Sourcing Manager

About us:

Sparx Hockey was founded in 2013 to solve the greatest unmet need in ice skating sports (e.g., hockey and figure skating) - maintaining sharp skates. Today, Sparx is relied upon for high-quality skate sharpening by families, teams, retailers, rinks, and professional skate sharpeners around the world. In addition to Sparx Hockey's exceptional products and record-setting growth, we also pride ourselves on being a fun place to work. Although it's not an employment prerequisite, many of our employees still play, coach, and parent hockey players. We do more than just build great hockey products; we use them ourselves. When we're not working hard or playing hockey our team can be found having a blast at our annual summer outing and impromptu barbecues that fill in the rest of the Sparx annual event calendar. Our global headquarters are in Acton, MA and are home to our R&D, Operations, Marketing, Sales, and Finance teams as well as our production lines and warehouse/distribution center.

The position:

We are seeking a Sourcing Manager to join our team.  This role is responsible for developing a data-driven procurement strategy, conferring with industry experts and internal stakeholders, setting and realizing cost savings goals, fostering long term strategic relationships with key suppliers, and ensuring that our current and future business needs are met. 

You are an ideal candidate if you're creative, hard-working, and a problem-solver, with excellent analytical skills and a high attention to detail.  Sparx Hockey has the goal of becoming the technology of choice for every skate sharpening that happens around the world and we are well on our way! Lastly, our team strongly believes in the work hard/play hard approach to life. We offer a generous vacation and benefits package to all our team members. 

Responsibilities:

• Develop and implement a global sourcing strategy which ensures sustainable and stable long-term growth and cost management for the business 

• Develop vendor agreements to properly reflect the expectations of the business, including performance KPIs, fixed and variable costs, lead-times, manufacturing capacities, quality standards, testing requirements, and defective product policies. 

• Work with Operations to ensure delivery of materials needed to meet on-site production needs. 

• Develop a competitive sourcing & procurement environment leading to continuous improvement in quality, cost, service, and technology 

• Monitor accuracy of Manufacturing and Purchasing Bills of Materials. 

• Maintain schedule and status of deliverables, actions, and issues. 

• Support product development by identifying and developing potential suppliers. 

Qualifications:

• Understanding process planning of material within an ERP system. 

• Advanced user of MS Excel and Word. Familiarity with NetSuite is a plus. 

• Comfortable working independently while still being an active contributor on collaborative teams 

• Experienced in planning of material within an ERP system. 

• 5+ years of experience in planning/sourcing/purchasing in a fast-paced environment; preferably for a company that designs and develops electro-mechanical consumer products. 

• Knowledge of and experience with component fabrication methods such as metal extruding, machining, plastic injection molding, metal stamping, and sheet metal fabrication. 

• Experience with the assembly of electromechanical products and the sourcing of PCBs, cable assemblies, and related electrical and electro-mechanical components. 

• Experience with sourcing product packaging including corrugated and foam products 

• Versed in foreign trade agreements, ensuring manufacturing activities are properly governed and protected via robust contracts. 

• Skilled and experienced negotiating vendor terms & pricing. 

• Experience working with contract manufacturers as well as 2nd tier suppliers. 

• Up to 25% travel 

Extra Credit:

• Experience with hockey – either as a player, coach, or parent 

Benefits:

• Health, Dental, Vision, 401(k) with employer match 

• Generous PTO