Freshworks is looking for an experienced and driven Head of Strategic Sourcing to lead a global
team of Strategic Sourcing Managers. This person will manage the entire category portfolio,
responsible for developing and managing global category strategies and understanding the
business/company requirements to maximize value. This person will lead a team professionals
responsible for the end-to-end execution of Sourcing processes in addition to developing
sourcing strategies that align with the business. He/She should have deep sourcing and vendor
management experience, be able to operate at all levels of the organization and move
seamlessly from tactical to strategic. Additionally, he/she must be a proven leader with a keen
eye for detail, be able to provide insights based on market conditions and trends, investigate
innovative methods, optimize value from goods and service providers, improve the decision-
making process, guide/develop their team, and ensure the process is executed in alignment
with policy.
Responsibilities:
- Develop a team structure that supports execution of Sourcing strategies focused on the organization strategy, business strategies and balance of cost / value spending.
- Lead and mentor a team of Sourcing Managers, providing guidance, support, and performance feedback
- Foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment, promoting teamwork and knowledge sharing
- Delegate tasks effectively, monitor progress, and ensure team members meet performance expectations (Individual Contribution Goals and SLAs)
- Identify training and development needs for team members and facilitate their professional growth
- Contribute to the recruitment and onboarding of new team members.
- Understand internal procurement processes to provide guidance to team and stakeholders.
- Maintain alignment with internal cross functional stakeholders on key processes required for successful project execution.
- Manage most critical and strategic supplier relationships and negotiations.
- Have a deep understanding of sourcing and supplier management to mentor and provide strategic direction to the team.
Critical Skills:
- Sourcing and Procurement: ability to identify, evaluate, and acquire goods or services from external sources in a cost-effective and efficient manner, involving understanding market trends, supplier performance, supply chain management, negotiation tactics, contracts, and quality assurance
- Leadership: Demonstrated ability to lead, motivate, and develop a team of procurement professionals
- Sourcing Strategies: the implementation of methods to manage procurement processes effectively, involves understanding the supply market/market analysis, cost modeling/assessing total cost of ownership, performance monitoring, risk management, and negotiation tactics
- Relationship Building: ability to establish and nurture strong connections with cross-functional teams and stakeholders to collaborate effectively by understanding interpersonal dynamics, effective communication strategies, empathy, and the ability to manage conflicts or disagreements
- Results-Oriented: ability to focus on the desired outcome of a project or task, while setting clear goals and prioritizing tasks to achieve the desired outcome and consistently
- Business Strategies: ability to develop, communicate, and implement comprehensive plans of action to achieve long-term goals and objectives, understanding market trends, stakeholder analysis, financial planning, risk management, applying strategic thinking to make strategic decisions based on these factors
- Strategic Planning: ability to envision a desired future, translate this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them, involving understanding the mission, vision, and values, conducting SWOT analysis, setting strategic goals, developing plans to achieve those goals, and measuring progress