The Strategic Manager, Botanicals Purchasing, will work closely with the Senior Director of Global Sourcing & Procurement to manage the botanicals ingredient group to ensure continuous supply of botanical ingredients. Responsible for managing the procurement needs of all botanical ingredients (powders, extracts, liquids, etc.) used in the production of goods sold by Company. This individual will manage day-to-day botanical team operations, supplier negotiations, and vendor relationships, ensuring adherence to quality, cost, and efficiency objectives. The individual will execute and support the botanical team in delivering on procurement objectives and act as a strategic partner to facilitate ongoing improvements in vendor management, cost-saving initiatives, compliance with company standards and collaboration with internal cross-functional teams. Will work closely with the Sourcing Group to achieve the Botanical Team goals. Some travel may be required.
RESPONSIBILITIES include the following. Other duties may be assigned.
* Team Management & Development: Lead and support the botanicals team, assess team competencies, set objectives, and implement continuous improvement plans. Facilitate training and performance management for high team efficacy.
* Supplier Negotiations & Vendor Relations: Establish and maintain vendor partnerships, negotiating favorable terms on quality, pricing, and timelines. Ensure adherence to contracts, conduct regular vendor audits, and address quality concerns.
* Strategic & Tactical Sourcing: Identify dual sourcing and secure suppliers to mitigate risk. Conduct market research to identify cost-saving and efficiency opportunities, drive ongoing improvements in botanical spend, and provide tactical support in sourcing strategy alignment.
* Budget Management & Cost Optimization: Monitor procurement budget of botanical category, track spending, and identify cost reduction opportunities. Collaborate with the Senior Director to develop, manage, and execute cost-saving proposals.
* Compliance & Process Improvement: Enforce procurement policies and best practices, ensuring regulatory compliance and efficiency of botanicals category. Support development and tracking of KPIs to optimize performance, reduce risks, and achieve continuous improvement across procurement processes.
* Regular Reporting: Report progress of KPIs, risks and market intelligence related to the botanicals category.
* Alert the Team Management and Internal Stakeholders to any potential supply issues, OOS materials, or price increases. Develop, execute and report mitigation plans to remedy issues of botanicals category.
* Manage, direct and support the botanicals tactical buyer in accomplishing all botanical category tactical requirements.
* Coordinate with Planning, Production, R&D, QA/QC, Technical Services, Marketing, Sales, Legal, Accounting, and senior management to ensure company needs are met
* Work on New Item projects as required.
* Carry-out strategic responsibilities of botanical ingredients for NSP. Work with Sourcing Team management to determine longer-term strategic direction and expectations of Botanical category.
* Computer software/analytical/statistical development training and execution.
* Execute all strategies and objectives in meeting the Sourcing strategic direction outlined for the World-Class Supplier Management Program initiative.
* Execute all strategies and objectives in meeting the Sourcing strategic direction outlined in driving the lowest TCO initiative.
* Execute all strategies and objectives in meeting the Sourcing strategic direction outlined for the Master Information Database initiative.
* Execute all strategies and objectives in meeting the Sourcing strategic direction outlined for higher utilization of technological advances/tools initiative.
QUALIFICATIONS
* Bachelor's degree from four-year college or university; and a minimum of five (5) years related experience and/or training; an equivalent combination of education and experience is preferred.
* ISM (preferred) or APICS certification is desired
* Experience with MRP systems (Oracle preferred) and CPI/PPI indexes
* General knowledge of purchasing, planning, warehousing, logistics, and accounting
* Extensive knowledge of strategic supply chain management
* Strong skills with PPT, Excel and AI tools.
* Solid experience with professional communication and interpersonal relationships
* Strong analytical and negotiation skills.
* Experience completing challenging workloads daily
* Ability to organize time and prioritize daily activities
* Ability to work independently
* Able to work under deadlines and heavy workload on a regular basis
* Able to work with limited supervision
Nature's Sunshine manufacture's natural herbal products that share the healing power of nature with everyone. We are focused on preserving nature's power for future generations, through sustainable practices, reducing waste and using 100% renewable energy at our manufacturing facility. We are an equal opportunity employer, dedicated to leveraging the diverse backgrounds and experiences of our team, creating a positive culture, and ensuring every employee is treated with fairness and respect.