Sr. Manager, Strategic Sourcing - Capital Equipment & Facilities

Kohler Co.•Kohler, WI

3d•Onsite

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Indirect Sourcing is responsible for driving strategic value across indirect procurement, with a heightened emphasis on construction management, capital project execution, cost savings delivery, stakeholder engagement, and operational transformation. This role provides sourcing leadership and commercial oversight for construction and capital programs, ensuring projects are planned, sourced, contracted, and executed with strong governance, supplier accountability, budget discipline, schedule adherence, risk mitigation, and clear alignment to business priorities. The role enables the organization to shift from tactical purchasing support to proactive construction sourcing excellence and disciplined project execution. The role partners closely with Project Management, Operations, Engineering, and Finance to deliver measurable financial, operational, and sustainability outcomes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree preferred
7+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, construction sourcing, construction management support, or capital project execution, with significant indirect and construction spend exposure
Proven track record supporting large-scale construction or capital projects delivered on budget, on schedule, and in alignment with quality, safety, compliance, and stakeholder expectations
Experience with construction contracting models, contractor prequalification, bid leveling, change-order management, project controls, claims avoidance, site execution support, and capital project closeout processes
Ability to influence cross-functional project teams and contractors to resolve execution issues, manage commercial risk, and maintain momentum against project milestones
Experience developing and executing global or regional category strategies
Strong financial acumen, including TCO/LCC and working capital optimization
Demonstrated success leading teams and influencing senior stakeholders
Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.

Responsibilities

Develop and implement global and regional indirect category strategies, with primary ownership for construction, capital projects, equipment, engineering services, facilities services, and related project execution support.
Apply total cost of ownership (TCO) and LCC sourcing methodologies to optimize long-term value, not just initial price.
Lead sourcing initiatives from strategy through execution, including scope alignment, bid strategy, RFx development, contractor prequalification, negotiations, contracting, change-order controls, and supplier performance management.
Partner with Project Management, Engineering, Operations, and Facilities teams to ensure construction and capital projects are scoped, sourced, awarded, mobilized, and executed within approved budget, schedule, quality, safety, and compliance expectations.
Establish construction sourcing governance, contractor strategies, bid leveling discipline, award recommendations, execution readiness reviews, escalation paths, and risk mitigation plans to support on-time project delivery.
Monitor project spend, savings realization, commitments, change orders, claims exposure, contractor performance, schedule risks, and commercial issues throughout the capital lifecycle.
Support construction execution by ensuring clear commercial terms, defined contractor responsibilities, site readiness requirements, milestone tracking, invoice validation, lien waiver coordination, warranty expectations, and closeout documentation are incorporated into sourcing and contracting activities.
Drive accountability with general contractors, construction managers, design partners, and specialty trade suppliers through structured business reviews, performance scorecards, issue resolution, and corrective action plans.
Coordinate early procurement involvement in capital planning to improve estimate accuracy, sourcing lead times, contractor capacity planning, material availability, and execution sequencing before project approval and launch.
Deliver validated cost savings through strategic sourcing, demand management, and commercial optimization.
Partner with Finance to ensure savings tracking, realization, and reporting align with financial standards.
Provide commercial controls for construction projects by validating bid assumptions, challenging scope gaps, managing contingency exposure, supporting change-order governance, and escalating budget or schedule risks before they impact project delivery.
Improve working capital by identifying and executing opportunities to increase DPO by 1 day while maintaining strong supplier relationships.
Engage business stakeholders to reduce fragmented and non-compliant onsite spending by reinforcing procurement policies and preferred supplier usage.
Act as a trusted advisor to senior leaders by balancing speed, compliance, and value creation.
Drive adoption of sourcing strategies through change management, communication, and influence.
Lead the transition of tactical procurement activities to PSG, clearly defining roles, handoffs, and service levels.
Enable the indirect sourcing team to focus on high-impact strategic initiatives rather than transactional work.
Establish scalable processes, governance, and KPIs to support long-term sourcing maturity.
Support and advance supplier diversity, sustainability, and ESG objectives across indirect categories.
Partner with internal ESG teams to integrate sustainability criteria into sourcing decisions and supplier evaluations.
Track and report progress against diversity and sustainability goals.
Lead, coach, and develop a team of sourcing professionals, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Set clear goals and performance expectations aligned to business priorities.
Build sourcing capability through mentoring, training, and best-practice sharing.