Director - Strategic Sourcing

Company Description

Organizations everywhere struggle under the crushing costs and complexities of “solutions” that promise to simplify their lives. To create a better experience for their customers and employees. To help them grow. Software is a choice that can make or break a business. Create better or worse experiences. Propel or throttle growth. Business software has become a blocker instead of ways to get work done.

There’s another option. Freshworks. With a fresh vision for how the world works.

At Freshworks, we build uncomplicated service software that delivers exceptional customer and employee experiences. Our enterprise-grade solutions are powerful, yet easy to use, and quick to deliver results. Our people-first approach to AI eliminates friction, making employees more effective and organizations more productive. Over 72,000 companies, including Bridgestone, New Balance, Nucor, S&P Global, and Sony Music, trust Freshworks’ customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX) software to fuel customer loyalty and service efficiency.

And, over 4,500 Freshworks employees make this possible, all around the world.

Fresh vision. Real impact. Come build it with us.

Freshworks is looking for an experienced and driven Head of Strategic Sourcing to lead a global
team of Strategic Sourcing Managers. This person will manage the entire category portfolio,
responsible for developing and managing global category strategies and understanding the
business/company requirements to maximize value. This person will lead a team professionals
responsible for the end-to-end execution of Sourcing processes in addition to developing
sourcing strategies that align with the business. He/She should have deep sourcing and vendor
management experience, be able to operate at all levels of the organization and move
seamlessly from tactical to strategic. Additionally, he/she must be a proven leader with a keen
eye for detail, be able to provide insights based on market conditions and trends, investigate
innovative methods, optimize value from goods and service providers, improve the decision
- making process, guide/develop their team, and ensure the process is executed in alignment
with policy.

• Develop a team structure that supports execution of Sourcing strategies focused on the organization strategy, business strategies and balance of cost / value spending.
• Lead and mentor a team of Sourcing Managers, providing guidance, support, and performance feedback
• Foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment, promoting teamwork and knowledge sharing
• Delegate tasks effectively, monitor progress, and ensure team members meet performance expectations (Individual Contribution Goals and SLAs)
• Identify training and development needs for team members and facilitate their professional growth
• Contribute to the recruitment and onboarding of new team members.
• Understand internal procurement processes to provide guidance to team and stakeholders.
• Maintain alignment with internal cross functional stakeholders on key processes required for successful project execution.
• Manage most critical and strategic supplier relationships and negotiations.
• Have a deep understanding of sourcing and supplier management to mentor and provide strategic direction to the team.

• Sourcing and Procurement: ability to identify, evaluate, and acquire goods or services from external sources in a cost-effective and efficient manner, involving understanding market trends, supplier performance, supply chain management, negotiation tactics, contracts, and quality assurance
• Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team of procurement professionals
• Sourcing Strategies: the implementation of methods to manage procurement processes effectively, involves understanding the supply market/market analysis, cost modeling/assessing total cost of ownership, performance monitoring, risk management, and negotiation tactics
• Relationship Building: ability to establish and nurture strong connections with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to collaborate effectively by understanding interpersonal dynamics, effective…