Diligence Advisor; Critical Minerals Sourcing & Procurement

Value Driven Solutions is engaging seasoned industry experts to support a confidential client through a focused commercial diligence project in the high-performance metals supply chain. We are seeking a Subject Matter Expert with deep, hands-on experience in the prime materials sourcing and procurement of critical minerals used in specialty alloy and high-performance metals production. This is a short-duration advisory engagement requiring discretion and the ability to translate operating experience into clear market perspective.

• Provide expert perspective on how the prime materials sourcing market is structured and how commoditized it is across critical mineral inputs.
• Speak to typical supplier-base dynamics — how many suppliers OEM/producer customers commonly work with, and how that has evolved.
• Assess the "stickiness" of supplier relationships, including switching costs, qualification barriers, and contract structures.
• Identify the factors that differentiate one supplier from another (quality, traceability, logistics, scale, certifications, etc.).
• Participate in structured expert calls and/or written Q&A with the diligence team.

• A lead procurement, sourcing, or supply chain role responsible for critical minerals feeding high-performance / specialty metals production.
• Experience at a specialty metal / superalloy producer or a downstream OEM. Ideal backgrounds include companies such as Acerinox, Aperam, ATI, Doncasters, Ellwood, Howmet, PCC (Precision Castparts), or SeAH Steel, or comparable organizations.
• Direct working knowledge of the sourcing of materials such as nickel, nickel-cobalt alloys, titanium, cobalt, molybdenum, and tungsten.
• Strong command of supplier markets, pricing/commoditization dynamics, and customer switching behavior.
• Ability to engage candidly and professionally under a confidentiality agreement.

• Short-term, project-based advisory work.
• Confidential — a non-disclosure agreement is required prior to engagement.
• Conducted via scheduled calls and/or written input around your availability.