The Associate Director, Procurement - Chemicals

About the role

The Associate Director, Procurement - Chemicals will partner closely with Operations, R&D, Finance, Supply Chain, and Commercial leadership to drive value across cost, cash, supply resilience, and innovation. This role will lead supplier portfolio strategy, oversee complex negotiations, and leverage market intelligence, advanced analytics, and AI-enabled tools to guide strategic procurement decisions. In addition, this leader will play a critical role in developing procurement talent and strengthening enterprise procurement capabilities. Work Environment Hybrid: The role will be based in Ewing, NJ and requires in-person attendance on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, with remote work options on Mondays and Fridays. Travel: Approximately 25-30% travel required across the United States. Role Accountabilities and Responsibilities Define and lead multi-year category strategies for chemicals and raw materials, balancing cost competitiveness, supply assurance, risk mitigation, and innovation. Serve as the senior procurement lead for Chemicals, providing strategic guidance and decision support to business and functional leadership. Lead supplier portfolio strategy, including supplier segmentation, relationship management, and long-term collaboration with critical and strategic suppliers. Oversee and guide complex, high-value negotiations and commercial agreements, ensuring alignment with long-term value creation objectives. Drive enterprise value creation across cost savings, cash flow improvement, and margin enhancement. Monitor and interpret commodity, feedstock, energy, regulatory, and geopolitical trends, translating market intelligence into category strategies, risk assessments, and executive-level recommendations. Lead scenario planning and forward-looking analyses to proactively manage supply risk and market volatility. Champion the use of advanced analytics and AI-enabled tools to improve spend visibility, should-cost modeling, negotiation effectiveness, and scenario analysis. Ensure consistent execution of procurement governance, controls, and performance management across the Chemicals portfolio. Represent Procurement in enterprise forums such as S&OP, supply resilience reviews, innovation discussions, and portfolio prioritization. Lead, coach, and develop senior procurement talent, including Senior Managers and Category Leaders, building future leadership bench strength. Establish expectations and standards for strategic thinking, market fluency, and enterprise mindset across the Chemicals procurement organization. Education and Experience Required Qualifications: Bachelor's degree required. 7+ years of progressive experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, or Category Management. Experience in direct chemicals and/or raw materials procurement, including strong understanding of commodity markets and supplier ecosystems. Experience leading complex negotiations and enterprise-level procurement initiatives. Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry experience. Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite. Experience with SAP required; Power BI preferred. Demonstrated understanding of artificial intelligence tools, including the ability to leverage platforms such as ChatGPT or Copilot to support business insights and analysis.