Strategic Sourcing Manager - Electronics

About VAT Group

At VAT, we change the world with vacuum solutions. As the world's leading supplier of high-performance vacuum valves, we have been driving innovation for more than 60 years. With over 3,200 employees worldwide, we operate from our headquarters in , Switzerland, with manufacturing sites in Switzerland, Malaysia and Romania, as well as sales and service hubs around the world. We guided by our passions integrity, teamwork, customer centricity, and innovation - always working together as #oneVAT.

Joining us means becoming part of a passionate, international team where your voice is heard, your ideas matter, and your career growth is supported.

Strategic Sourcing Manager

Purpose of the role

• Developing and executing global sourcing strategies for the assigned direct materials categories (electronics)
• Acting as a business partner to key stakeholders in Business (Business Units, Engineering, etc.) and Operations (Product Supply Chain, Supplier Quality, Production, Materials Management, etc.)
• Sustaining the Global Strategic Sourcing Operating Model and providing supply capability and capacity at best cost to support future business needs and protect brand value
• Applying aligned sourcing processes, sustainable supplier assessments, and development approaches to establish and actively manage a performing and regulatory-compliant supply base footprint
• Contributing to the enhancement of supply base performance on Quality, Delivery, and Cost (QCD)
• Realizing measurable value of >3% in recurring and P&L-effective cost reductions per year across the global third-party spend in the assigned categories through leveraged and benchmarked supply base management
• Growing and further developing a qualified and performing Best Cost Country (BCC) supply base in line with company and operations objectives, preferably in Eastern Europe, while managing a sustainable spend allocation

Responsibilities:

• Management of own material categories (capacity, knowledge management, performance)
• Accountable for contributing to global Direct Material & Supply Base Performance (QCD)
• Representing own direct material categories within the VAT organization
• Accountable for category-specific achievement of objectives related to cost optimization, supply base optimization, geographic sourcing footprint, and Best Cost Country Sourcing
• Providing forward-looking guidance on trends, threats, and opportunities within assigned categories (e.g., raw materials)
• Actively contributing to the bottom-up alignment of the Direct Materials Category Team with defined company objectives
• Acting as the interface to Business Units and Engineering for Strategic Sourcing activities along the PDP (IP07) process
• Acting as a change agent toward key stakeholders
• Developing category sourcing strategies using defined methods and tools
• Managing supplier relationships across the global supply base within assigned category scope, in alignment with category teams in Switzerland, Malaysia, and Romania
• Ensuring consistent application of all sourcing levers
• Contributing to key sourcing KPIs
• Assembling and actively leading category-specific and cross-functional sourcing boards
• Actively monitoring and conducting supply base risk assessments across assigned categories
• Participating in and contributing to the continuous improvement of direct material sourcing practices

Qualifications:

• 3-4 years of in-depth strategic and operational sourcing experience with solid knowledge of global category management
• Demonstrated experience with category-specific production techniques and processes
• Knowledge of category sourcing markets
• Proficiency in Office software and IT applications, especially Excel, Word, and Power…