Procurement - Process Improvement Lead

Job Overview

Responsibilities

The role requires the ability to effectively collaborate and partner with DDN Business Unit Procurement, Supply Chain, Engineering and Operations teams.
•    Lead end-to-end process improvement initiatives across direct procurement, with a focus on sourcing standardization, simplification, and automation.
•    Map, evaluate, and redesign sourcing processes to improve cycle time, accuracy, compliance, and stakeholder experience.
•    Drive improvement of pre- and post-RFQ processes including supplier onboarding, specification clarity, cost breakdown analysis, and award decisions.
•    Collaborate with commodity managers and NPD teams to streamline early supplier engagement and ensure agile sourcing in New Product Development (NPD) projects.
•    Develop and deploy sourcing playbooks, workflows, and process templates to ensure consistency and alignment across teams and regions.
•    Identify and remove bottlenecks in sourcing and procurement handshakes, especially during design changes, volume ramp-up, and engineering change management.
•    Leverage data analytics and procurement insights to monitor process performance and identify opportunities for automation or digitization.
•    Champion adoption of digital tools (e.g., e-sourcing, contract lifecycle management, supplier portals, analytics dashboards) across the sourcing function.
•    Standardize documentation and approvals in sourcing activities to improve compliance, traceability, and cycle time.
•    Act as a change agent to build a culture of continuous improvement and cross-functional collaboration across sourcing, engineering, and supply chain.
•    Define and track process KPIs such as sourcing cycle time, RFQ turnaround time, first-time-right rates, and time-to-market.
•    Facilitate training and capability building on new tools, templates, and best practices for sourcing and supplier collaboration.
•    Support audits and internal reviews by ensuring all sourcing process changes are well-documented and compliant.
•    Partner with IT, digital, and process excellence teams to evaluate and integrate emerging technologies for sourcing automation and data intelligence.
•    Lead benchmarking studies to compare internal sourcing processes with industry best practices and implement relevant learnings.

Required Skills

Minimum Bachelors degree, preferably in engineering related course
    At least 8 years of experience in a global or regional Procurement and / or Supply Chain with experience in Industrial electronics / manufacturing (preferred)
    Broad commodity knowledge of semi-conductors, PCB, PCBA and electronic components (preferred)
    Knowledge of global electronics sourcing
    Strong understanding of role and application of data – analytics – insights
    Previous experience with working on strategy / transformation / risk initiatives especially linked to upstream emissions 
    Excellent communication skills with the ability to communicate to people at all levels of the organisation in both commercial and technical roles
    Ability to influence others
    Excellent problem-solving and analytical skills
    Strong project management skills and ability to multi-task 
    Ability to work in a matrix environment with multi-cultural teams
    Ability to demonstrate strong customer focus and continuous improvement attitude
    Ability to form successful working relationships quickly at all levels
    Ability to prioritize and manage complexity in a fast-paced environment
    Ability to meet demanding deadlines and task prioritization

Competencies