Director, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement

ABOUT LCI

The mission of LCI is to provide meaningful employment for the blind and visually impaired. We accomplish this in four ways:

• EMPLOY: We are one of the largest employers of people who are blind, creating meaningful careers and lasting skills that transform their lives.
• BUILD: We create over 2,000 products and distribute thousands more through manufacturing, retail, nationwide distribution, and e-commerce channels.
• SERVE: Many of our products are sold directly to the federal government. We were pioneers of “base supply centers,” stores on military bases that employ the blind and visually impaired and provide mission-critical supplies to our nation’s military.
• SUPPORT: We want to end blindness forever. To that end, we engage in philanthropic efforts for research into blindness and treatment for the visually impaired.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Director, Strategic Sourcing and Procurement is responsible for developing and executing enterprise-wide sourcing and procurement strategies that optimize cost, quality, risk, and supplier performance. This role provides leadership across sourcing, supplier relationship management and procurement operations to support business objectives, ensure supply continuity, and drive sustainable value creation.

LOCATION AND SCHEDULE

Durham, NC- Hybrid

Monday-Friday 7:30 AM – 4 PM

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Strategic Sourcing and Category Management
• Procurement Operations
• Supplier Management and Risk
• Leadership and Collaboration
• Analytics and Technology
• Oversee category management across direct and/or indirect spend (e.g., materials, services, logistics, capital)
• Drive total cost of ownership (TCO) analysis and value engineering initiatives
• Responsible for procurement of manufacturing raw materials for all plant locations.
• Work environmental/safety ensure receipts of Material Safety Data information and other certifications of materials and suppliers.
• Establish and enforce procurement policies, procedures, and governance frameworks
• Partner with Finance to support budgeting, forecasting, and cost management
• Build and maintain strategic supplier relationships and performance management programs
• Lead supplier negotiations to secure favorable commercial terms and mitigate risk
• Monitor supplier risk, continuity, regulatory adherence and ethical practices
• Drive supplier innovation and continuous improvement initiatives
• Lead, mentor, and develop sourcing and procurement teams
• Collaborate cross-functionally with Operations, IT, Quality, Finance, and business units
• Serve as a trusted advisor to executive leadership on sourcing and procurement strategy
• Leverage data analytics to track spend, savings, performance, and compliance
• Champion procurement systems and digital tools (ERP, e-sourcing, contract management)
• Establish KPIs and dashboards to measure sourcing effectiveness and value delivery
• Responsible for establishing minimum and maximum inventory levels and complying with these limits.
• Understanding trends in the Company and industry performance and relate them to the performance of assigned markets.
• Interacting with other market development professionals to gather market data.
• Review proposed discount programs and determine potential impact on revenues/sales and report findings to manager.
• Develop revenue forecasts for assigned markets.
• Establish and maintain multiple price levels for manufacturing, distribution, and retail markets.
• Oversees data integrity projects to ensure all data is accurate.
• Communicates product changes, adds and deletes to internal customers.
• Other duties and projects as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Engineering, or related field
• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategic sourcing and procurement
• 5+ years in a leadership-level role.
• Proven track record of delivering measurable cost savings and value creation. Experience managing large, complex supplier portfolios
• Must have strong PC skills, specifically in Excel, Access, and/or Power BI.
• Have a thorough understanding of product price and its relationship with product cost in order to develop sourcing and procurement policy recommendations.
• Be able to analyze and interpret contracts.
• Must have excellent reasoning and critical thinking skills as well as extreme attention to detail.
• Excellent leadership, communication, negotiating and stakeholder management skills.
• Must have advanced analytical and financial acumen.

Why LCI?

• Purpose-driven company driven by principles, not profit
• Reach your highest potential: upward mobility, rewarded through hard work
• Competitive salary and compensation
• Basic Life Insurance at no cost to the employee
• 401(k) with match and Surplus-Sharing Plans
• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance
• Ten paid holidays annually
• Paid Time Off (PTO)
• On-site Health and Wellness program
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Equal Opportunity Employer/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities
This employer is required to notify all applicants of their rights pursuant to federal employment laws. For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.