Head of Procurement

Head of Procurement Scorecard Criteria

Competencies and Criteria

Must Have

Nice to Have

Supplier Relationship Management

Has served as the named procurement counterpart to manufacturers across the full relationship lifecycle: owning existing accounts, identifying and qualifying new suppliers, and managing through transitions when a relationship needed to change. Has evaluated suppliers on production capacity, quality consistency, and financial stability, and has built the kind of credibility with manufacturer sales and supply chain leadership that translates into allocation priority and favorable terms over time. Has done this across a range of supplier types, from large established OEMs to smaller, non-institutional manufacturers with limited administrative infrastructure. Brings 5 to 10 years of direct purchasing and supplier management experience.

X

Commercial Negotiation Track Record

Has improved unit economics through supplier negotiation over time, securing better pricing, extended payment terms, or preferential supply commitments through preparation and positioning. Has negotiated independently and with full ownership of the outcome, including the ability to walk away when terms do not serve the business. Has specific experience structuring and managing special pricing agreements, negotiating rebates, and securing volume buying discounts with manufacturers. Gross margin at this stage of the business is almost entirely a procurement outcome, and expanding it through supplier terms is one of the primary value creation levers in the plan.

X

International Sourcing Operations

Has managed procurement from international manufacturers end-to-end, including import logistics, lead time variability across geographies, and quality verification at a distance. Has built direct working relationships with foreign manufacturers and has resolved supply disruptions across time zones with direct accountability for the outcome. Is comfortable traveling to supplier facilities internationally, including in Asia, to build and maintain manufacturer relationships in person. The role carries full ownership of supply chains across Europe and Asia at increasing volume, and the expectation is that this person will be on the ground with key suppliers regularly.

X

Inventory and Working Capital Discipline

Has made consequential decisions about what inventory to carry, at what levels, and when to reposition based on shifting supplier lead times or customer demand signals. Has operated with visibility into the working capital implications of purchasing decisions, not just the operational ones, and has connected inventory positioning to balance sheet outcomes. Has worked in a business where delivery speed is a core part of the value proposition and inventory decisions had a direct, visible impact on customer experience.

X

Cross-Functional Operating Capability

Has operated as the connective tissue between procurement and the rest of the business, translating customer commitments and sales timelines into purchasing decisions and communicating supply constraints back to the team in a way that enables good decisions. Has worked closely with sales, operations, and leadership in a small company where the procurement function does not operate in isolation, and has the judgment to prioritize and escalate without needing heavy process structure behind them.

X

Procurement Function Builder

Has designed and implemented procurement processes, workflows, and vendor management cadences in an environment where they did not previously exist. Has selected and stood up the systems the function runs on and created the reporting that gives leadership visibility into supplier performance and cost trends. Has done this while running day-to-day purchasing operations at the same time, and has built something that scaled beyond their individual contributions.

X

Founder-Paced Operating Style

Has thrived in a small, high-growth company where the scope of the role expanded faster than the org chart did, and where stepping outside a defined job description to get something done was the norm rather than the exception. Has operated with a high degree of autonomy, made consequential decisions without waiting for full information or sign-off, and held themselves accountable for outcomes rather than process. Has worked directly alongside founders or senior leaders and has been comfortable pushing back when they disagreed, while still moving fast and staying aligned. This is a 30-person company where everyone, including this role, runs lean and gets into the work.

X

Electrical or Industrial Sector Proximity

Has procurement or supply chain experience within electrical equipment, construction materials, utilities, or an adjacent industrial sector, and brings an understanding of how materials move through a project-based business and what contractor and distributor timelines look like in practice. Direct experience with medium voltage components, cable accessories, transformers, or related infrastructure equipment translates most directly to the products and customers Elektrik serves.

X