Procurement Specialist
Location: Waukegan, IL
Schedule: Monday–Friday, 8:30am–4:30pm (onsite, hybrid potential after training)
Salary: $73,894–$110,840 annually
Travel: Approximately 20%, local supplier visits
Our client, an established manufacturing organization in Waukegan, IL, is seeking a Procurement Specialist to join its procurement team. This newly created position will focus on the strategic side of procurement, including sourcing, supplier management, contract and pricing negotiations, cost reduction, and supplier risk mitigation.
This is not a traditional transactional Buyer role. The Procurement Specialist will take ownership of assigned commodities and suppliers, working cross-functionally with Purchasing, Engineering, Quality, Operations, and other internal teams to strengthen the supplier network, improve performance, identify cost-saving opportunities, and support the organization's long-term sourcing strategy.
Vendor & Supplier Management
- Identify, evaluate, vet, and onboard new suppliers.
- Evaluate existing suppliers for performance, quality, compliance, delivery, pricing, and potential risk.
- Build and maintain strong, long-term supplier relationships.
- Visit and meet with key suppliers regularly to monitor performance and identify potential concerns.
- Provide suppliers with forecasts and assist with longer-term procurement planning.
- Identify opportunities to reduce reliance on single-source suppliers and develop dual-sourcing strategies.
- Recognize potential red flags within supplier manufacturing and production processes.
Strategic Sourcing & Contract Negotiation
- Conduct RFQs and RFPs and evaluate supplier responses.
- Source new products, components, and prototypes using thorough quote analysis and supplier comparisons.
- Support and approve the introduction of new parts for assigned components.
- Negotiate supplier pricing and effectively respond to proposed price increases.
- Identify and implement cost-saving initiatives while considering Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
- Create, negotiate, and maintain supplier agreements.
- Maintain current supplier pricing and lead-time information within the ERP system.
- Analyze supplier and purchasing data to identify trends, savings opportunities, and areas of risk.
- Develop and present data-supported sourcing recommendations to internal stakeholders.
Experience:
- Bachelor's degree required, with a degree in Business, Finance, Engineering, Supply Chain, or a related field preferred.
- Minimum of 3 years of procurement experience within a manufacturing environment.
- Minimum of 3 years of experience working with an ERP system, such as IFS or a comparable platform.
- Strong understanding of product and manufacturing processes, methodologies, and inspection techniques.
- Experience with strategic sourcing, supplier management, negotiations, and cost-reduction initiatives.
- Ability to evaluate supplier performance and identify potential quality, production, delivery, or compliance concerns.
- Understanding of continuous improvement and root-cause analysis concepts, such as 5 Whys and 8D methodology, preferred.
- Six Sigma experience or certification is beneficial but not required.
- Intermediate or higher proficiency with Microsoft Office, particularly Excel.
- Comfortable utilizing PivotTables and other Excel tools to analyze data and support business decisions.
- Strong analytical, negotiation, problem-solving, communication, and relationship-building skills.
- Ability to confidently analyze data and present findings and recommendations to stakeholders.
- Comfortable visiting suppliers and working within manufacturing environments.
Benefits Upon Hire
- Medical, dental, and vision insurance
- 401(k) plan with company matching contributions
- FSA and HSA options
- Short- and long-term disability insurance
- Life insurance
- Generous paid time off
- Paid parental leave
- Paid holidays
- Hybrid work opportunity following the training period
