Manager, Procurement

Job Description

About the Role

Title: Manager, Procurement

Location: Bridgewater United States

Job Description:

The Company at a Glance

Brother is a leading provider of home and office equipment, sewing and crafting products, and industrial solutions. With a legacy spanning over 115 years, our brand is renowned for producing award-winning printers, sewing machines, P-touch labelers, and more.

Brother International Corporation (BIC) was established in 1954, marking over 70 years of operations in the United States. Our Americas headquarters is located in Bridgewater, New Jersey. BIC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Brother Industries Limited (BIL), which was founded in 1908 in Nagoya, Japan, and operates in more than 30 countries worldwide. Brother’s Americas presence includes subsidiaries in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru.

Why Work at Brother?

Brother has consistently been recognized as a best place to work, reflecting our commitment to fostering a workplace culture aligned with our core values of being inclusive, collaborative, customer centric, and socially responsible. We value work-life balance and flexibility, and as a result have introduced policies such as our hybrid office schedule, casual dress code, and flexible Fridays, which allow us to wrap up meetings for dedicated focus time or to start our weekends sooner, year-round. Our commitment to employee growth and development is demonstrated through our offering of facilitated courses and certificate programs and our investment in resources that enable self-paced learning.

The Role at a Glance

The Manager, Procurement is responsible for the timely development, delivery and execution of strategic category plans and sourcing events for assigned categories of spend. This role liaises with cross-functional partners throughout Brother as well as external suppliers to drive effective and transparent sourcing processes and developing strategies that support our business partner’s needs and objectives. This role drives increased value through delivered savings, cradle to grave management of contracts, and mitigating supplier risks. The Manager, Procurement is also responsible for the management of centralized supplier relationships, ensuring the supplier complies with and is measured against contract obligations and service level agreements, passes privacy, security, quality, and safety audits as well as meeting regulatory and Brother requirements.

Key Duties & Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing

Lead and manage the execution of sourcing events within assigned categories, leveraging data, market intelligence, and business needs

Accountable for developing an opportunity pipeline, and subsequently delivering savings to meet established targets

Partner with business stakeholders (and EPMO where relevant) to ensure that RFPs/competitive events and negotiations are executed with proper time for executive alignment, proper negotiation and transition/change management

Develop all bid related materials for RFIs, RFQs, RFPs, reverse auctions, or any other strategy utilized

Lead all sourcing events, driving to established milestones, providing guidance to the teams, and ensuring ethical and fair execution

Develop negotiation strategies

Guide, facilitate, and lead negotiations for the full variety of agreements and contracts within category including, but not limited to: Master Service Agreements, NDA, SOWs, purchase orders, term sheets, pricing schedules, etc.

Ensure agreements and contracts reflect the needs of the business and mitigate business risks and include total cost of ownership, suggested business terms and conditions to protect our interests and establish a foundation for a strong supplier relationship

Manage the full contract lifecycle and guide the business throughout

Data Driven Category Strategy Development

Establish role as a key resource and trusted advisor for the category stakeholder

Maintain market, supply base, and market trends intelligence within the category. Regularly provide updates, insights, and evaluations to the stakeholder team

Perform spend and supplier analysis

Provide and drive the identification, understanding, and leverage of key cost drivers within the category

Proactively identify supplier risks and develop risk mitigation strategies

Procurement Process

Proactively manage all procurement processes, adhering to timelines established with business partners

Reenforce the established standard utilization of tools and processes. Drive procurement process and policy adherence

Effectively and efficiently use all technology tools and systems available

Drive utilization of preferred suppliers whenever possible

Provide financial transparency to the business related to purchasing commitments, as well as forecasted and delivered savings

Support and grow procurement programs such as Sustainability and Diversity

Suggests ways to improve procurement processes within their category, often focusing on efficiency, cost reductions, or better supplier management

Manage procurement professional(s) by supporting developmental needs, enhancing skills, encouraging continuous learning, and holding them accountable while fostering a collaborative and high-performance culture

Supplier Relationships

Manage and develop key supplier relationships within the categories. Establish Supplier Relationship Manager SRM practices in the areas of responsibility and drive Joint Business Planning with business critical suppliers

Monitor supplier performance via methods such as key metrics, KPIS, and contract compliance. Provide updates to relevant internal and external parties. Address issues as needed in conjunction with the business

Key Experience & Qualifications

Education

Bachelor’s Degree (or equivalent experience) Business, Supply Chain or related field Required

Experience

Minimum 7 years Required

Experience in category management, strategic sourcing, procurement in a mid to large size company or consulting firm with knowledge dependent on assigned category: Corporate Operational Services

Possesses in-depth knowledge of assigned categories including supplier markets, cost drivers, and innovations within the Marketing, Customer Support, HR, Legal, Finance, Corporate Planning, Compliance, and Operations functions

Less than 1 year Preferred

Managerial experience leading and mentoring team of procurement professionals

Licenses and Certifications

Certified Purchasing Manager (CPM) Preferred

Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) Preferred

Languages

Spanish Preferred

Software/Technical Skills

Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Intermediate Preferred

Purchasing Platform (Zycus experience is a plus) Intermediate Required

eProcurement, Contracting, and Vendor Management Platforms Intermediate Required

SAP S4/Hana Intermediate Preferred

Lean and/or Six Sigma Intermediate Preferred

Other Skills/Knowledge/Abilities

Deep understanding of end-to-end procurement lifecycle; procurement policies, practices, and regulations Required

Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. Ability to think outside the box and work in a team environment Required

Proven leadership and team management skills in domestic and international procurement operations Required

Strong knowledge of contract/PO terms and conditions Required

Impeccable attention to detail Required

Excellent organization and planning abilities and able to seamlessly coordinate multiple concurrent tasks Required

Excellent interpersonal and collaboration skills using tact, professionalism and courtesy Required

Strong financial acumen with working knowledge of financial principles and cost analysis Required

Excellent oral and written communications skills with demonstrated ability to maintain confidentiality in all interactions Required

Excellent negotiation skills Required

Highly ethical Required

Proven ability communicating procurement strategies, savings opportunities, and risks to senior management and stakeholders at all levels Required

ADDITIONAL DETAILS FOR THIS ROLE

This role will be a hybrid role. Subject to business needs, employees may work remotely up to two days per week. Assigned office days will be determined by managers. #LI-Hybrid

The annual salary (or hiring) range for this position is $130,000 – $160,000 per year

Starting salary to be determined by the education, experience, knowledge, skills and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, location, and alignment with market data.

Benefits include, but are not limited to, healthcare and wellness coverage, life and disability insurance, 401K, tuition reimbursement, and Paid Time Off.

Benefits

We offer a comprehensive benefits package with diverse plan options to meet your family’s needs, including health, vision, and dental insurance-all effective from day one of employment. Under our 401(k) retirement savings plan, we match up to 100% of the first 4% of employee contributions, with employer matches vesting immediately. Additionally, we offer an educational assistance program that reimburses up to 100% of tuition, lab fees, textbooks, and other related expenses for qualifying programs. To learn more, visit our benefits page: https://careers.brother-usa.com/benefits

Our Mission, Vision, & Culture

Our mission is to live our “at your side” promise to simplify and enrich the lives of our customers, employees, and communities. We aim to be where people and technology meet, providing products and solutions that enhance how people live, work, and create. We look to our strategic culture drivers – accountability, authenticity, boldness, and excellence – to enable us to consistently deliver on our vision, mission, and shared values. These drivers help us shape a culture that empowers the business to succeed.

About Where We Work

Brother’s corporate headquarters for the Americas is in Bridgewater, NJ, across from the Bridgewater Commons Mall. This location houses key corporate functions, including HR, legal, finance, IT, and supply chain, and a significant presence of our business unit leadership and marketing teams. Our manufacturing and distribution facility in Bartlett, TN spans an impressive 1.5 million square feet – equivalent to 26 football fields – and is located on Brother Boulevard. In addition to the distribution center operations team, this facility hosts several other departments, including our customer service group. Brother also has employees based in other locations, such as Westminster, CO, where many of our marketing and product engineering team members from the mobile solutions division operate, as well as our distribution centers in Richmond, VA and Perris, CA. Additionally, our outside sales teams work remotely within their territories, staying geographically close to the accounts they support to ensure they are always “at your side” for our customers.