Strategic Sourcing Manager

The Strategic Sourcing Manager will play a critical role in leading, planning, coordinating and executing the strategic sourcing and procurement activities for North America facility; this includes the Savannah facility and includes energy needs (natural gas, electricity). Responsible for developing and implementing sourcing strategies and negotiating contracts to optimize costs, quality, and delivery timelines for raw materials and freight. Establishes the best sources for raw materials taking into consideration sources, logistics, sustainability, and position in market. Provides team leadership and mentorship to internal teams. Maintaining strategic relationships and effective collaboration with internal stakeholders and external key suppliers to effectively source and execute capital projects and national agreements. ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES Strategic Sourcing: Develop and execute sourcing strategies in alignment with the scope of work to ensure cost-effective procurement of materials, equipment, and services at the desired quality and service levels. Ensure compliance with Fuji Procurement, EHS, Sustainability and other relevant policies. Oversee purchasing of all raw materials for North America facilities; this includes the Savannah facility and energy needs (natural gas, electricity). Establish and maintaining the supply chain for all North American facilities for raw materials including freight rates. Establish guidelines for evaluating current and anticipated requirements, determining potential sources, obtaining bids, and planning programs to meet business needs. Supplier Management: Identify, evaluate, and establish the best source for raw materials taking into consideration sources, logistics, sustainability, and position in market ensuring capability of meeting project and supply requirements. Develop and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers to ensure reliable and timely delivery of goods and services. Monitor supplier performance and establish methods for evaluating contractual agreements. Visit and/or audit suppliers when necessary. Contract Negotiation: Lead negotiations with suppliers to secure favorable terms and conditions, including pricing, payment terms, quality and service levels and project and supply execution milestone agreements. Ensure contracts are structured to mitigate risks, are within budgetary limitations and scope of authority. Cost Management: Analyze project budgets and cost estimates to identify opportunities for cost savings and optimization. Implement cost reduction initiatives through effective negotiation, value engineering, and alternative sourcing strategies. Manage change order process in alignment with project managers and vendors. Risk Management: Assess and mitigate supply chain risks that may impact project timelines or outcomes. Develop contingency plans to address potential disruptions in the supply chain, unexpected scope changes and other contingencies. Manage audits regarding sustainability (RSPO) Sustainability: Develop and implement sustainability strategies and programs to improve our social responsibility and align with Fuji Group’s goals. Ensure compliance of FVO's operations with all sustainability & traceability certifications (e.g., RSPO, EUDR, etc.). Collaborate with Fuji Group’s Global Sustainability Team to support and achieve Fuji Group’s goals. Inform, ensure & track compliance with customer requirements. Support Sales Team with customer requests for compliance and responses to grievances. Track and report Mass Balance (MB) & Segregated (SG) sustainable production per lot code as required by customers. Reconcile & report purchases and sales to certification bodies as required. Manage and lead external compliance certification audits for sustainability & traceability programs (e.g., RSPO, EUDR, etc.). Be the subject matter expert of current and future sustainability & traceability regulations. Conduct sustainability & traceability training company-wide (FVO). Monitor and ensure all suppliers comply with FVO & Fuji Group’s sustainability & traceability policies. Other duties as required by regulations and/or law changes. Performance Monitoring & Reporting: Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure supplier performance and monitor compliance with contractual agreements. Develop dashboards and standard & customized reports as needed to track and report status on the procurement function & projects pipeline. Track & report savings, cost avoidance and cost inflation/budget deviations in a timely manner. Report purchased sustainable grades to stakeholders (e.g., SCM Singapore, Earthworm, etc.). Track & reconcile Mass Balance (MB) & Segregated (SG) credits. Team Leadership: Provide leadership, support, training and execution assistance to the team on procurement processes and best practices. Foster an environment that encourages growth and continuous improvement. Multidisciplinary Leadership Approach: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to align sourcing activities with project and supply requirements and objectives. Collaborate with the sales department to achieve sales margin and volume objectives and negotiate with suppliers as needed. Work with QA, R&D, Production along with vendors to analyze materials and gain approval of new suppliers and materials when needed. Convey market status on raw materials and parallel markets to customer base. Prepare and discuss internal market report and provide guidance where necessary to internal team on utilization. Manage effective budget. Other duties as assigned. QUALIFICATIONS: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. EDUCATION / EXPERIENCE: Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business administration, engineering, or a related field. Advanced degree or professional certification (e.g., CSCP, CPSM) is a plus. Minimum of 10 years of experience in capital sourcing, procurement, or supply chain management, preferably in a capital-intensive industry such as manufacturing, or energy. Experience leading and developing teams. Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, perform cost and risk analysis, and make data-driven decisions based on total cost and value. Ability to support safety, health & environmental compliance & sustainability initiatives on Capital projects. Demonstrated expertise in sourcing processes, including supplier evaluation, negotiation, and contract negotiation and management. Proficiency in sourcing tools and technologies including e-sourcing, Microsoft Office suite and Project Management tools. Experience in or ability to learn SAP analytics interfaces. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build effective relationships and collaborate with internal and external stakeholders. Proven track record of driving cost savings, process improvements, and supplier performance optimization and compliance. Knowledge of regulatory requirements and industry best practices related to EH&S compliance, procurement and supply chain management. Flexibility to work in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and tight deadlines. TRAVEL EXPECTATIONS: Travel expected 10-25% of the time, including internationally. LANGUAGE SKILLS: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common market and financial reports, and legal documents. Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community. Ability to assist in effectively presenting information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors. MATHEMATICAL SKILLS: Ability to apply basic mathematical operations. REASONING ABILITY: Ability to apply principles of logical or scientific thinking to a wide range of intellectual and practical problems. Ability to deal with nonverbal symbolism (formulas, graphs, etc.) in its most difficult phases. Ability to deal with a variety of abstract and concrete variables. PHYSICAL DEMANDS: The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, sit, talk or listen to the telephone.The employee is occasionally required to walk; use hands to type on a computer keyboard; reach with hands and arms.Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision correctable to read a computer screen. WORK ENVIRONMENT: The work environmental characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. The noise level in the work environment is usually quiet. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, consisting of an open office with others talking and phones ringing.