Description
The Director of Supply Chain – Negotiations leads sourcing strategy, supplier negotiations, and contract execution for munitions and defence-related commodities. This role drives cost, performance, and supply continuity in a highly regulated and capacity-constrained environment, while ensuring full compliance with US government regulations.
Key responsibilities include:
Developing and executing sourcing strategies for critical munitions components and assemblies, balancing cost, risk, and delivery requirements. Building and managing strategic supplier relationships, including sole-source and limited-source vendors, to ensure continuity of supply. Partnering cross-functionally with engineering, program management, legal, and finance to align negotiation strategies with program and business objectives. Driving cost savings and value creation through should-cost analysis, benchmarking, and continuous improvement initiatives. Ensuring compliance with ITAR, EAR, DFARS, and other applicable US government regulations and export controls. Identifying and mitigating supply chain risks, including geopolitical, capacity, and regulatory risks specific to munitions. Leading and developing a high-performing procurement/supply chain team, fostering accountability, collaboration, and execution excellence. Establishing and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) for supplier performance, cost, quality, and delivery.
Required qualifications include:
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, or related field (MBA preferred) with 10-15+ years of progressive experience in procurement/supply chain, including significant exposure to defence or munitions programs or Aerospace Programs. Proven experience sourcing and negotiating for munitions or defence-related commodities, with a strong understanding of constrained supply markets, sole-source environments, and lifecycle requirements. Demonstrated expertise in ITAR, EAR, DFARS, and US government contracting requirements, including experience working with export-controlled materials and compliance frameworks. Experience leading teams or influencing cross-functional stakeholders (engineering, legal, finance, program management) in a matrixed environment to achieve business objectives. Strong capability in cost analysis, should-cost modelling, and data-driven decision-making to optimise supplier performance and total cost of ownership. Ability to obtain and maintain a US security clearance, depending on program requirements.
Salary: $160,000 - $240,000 a year.