Site Procurement Lead

POSITION OVERVIEW

The Site Procurement Lead is a key member of the Indirect Procurement organization situated directly at one of Ascend’s plants, serving as a link between procurement and the business units. The primary responsibility of this role is to manage business spend by ensuring programs and contracts are implemented in an effective and efficient manner which both meet the customer’s needs and the guidelines of the procurement organization. Additionally, they will be a member of the Site Leadership Team and lead cross functional spend teams to drive savings by identifying changes in consumption patterns which support negotiated programs.

The Site Procurement Lead will advise and assist as a subject matter expert to the business on behalf of the procurement organization for the full lifecycle (sourcing and selecting suppliers, establishing contracts, purchasing and managing payments to suppliers). The Site Procurement Lead will also serve as the intake specialist at designated locations, evaluating and directing internal employee purchase requests and assisting the Procurement organization in directing those requests to contracted or designated suppliers.

TARGETED OUTCOMES

• Develop strong working relationships with internal stakeholders in order to understand needs and proactively identify solutions. 
• Negotiate site specific sourcing events and contracts in accordance with DOAs, while utilizing and implementing contracts that leverage site spend.
• Maintain procurement standards and influence local buying patterns to drive savings, maximize value, leverage opportunities, and mitigate risk through implementation of site-specific contract strategies.
• Manage supplier relationships, driving on-time and on-budget performance that meet or exceed the needs of the business and improve plant performance to plan.
• Contribute to the efficiency and improvement of the organization by identifying, resolving, and eliminating issues.
• Partner with key internal site stakeholders in operations, manufacturing, engineering, maintenance, reliability, and facilities groups to develop strategic supplier relationships and manage supplier performance.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Sourcing Planning and Spend Management

• Assist and advise business on use and implementation of negotiated programs that are either site specific or strategically executed by the Commodity Management group.
• Negotiate site specific labor, service and materials contracts utilizing market data local to the area.
• Identify and drive savings by reviewing current use of programs and bringing them to the procurement organization standards.
• Analyze historical and current spend data to find opportunities for negotiation or organizational leverage, while reporting trends to Commodity Management team to assist with identifying Enterprise-wide opportunities for savings.
• Work closely with team of site-specific Buyers and Purchase Order Specialists to identify areas where volume leverage purchase mechanisms can be utilized.
• Enforce and ensure bidding process is carried out in alignment with procurement guidelines.
• Analyze key local indirect materials and labor markets and spend data to identify cost savings/productivity opportunities.
• Direct site-specific purchase order execution and manage product/service delivery, including placement of on-time schedule agreements, mitigation of billing adjustments / terminations and execution of cost reduction goals. 
• Review bids and contracts with Site Stakeholders, Commodity Managers and Area Job Representatives as necessary before strategic orders are placed. 
• May recommend new developments in materials and supplies, as well as service providers. 
• Engage with the site stakeholders to ensure procurement involvement in sourcing and supplier selection while making robust recommendations for utilization of recommended vendors and reporting of data to demonstrate opportunities for improvement

Supplier Management

• Manage various aspects of supplier relationships, including negotiations, delivery and quality performance, cost and inventory management, and customer satisfaction. 
• Establish and maintain timely/direct communication with suppliers to manage operational needs, lead time and deliverables.
• Implement corrective actions to improve supplier performance when necessary.
• Proactive and comprehensive supplier performance management; e.g. safety, quality, scheduling and delivery, cost control, performance to established KPIs.
• Lead supplier quality audits.
• Utilize the DMAIC process to optimize supplier performance with focus on Total Cost of Ownership.
• Lead special projects as identified by management.
• Foster active daily use of continuous improvement tools to improve ESSH, quality, delivery, financial performance, employee engagement, and customer satisfaction. 
• Conduct all business activities in accordance with company Health, Safety and Environmental policies, legal compliance requirements and core values. 

REQUIRED EXPERIENCE & EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, supply chain management, finance, or engineering and a minimum of ten(10) years of relevant purchasing and resource management experience.
• Experience with strategic sourcing, contract administration, supply chain management, logistics, and commercial project planning preferred.
• Solid understanding of procurement policies, procedures, and techniques.
• Experience working in an ERP environment; SAP ARIBA required.
• GEP experience highly desirable.
• Proficient in using MS Office products: Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Strong negotiation skills.
• Strong verbal and written communication skills.
• Strong demonstrated ability to lead or work within cross functional teams to drive change across the site.
• Demonstrated ability to persuade and effectively influence others.
• Demonstrated ability to partner with key stakeholders.
• Demonstrated use of business acumen to develop efficient methods of plan execution.
• Execute site wide strategic RFQs.
• Ability to interface and communicate with all levels of staff and management.
• Demonstrated attention to detail, sense of urgency, and ability to learn quickly.
• Comfortable working with ambiguity and building a structured environment.
• Strong analytical, quantitative, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
• Organizational skills and ability to multitask.
• Able to work within and meet aggressive deadlines in a fast paced, changing, high energy environment.
• Proactive; internal drive to meet goals continuously and successfully.

REQUIRED Travel

• 15%; Quarterly Meetings and some supplier visits.

At Ascend Performance Materials, we value transparency and fairness in our hiring process. We do not accept unsolicited resumes from third-party recruiters, search firms, or staffing agencies. Any resumes received from such entities will be considered the property of Ascend Performance Materials, and we will not be obligated to pay any fees for such submissions. Our Talent Acquisition Team actively engages with preferred recruitment partners who have established agreements with us. We encourage all interested candidates to apply directly through our official channels to be considered for any open positions.

Skills Summary:

About Us:

Ascend Performance Materials is the premium provider of high quality chemicals, fibers and plastics. With world scale integrated manufacturing facilities we are able to develop new products from our core technologies, and provide flexibility to respond to the expanding needs of customers. Ascend has global sales and distribution facilities across the globe and six manufacturing facilities globally. As a privately-held company, our people do big things and make big decisions, often much earlier in their careers than at larger companies. Ascend Performance Materials offers team members the opportunity to contribute in big, meaningful ways—all within a stable and growing business.

Why work at Ascend?

Our vision is to be the recognized leader in the nylon 6,6 value chain, creating new possibilities with PA66 for everyone, everywhere, every day. We achieve that through living our Ascend values.

We care. We operate safely with high integrity for our employees, our customers and our communities. Our people are our greatest assets, and our Total Rewards Program extends beyond traditional benefits to include access to on-site medical clinics at our U.S. facilities, a global wellness rewards program and Performance Matters, an employee-driven recognition plan. Our Commitment to Zero demonstrates our belief that is it possible to operate with zero personal injuries, zero process safety incidents and zero environmental releases. And the Ascend Cares Foundation, led by Ascend employees, supports Ascend families in times of need, provides inspiring opportunities ​​for community engagement and facilitates community leadership.

Customer-focused. We exist for our customers; they drive our actions. Their success is our success. Our plastics and chemicals are building blocks that help make everyday essentials safer and more sustainable, and we constantly strive to develop new and innovative products to meet the future needs of our customers. And that customer focus doesn’t only apply to the marketplace – it also applies to how we treat our colleagues and our fellow community members.

Better every day. We invest in our people and our processes to improve every day. A2E, our continuous improvement program, guides the way we do business. And this way of problem solving applies not only to our manufacturing practices but also to our commitment to developing our people. You’ll see it during your career at Ascend in our leadership development, skills training and mentoring programs

Agile. We think broadly and lead proactively in a constantly evolving organization and industry. Agility doesn’t mean simply working quickly – it means critical thinking, creative problem solving and novel approaches to everyday challenges.

One Ascend. All together, with a common set of goals and an eye toward the future. We don’t accept silos. We look for ways to share across departments, sites and geography. This means you won’t be boxed into a single role at Ascend – you could get the chance to work with teams across the globe to improve the way we serve our people, our customers and our communities.

All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, age, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, protected veteran status, citizenship, genetic information or other protected status under federal, state or local laws.