Strategic Procurement Lead

Overview

Suterra is the world’s leading provider of environmentally sustainable products for crop protection and commercial pest control. The company is dedicated to researching, developing and commercializing safe and non-toxic products using naturally occurring compounds such as pheromones. Suterra is growing rapidly and investing in new product development and active ingredient chemical synthesis. The Wonderful Company has invested in a modern facility in Bend, Oregon to synthesize active ingredients and to manufacture proprietary dispensing technologies.

The Strategic Procurement Lead will provide insight, analysis and leadership for the supply chain management team to ensure a robust supply of materials and components to launch and sustain new and existing products. This role requires a strong mix of strategic thinking and tactical problem‑solving, data proficiency, attention to detail, and cross‑functional communication. This position offers an opportunity to power the growth of the business as it enters new markets and launches new products.

Location and Context

Bend, OR | Onsite

Responsibilities Include:

Sourcing for New Products and Risk Mitigation:

• Partner with Product Design and Engineering to understand material and component requirements and to investigate alternatives for commercial supply, including make/buy proposals and risk mitigation strategies.
• Identify and assess candidate suppliers for materials, components and services.
• Prepare and evaluate requests for proposal (RFPs) and requests for quotation (RFQs); generate recommendations for supplier selection that balance operational and commercial considerations.

Vendor Management

• Ensure raw materials are provided on time and within specification to align with production and inventory management plans.
• Track vendor performance in quality, delivery and cost; drive vendor improvement plans.
• Negotiate commercial terms and resolve issues with suppliers, including material defects and supply disruptions.
• Identify and pursue opportunities for improvement in production purchasing and logistics.

Supply Chain Planning

• Collaborate with Demand Planning, Production and Customer Service to coordinate material purchases and pursue emerging market opportunities.
• Provide analytical support for production scheduling, inventory management and order fulfillment strategies.
• Explore transportation modes, order quantities, lead times and replenishment triggers to optimize tradeoffs between time, carrying cost, inventory risk and production efficiency.
• Leverage an understanding of which business processes can be implemented via ERP and which should remain offline.

Continuous Improvement

• Solicit and analyze feedback from internal and external stakeholders to drive supply chain performance improvements.
• Partner with Quality, Production and Engineering to identify root causes of raw material quality issues and collaboratively implement solutions to uphold quality, delivery and cost performance.
• Generate and assess proposals for supply chain improvements including changes in suppliers, terms, buying patterns and inventory management to support business growth.

Job Requirements:

• A Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain Management, Engineering or a related technical field.
• Three to five years of experience in one or more roles in engineering, quality control, procurement, process or product development, manufacturing, supply chain management or related fields.
• Previous experience with ERP systems and an interest in becoming a subject matter expert in our ERP system, Microsoft Dynamics D365.
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems while mitigating risks to resources and deadlines.
• Ability to maintain composure under pressure and to make effective decisions quickly.
• Ability to understand conflicting incentives and to work with external parties to generate positive outcomes for the business.
• Enthusiasm for teamwork at multiple levels and across multiple functions of the organization.
• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• Rigorous attention to detail.
• Proficiency with the Microsoft Office suite of applications.

Why…