Director, Direct Procurement - North America

About Lubrizol
The Lubrizol Corporation, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a specialty chemical company whose science delivers sustainable solutions to advance mobility, improve wellbeing and enhance modern life. Founded in 1928, Lubrizol owns and operates more than 100 manufacturing facilities, sales, and technical offices around the world and has about 8,000 employees. For more information, visit .

We value diversity in professional backgrounds and life experiences. By enabling a consistent, unbiased, and transparent recruitment process, Lubrizol seeks to create a positive experience for candidates so we can get to know them at their best. We recognize unique work and life situations and offer flexibility, ensuring our employees feel engaged and fulfilled in every aspect of life.

What You'll Do

As Director of Procurement for Engineered Materials and Surface Sciences, you will provide strategic leadership for procurement activities in North America. You will serve as the primary global procurement partner to each business, aligning procurement strategies with broader business objectives and driving long-term value creation. Operating with a high degree of autonomy, you will lead raw material procurement strategies, deliver measurable outcomes in cost savings and operational efficiency, and foster a culture of continuous improvement and innovation.

Responsibilities

• Own strategy, sourcing, and category management for team members, while supporting best-in-class processes in direct procurement activities globally.
• Lead, coach, and mentor a diverse team supporting a wide range of stakeholders.
• Effectively manage key suppliers via risk mitigation, scorecards, and KPIs.
• Drive regional engagement, personnel development, and KPI execution.
• Demonstrate financial acumen in project valuation and business modeling.
• Plan and negotiate long-term contracts to positively impact cost and service objectives.
• Partner cross-functionally to build efficient and cost-effective vendor relationships.
• Monitor market trends and coach team in identifying supply base risks and mitigation plans.
• Balance technological, market, competitive, and organizational factors for competitive advantage.
• Build Supplier Relationship Management and risk management practices aligned with global procurement processes.
• Stimulate supplier innovations and recommend initiatives to expand innovation and savings pipelines.
• Analyze company spending trends and recommend future investments and savings opportunities.
• Develop and implement global strategic sourcing processes to drive best-in-class performance.
• Collaborate with internal stakeholders to proactively anticipate business needs.
• Work successfully in a matrixed organization to implement global Indirect Procurement activities.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Engineering, Finance, or similar; MBA preferred.
• Experience leading transformative change in direct procurement with diverse stakeholders.
• Minimum 10 years of experience in strategic procurement or commercial roles in a complex manufacturing environment.
• Ability to lead a diverse, global team in a hybrid office model.
• Experience with procurement systems and source-to-pay platforms.
• Skilled in negotiations and formal supply contract construction.
• Cost modeling experience and process improvement implementation.
• High degree of ethics, compliance, integrity, and honesty.
• Strong negotiation skills for contracts, pricing, and service resolution.

Perks and Rewards That Inspire

• Competitive salary with performance-based bonus plans
• 401K Match plus Age Weighted Defined Contribution
• Comprehensive medical, dental & vision offerings
• Health Savings Account
• Paid Holidays, Vacation, and Parental Leave
• Flexible work environment

Learn more at benefits.lubrizol.com

Ready for your next career step? Apply today and let's shape the future together! 

It’s an exciting time to be part of Lubrizol. Lubrizol is not staying put. We are continually learning and evolving. Our passion delivers our success — not only for Lubrizol but for those who count on us every day: our employees, customers and communities.

We work with a relentless commitment to operate safely and responsibly, keeping safety, sustainability, ethics, and compliance at the forefront of everything we do. The well-being of our employees, customers and communities is paramount to our culture and in the way we approach our work.

As a diverse, global team, we work together to solve some of the world’s most pressing challenges. We impact everyday lives through science only Lubrizol can deliver, and we never stop pushing to do it better.

One of the founding principles of The Lubrizol Corporation more than 90 years ago was treating every employee with dignity and respect. That same commitment is only stronger today.

More than that, we are committed to providing an environment where every employee can be the best they can be, no matter their race, color, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other characteristic.