GSC Manager

The Global Supply Chain (GSC) Manager will lead a team of global and regional sourcing managers to drive best-in-class sourcing strategies, cost savings initiatives, and operational excellence across a specific product category(ies). This leadership role is critical in managing the end-to-end inputs for the procurement process, optimizing supplier relationships, ensuring high quality, improving lead times, and successfully introducing new products to market.

The Global Category Manager will collaborate with internal stakeholders, including product development, manufacturing, and operations, to support strategic goals and ensure alignment across all regions.

Key Responsibilities:

Strategic Sourcing Leadership:

• Develop and implement global sourcing strategies for key product categories, balancing cost, quality, lead time, and risk management.
• Lead a team of global and regional sourcing managers, providing direction, mentorship, and performance management.
• Analyze and evaluate market trends, supplier capabilities, and competitor activity to identify opportunities for cost reduction and supply chain optimization.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, driving negotiations to ensure competitive pricing, favorable terms, and high-quality standards.

Cost Savings & Supplier Optimization:

• Identify and execute cost-saving opportunities through strategic sourcing initiatives, supplier consolidation, and process improvements.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives to optimize cost, quality, and delivery performance across all suppliers.
• Utilize data analytics and benchmarking tools to assess supplier performance and ensure value delivery.
• Lead efforts to achieve annual cost reduction targets and track savings progress.

Quality Management:

• Accountability: Ensure that sourced materials, components, and suppliers meet the company's high-quality standards and regulatory requirements.
• Work closely with the Quality Assurance team to set clear expectations for supplier quality, collaborating on the development and enforcement of quality standards.
• Monitor supplier performance with respect to quality, ensuring that strategic sourcing decisions take into account performance.
• Lead efforts when escalated to mitigate quality risks within the supply chain by facilitating that suppliers implement corrective actions for any non-conformance or quality concerns identified.
• Support, when appropriate, the Quality Assurance team in the root cause analysis of quality issues, ensuring timely resolution and prevention of recurrence through strategic supplier management.

Lead Time Management:

• Collaborate with supply chain and operations teams to optimize lead times and reduce supply chain bottlenecks.
• Develop strategies to mitigate risks associated with lead time variability, including inventory management, dual sourcing, and near-shoring initiatives.
• Regularly track and report on supplier performance related to on-time delivery and service level agreements (SLAs).

New Product Introduction (NPI):

• Partner with Development Engineering and product development teams to support the sourcing of materials and components for new product introductions (NPI).
• Lead sourcing activities for new products within the category, ensuring cost-effective sourcing, timely delivery, and alignment with design specifications.
• Establish a clear communication channel between sourcing teams and product development to anticipate challenges and drive seamless transitions from development to production.
• Sole Sourcing Risks: Identify and manage risks associated with sole sourcing by implementing mitigation strategies such as dual sourcing, secondary suppliers, and supplier diversification where applicable.
• Geopolitical
  
  Risk Management:
  
  Evaluate the geopolitical landscape and its potential impact on the supply chain, including risks related to trade policies, tariffs, natural disasters, and political instability. Develop contingency plans to reduce the impact of such risks on supplier performance and supply continuity.
• Work proactively to build resilient supply chains by diversifying suppliers across multiple regions, reducing dependency on any single source or geopolitical area.
• Collaborate with supply chain and risk management teams to monitor geopolitical risks, including the assessment of potential disruptions and the development of risk mitigation strategies to safeguard supply chain stability.
• Lead, motivate, and develop a high-performing team of global and regional sourcing managers, ensuring alignment with overall business objectives.
• Foster a culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and innovation within the sourcing team.
• Provide regular training and development opportunities to ensure the team’s skills are aligned with evolving market dynamics and business needs.

Cross-functional Collaboration:

• Work closely with internal stakeholders such as finance, operations, and legal to ensure that sourcing strategies are aligned with corporate objectives and compliance…