment with core values.
Collaborate with Legal to ensure that sales agreements and contracts are prioritized, compliant, and represent organizational interests.
Own and develop a standardized supplier bid process that is scalable and capable of supporting significant organizational growth.
Perform and maintain supplier screening activities for all current suppliers based on established or newly developed policies and guidelines.
Continuously review and improve processes by identifying value-added and non-value-added activities, promoting best practices, and increasing efficiency.
Resolve invoice holds through supplier interaction, cycle counts, and systems investigation.
Conduct regular supplier financial reviews and risk assessments to monitor and mitigate supply chain risk.
Train internal customers and drive compliance with requisition and Purchase Order processes, as well as invoice approval requirements.
Maintain a contracts repository with valid agreements, Statements of Work, Certificates of Insurance, and other supporting documentation to minimize risk and prevent contract expirations.
Advise management of potential issues, risks, and recommended actions to address them.
Ensure the supply base receives formal communication of organizational requirements and implement a supplier audit framework to ensure compliance, measure performance, and identify supply chain risks.
Take ownership of the full supply chain and fulfillment stream, including early detection of supply delays or interruptions and proactive pursuit of resolutions and alternative solutions.
Perform other duties as assigned to support strategic sourcing and procurement objectives.