Sr. Strategic Procurement

Job Description:

Position Summary: The Sr. Strategic Procurement is responsible for developing and executing sourcing and supplier strategies that support the development, manufacturing, and distribution of dental products. This role manages complex categories and strategic supplier relationships to deliver cost savings, strengthen supply continuity, improve quality, and drive innovation. The position also advances procurement transformation through the implementation of AI-enabled tools, automation, advanced analytics, and other technologies that generate measurable business value.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Develop and execute sourcing and category strategies for materials and components supporting dental product development and manufacturing.

• Lead supplier selection, competitive bidding, contract negotiations, cost analysis, and total cost of ownership evaluations.

• Prepare and execute RFPs, reverse auctions, and other sourcing events.

• Build strong, accountable relationships with strategic suppliers and cross-functional stakeholders.

• Monitor supplier quality, delivery, cost, capacity, service, compliance, and overall performance.

• Lead supplier business reviews, performance improvement plans, issue resolution, and escalations.

• Identify and mitigate supply risks, including sole-source dependencies, capacity constraints, long lead times, and business interruptions.

• Partner with Quality and Regulatory Affairs on supplier qualification, audits, corrective actions, change control, and documentation.

• Maintain the Approved Supplier List, supplier files, scorecards, ERP records, and annual supplier risk assessments.

• Represent Procurement on New Product Introduction projects, develop sourcing plans, manage deliverables, and ensure milestones are achieved.

• Identify and deliver cost savings, cost avoidance, and value improvement opportunities to achieve annual targets.

• Analyze supplier spend and market trends to identify consolidation opportunities, sourcing leverage, and provide pricing and budget guidance.

• Resolve invoice discrepancies, price holds, receipt holds, and other supplier payment issues.

• Lead cross-functional meetings and influence decisions without formal authority.

• Champion procurement transformation through process improvement, AI-enabled tools, automation, advanced analytics, and other technologies.

• Mentor colleagues on share best practices and contribute to skills development.

• Travel up to 10%, primarily to local company and supplier locations.

Incidental Duties: The above statements describe the general nature and level of work being performed in this job. They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, and indeed additional responsibilities may be assigned, as required, by management.

Job Requirements:

Qualifications:  To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. This individual must be able to function in a fast-paced environment, where priorities may change rapidly.  The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree required, preferably in Supply Chain or related field, plus a minimum of 5 years of relevant work experience OR

• High school diploma or equivalent plus minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience required.

• Experience must include: success in leading complex sourcing initiatives and supplier negotiations; supporting NPI initiatives; and working in a highly regulated manufacturing environment required, preferably FDA regulated

• Experience leading procurement or supply-chain transformation initiatives, including the adoption of AI, automation, advanced analytics, or other emerging technologies highly preferred.

• ASCM/APICS certification highly preferred, specifically in Transformation for Supply Chain.

Skills and Abilities:

• Proven ability to influence cross-functional stakeholders and lead initiatives without formal authority required.

• Demonstrated expertise in negotiating complex agreements and building productive, long-term supplier relationships required.

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including cost modeling,