Strategic Sourcing Specialist – Indirect / MRO

Confidential Opportunity | Strategic Sourcing & Procurement | Indirect/MRO 

A multi-site manufacturing organization is hiring a Strategic Sourcing Specialist to lead Indirect / MRO sourcing across operations. This role is for someone who can bring order to the chaos, set category strategy, and drive savings without breaking the plant (because downtime is expensive and people have long memories).

What you will do:

• Develop and execute category strategies across Indirect / MRO (maintenance supplies, tooling, consumables, industrial services, and related spend categories)

• Build a fact-based view of supplier performance, pricing, and service levels across sites

• Analyze:

  • market conditions and inflationary impacts on indirect categories

  • cost drivers and usage patterns by site

  • supplier capabilities, responsiveness, and service consistency

  • historical spend and demand trends to identify consolidation and standardization opportunities

• Negotiate supplier agreements covering pricing, logistics, service levels, and commercial terms

• Draft/review/manage contracts for correctness, pricing, and acceptable terms

• Segment the supplier base and define action plans (strategic partner, growth, challenger, reduce, phase-out)

• Identify and mitigate risk (single-source exposure, service gaps, safety/compliance considerations, supply continuity)

• Lead cost reduction and process improvement initiatives (catalogs, preferred suppliers, standardization, demand controls)

• Serve as a key interface between suppliers, operations, engineering/R&D (as needed), and plant teams

• Support annual budgeting and reporting for indirect spend

• Travel domestically and internationally as needed (primarily domestic for most MRO work)

What they are looking for:

• Bachelor’s degree in Engineering or equivalent technical background

• Strong Excel skills and comfort with large, imperfect datasets

• ERP experience required; SAP preferred

• Strong analytical/problem-solving capability and solid business judgment

• Procurement math skills (weighted averages, percent impacts, ratios/proportions)

• Experience with Indirect/MRO sourcing, supplier consolidation, and contract negotiations

• Strong stakeholder management skills (you can negotiate with suppliers and still partner with plant teams)

Why this role:

• Big opportunity to drive measurable savings and standardize purchasing practices

• High visibility role supporting multiple facilities

• Ownership of categories that directly impact uptime, cost, and plant performance

About the Company
You will be joining a scaled, global manufacturer and solutions provider serving the retail and distribution ecosystem. The business operates across multiple facilities internationally and combines high-volume manufacturing with a growing portfolio of engineered products, services, and technology-enabled solutions. The culture is hands-on and performance-driven, with real investment in process improvement, supply base development, and modernizing how products and services are delivered. If you like roles where your work shows up in the real world (fast), and you want to help build a smarter, more resilient supply chain in a company that is evolving, this is a place where you can make a visible impact.