Purchasing Supervisor

Work Schedule

Standard (Mon-Fri)

Environmental Conditions

Office

Job Description

When you’re part of the team at Thermo Fisher Scientific, you’ll do meaningful work, that makes a positive impact on a global scale! Join 130,000 colleagues who bring our Mission to life every single day to enable our customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. You’ll find the resources here to achieve your career goals and help take science a step beyond by developing solutions for some of the world’s toughest challenges. This includes protecting the environment, making sure our food is safe, and helping find cures for cancer.

How will you make an impact?
The Procurement Supervisor is responsible for leading and overseeing end-to-end procurement activities across an assigned material portfolio. This role supervises a team of Procurement Specialists  and is accountable for portfolio-level cost performance, supplier governance, and supply continuity.  The position ensures execution alignment with regional procurement strategy and enterprise standards while driving operational excellence across assigned scope.

What will you do? 

Portfolio Oversight & Performance Accountability
•    Oversee end-to-end procurement execution across assigned team portfolio.
•    Ensure uninterrupted material supply aligned with production and project requirements.
•    Monitor and drive portfolio-level KPIs including cost performance, on-time delivery (OTIF), lead time adherence, and inventory impact.
•    Approve supplier selection and commercial terms beyond Band 5 delegated authority.
•    Lead resolution of complex supply disruptions and commercial disputes.
•    Ensure compliance with Enterprise Procurement, Supplier Quality, and Supplier Risk processes.

Financial & Sourcing Accountability
•    Own portfolio-level cost and savings targets.
•    Lead sourcing initiatives for high-value or high-complexity materials.
•    Approve negotiation strategies and commercial approaches.
•    Provide consolidated portfolio reporting and financial impact analysis.
•    Support make-versus-buy and footprint initiatives in coordination with regional leadership.

Supplier Governance & Risk Management
•    Oversee supplier performance management and corrective action processes.
•    Define and implement mitigation strategies for capacity, geopolitical, and continuity risks.
•    Evaluate supplier financial and operational risk exposure.
•    Ensure coordination and governance of international supplier base.
People Leadership & Development
•    Directly supervise and develop a team of Procurement Specialists (Band 5).
•    Allocate workload and prioritize activities across portfolio.
•    Establish performance expectations aligned with procurement KPIs.
•    Conduct performance evaluations and support development planning.
•    Coach team members on negotiation, supplier evaluation, and risk management.

Cross-Functional & Regional Alignment
•    Serve as primary procurement escalation point for Operations, Engineering, R&D, and Finance.
•    Translate regional procurement direction into actionable execution plans.
•    Ensure alignment between Costa Rica operations and US-based leadership.
•    Support regional procurement governance and reporting requirements.

How will you get here? 

Education:
•    Bachelor’s degree required (Supply Chain, Business, Engineering, Chemistry, or related field preferred).
•    Professional procurement certification (e.g., CPSM, APICS) preferred.

Experience:
•    Minimum 5 years of progressive procurement or supply chain experience.
•    Demonstrated experience managing end-to-end procurement in a direct materials environment.
•    Prior supervisory or team leadership experience required.
•    Experience managing international suppliers.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
•    Knowledge of chemical raw materials and global chemical supply base preferred.
•    Familiarity with ERP systems (e.g., Oracle).
•    Fluency in English (written and verbal) required. Spanish proficiency preferred
•    Advanced commercial and negotiation capability.
•    Strong financial and analytical acumen.
•    Ability to manage aggregated spend portfolio and savings accountability.
•    Experience leading sourcing initiatives and supplier transitions.
•    Ability to assess and mitigate multi-variable supply risks.
•    Strong leadership and stakeholder management skills.
•    Ability to operate effectively in a global, matrixed organization.