Operational Procurement Specialist

John Crane, a business of Smiths Group, is a global leader in mission-critical flow control solutions for energy and process industries that enable efficient and sustainable operations. Our products include mechanical seals and systems, couplings, bearings, filtration systems, and predictive digital monitoring technologies. 

We have a global network of more than 200 sites in over 50 countries and employ more than 6,000 people worldwide. We partner with our customers to help them keep their operations safe, reduce downtime, improve efficiency, and meet the latest environmental standards. 

John Crane is part of Smiths Group. For over 170 years, Smiths has been pioneering progress by engineering for a better future. We serve millions of people every year, helping to create a safer, more efficient, productive, and better-connected world across four global markets: energy, security & defence, space & aerospace, and general industrial. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, Smiths employs approximately 16,000 colleagues in over 50 countries. 

Responsible for procurement support to John Crane’s operational sites covering direct spend materials, components and subcontract services. Providing local sourcing and RFQ services, interfaces with local planning and operations teams and supplier troubleshooting.

This role will ideally be based in Pasadena, TX, but can be based in Morton Grove, IL

Key responsibilities include:

• To act as point of escalation for the Purchasing Shared Service (PSC) for supplier issues related to suppliers in their country or that service the operational base of the Operational Procurement Specialist.
• When required, to monitor and improve supplier performance :
• Liaise with external suppliers to expedite delivery where required to meet business needs
• Act as the point of contact/liaison between suppliers and internal stakeholders where required
• Track and manage supplier delivery performance to meet JC targets and requirements
• To support local operations and planning teams to expedite specific orders that are required toensure internal production is not impacted bysupplier performance
• When local sources of supply are required, within levels of delegated authority negotiates, and when not covered by the PSC team, toactively identify and deliver opportunities for costsavings, cost avoidance and improved cashmanagement through effective suppliernegotiation and /or supplier selection to improve bottom line company performance.
• Contribute to the Procurement savings targets(within local / country allowed mandates) KPIs and its mission and vision.

• 5–7+ years of procurement, supply chain, or supplier management experience preferred.
• Strong negotiation skills
• Ability to work cross-functionally with internal teams and suppliers
• Experience managing supplier relationships and driving performance improvements
• Strong communication skills
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience
• Spanish is a plus to support Mexico / LATAM suppliers
• Experience in industrial, manufacturing, or process environments preferred but not required
• Experience purchasing technical or direct materials is a plus but not required.
• Travel required approximately 10–20% based on business need.

With colleagues stretching across the globe, we are proud of our diversity. To foster inclusivity, we run employee resource groups (ERGs) to provide a safe space for employees to connect and support each other. Our cross-business ERGs include Veterans, Pride Network, Black Employee Network, View email address on click.appcast.io Network, and Neurodiversity. 

Across our company, we recognize excellence, culminating in the Smiths Excellence Awards, our annual celebration of the most extraordinary activities, people, and projects that best showcase our strengths and help drive our business forward. We announce these on our annual Smiths Day, a global celebration of Smiths around our network. 

Join us for a great career with competitive compensation and benefits, while helping engineer a better future. 

We believe that different perspectives and backgrounds are what make a company flourish. All qualified applicants will receive equal consideration for employment regardless of color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, economic status, disability, age, or any other legally protected characteristics. We are proud to be an inclusive company with values grounded in equality and ethics, where we celebrate, support, and embrace diversity.

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