Regional Sourcing Manager

Job Description:

Position Overview

The Regional Sourcing Manager is responsible for developing and executing sourcing strategies for assigned direct-material commodities supporting the North American business.

Based full-time onsite at the ESAB Hermosillo facility, this role will work closely with Operations, Engineering, Quality, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, and other key stakeholders to drive cost competitiveness, supplier performance, working capital improvement, risk mitigation, and continuity of supply.

The Regional Sourcing Manager will maintain regional ownership of assigned commodities while actively collaborating with sourcing and commodity counterparts across Europe, Asia, India, and South America to exchange market intelligence, benchmark commodity pricing and cost drivers, identify common suppliers, share sourcing initiatives, and pursue cross-regional opportunities.

This role requires strong commercial, analytical, and negotiation capabilities, combined with the ability to operate effectively within a manufacturing environment and across a global sourcing organization.

Primary Duties & Responsibilities

• Commodity Sourcing Strategy: Develop and implement sourcing strategies for assigned direct-material commodities supporting the North American business. Align strategies with business objectives, market trends, supply chain requirements, operational needs, and long-term sourcing objectives. Identify opportunities for supplier consolidation, localization, dual sourcing, cost reduction, and supply base optimization.
• Supplier Evaluation and Selection: Identify, evaluate, and qualify suppliers based on technical capability, quality standards, financial stability, capacity, manufacturing capability, competitiveness, geographic footprint, and compliance requirements. Lead supplier assessments, RFQs, supplier selection processes, and sourcing recommendations.
• Contract Negotiation: Lead commercial negotiations with suppliers to secure competitive pricing, favorable payment terms, lead times, contractual conditions, and other commercial requirements. Collaborate with Legal and other stakeholders to develop agreements that protect ESAB's interests while supporting long-term supplier relationships.
• Cost Optimization: Analyze spend, commodity cost structures, market trends, supplier economics, and supply chain dynamics to identify and execute cost-reduction opportunities. Drive productivity initiatives including negotiations, value engineering, supplier consolidation, alternate sourcing, localization, and other sourcing levers.
• Supplier Performance Management: Monitor supplier performance expectations and KPIs related to quality, delivery, cost, responsiveness, capacity, and overall business performance. Conduct supplier reviews, address performance gaps, and lead improvement and recovery actions when required.
• Plant and Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with the Hermosillo plant and North American Operations, Engineering, Quality, Planning, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, and other stakeholders to understand business requirements, resolve supplier-related issues, support production needs, and execute sourcing initiatives.
• Supply Chain Risk Management: Identify and mitigate sourcing and supply chain risks associated with assigned commodities and suppliers. Evaluate supplier capacity, financial stability, geographic concentration, geopolitical exposure, single-source dependencies, and other risks. Develop contingency plans, second-source strategies, and business continuity actions to ensure continuity of supply.
• Market Intelligence & Global Commodity Collaboration: Stay updated on commodity market trends, pricing, cost drivers, industry developments, supplier capabilities, and emerging technologies. Maintain regular engagement with sourcing and commodity counterparts across Europe, Asia, India, and South America to exchange market intelligence, benchmark pricing, compare cost structures, identify common suppliers, share sourcing initiatives and project ideas, and pursue cross-regional sourcing opportunities where beneficial.
• Stakeholder Engagement: Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders and provide sourcing expertise, market insights, supplier recommendations, and commercial guidance. Ensure sourcing strategies and initiatives remain aligned with regional business objectives and plant requirements.
• Working Capital Improvement: Identify and execute opportunities to improve working capital through payment-term extensions, lead-time reductions, inventory optimization, consignment, VMI, improved order quantities, and other supplier commercial arrangements.
• Project Execution: Manage multiple sourcing projects simultaneously from opportunity identification through implementation. Establish clear timelines, actions, savings targets, and stakeholder alignment to ensure projects are implemented successfully and deliver expected results.

Qualifications

Education

• Essential: Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, or a related field.

Experience

• Essential: 5–8 years of experience in strategic sourcing, commodity management, procurement, or supply chain management, preferably within an industrial or manufacturing environment.

• Proven experience managing direct-material commodities and developing sourcing strategies.

• Demonstrated experience negotiating supplier agreements, pricing, commercial terms, and cost-reduction initiatives.

• Experience working directly with manufacturing plants and cross-functional teams.

• Experience managing suppliers across multiple countries or regions.

• Desirable: 8-10 years of experience

• Technical

Essential:

• Strong knowledge of commodity management, strategic sourcing, supplier evaluation, negotiation, and cost optimization strategies.

• Strong commercial and negotiation skills with demonstrated ability to negotiate complex supplier agreements.

• Strong analytical capabilities, including spend analysis, cost modeling, market analysis, benchmarking, and development of sourcing recommendations.

• Solid understanding of direct-material sourcing and manufacturing supply chains.

• Ability to understand commodity cost drivers, market dynamics, and supplier economics.

• Strong supplier management and supplier development capabilities.

• Strong project management skills with the ability to manage multiple sourcing initiatives simultaneously and meet deadlines.

• Strong business acumen and strategic thinking with the ability to connect sourcing activities to operational and financial objectives.

• Ability to identify and mitigate supply chain and supplier risks.

• Strong communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to influence internal stakeholders and suppliers.

• Ability to work effectively in a cross-functional, multicultural, and global organization.

• Results-oriented mindset with a strong focus on cost reduction, supplier performance, risk mitigation, and execution.

• Ability to operate effectively in a dynamic manufacturing environment and work well under pressure.

• Familiarity with ERP systems, sourcing tools, e-sourcing platforms, spend analytics tools, and supplier management systems. Desirable:

• Technical background or experience in Mechanical Engineering, Materials, Metallurgy, Electronics, Chemistry, or other relevant technical disciplines.

• Experience with value analysis/value engineering, Lean, Six Sigma, or structured cost-reduction methodologies.

• Experience supporting North American manufacturing operations.

• Experience working with suppliers in Mexico, the United States, Canada, Asia, Europe, or South America.

• Language

• Essential: Fluent in English

• Desirable: The knowledge of another language will be an asset