Supplier Development Lead

Quest Global•Chicago, IL

6d•$75,000 - $80,000•Onsite

About The Position

The supplier development lead completes supplier readiness, recovery, and improvement initiatives across assigned suppliers. This role is responsible for evaluating, stabilizing, and strengthening suppliers. The individual leads structured assessments, manages supplier action plans, drives onsite engagements, and identifies/prioritizes Single Points of Failure (SPoFs). This position is highly strategic, focusing on risk mitigation, operational excellence, and relationship management within the supply chain.

Requirements

BS or BA in Business Administration, Supply Chain or Technical related field with 3 years of experience
AS Degree with 5 years production support experience
Ability to travel to supplier sites as needed
Ability to conduct Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations for critical quality or delivery issues
Project management experience
Background in operations/manufacturing, engineering, quality, or supply chain with supplier-facing work
U.S. citizenship is required.

Responsibilities

Lead internal and supplier containment actions in collaboration with Operations and Quality.
Facilitate supplier kick-off meetings to align expectations and establish rapid response actions.
Conduct Root Cause and Corrective Action (RCCA) investigations to resolve critical quality or delivery issues.
Coordinate with stakeholders to develop and implement improvement plans and ensure clear communication through plan review checkpoints.
Monitor leading and lagging Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to assess progress.
Evaluate whether exit criteria have been achieved for containment efforts.
Escalate persistent issues to crisis mode or tiger teams when warranted.
Partner with Commodity Teams and SBUs to ensure closed-loop feedback and transition to sustainable operations.
Lead supplier site identification and prioritize development efforts aligned with risk, impact, and strategic commodity needs.
Conduct supplier assessments using SRA, SHA, Gemba, etc.
Engage suppliers with development roadmaps, training, and targeted actions tied to maturity models and long-term growth.
Align with Commodity Managers and Engineering teams on supplier readiness for new programs or volume ramp-ups.
Monitor progress toward achieving target maturity levels and initiate sustainment planning once development objectives are met.
Support long-term monitoring and re-engagement cycles to ensure supplier performance remains stable.
Develop and build manufacturing process technology tools and standardization include FMEA and Control Plans