Head of Supply Chain and Procurement

RBW is a contemporary lighting design and manufacturing studio leading the industry in LED fixtures for hospitality and workplace. Our purpose is to realize the unlimited potential of lighting. Through a collaborative process of exploration, discovery ,and improvement with our customers and partners, we craft thoughtful light fixtures. The Procurement Manager is responsible for leading, optimizing, and scaling RBW’s global procurement function to support business growth, operational excellence, and new product innovation. This role owns procurement strategy, supplier relationships, and sourcing execution to ensure maximum efficiency, effective use of systems and tools, and strong commercial outcomes. The Procurement Manager will secure competitive terms, strengthen strategic vendor partnerships, and drive continuous improvement across the supply base.

The Procurement Manager ensures the timely and cost-effective procurement of high-quality components to support production schedules and customer fulfillment. The role partners cross-functionally with Production, Innovation, Finance, Quality, and Sales & Marketing to enable on-time new product launches, manage supplier performance, and align sourcing strategies with overall business priorities.

The Procurement Manager will also drive cost, cash flow, and working capital optimization, mitigate supply chain risk, and ensure procurement processes support scalable operations. As a leader, this role is expected to develop procurement capabilities, elevate supplier performance, and position procurement as a strategic business partner across the organization.

While this role does not currently oversee direct reports, it is expected to play a key role in building the future procurement department as the business continues to grow. Over time, this may include partnering with leadership to define team structure, identify future hiring needs, support department growth, and eventually provide people leadership and management for procurement team members. Develop and execute a procurement and sourcing strategy aligned with company growth plans and the new product development roadmap.

Lead all RBW procurement activities for both OEM products and RBW production materials, ensuring quality, cost, quantity, and delivery requirements are met.

Lead contract negotiations, pricing agreements, and long-term vendor agreements to drive cost-reduction initiatives

Drive supplier consolidation to improve leverage, reduce complexity, and improve performance.

Identify, qualify, and onboard alternate and backup suppliers to reduce single-source risk.

Optimize payment terms and commercial structures to improve cash flow.

Own and optimize procurement system usage, including ERP, MRP, forecasting tools, and vendor portals.

Ensure master data accuracy for lead times, pricing, MOQ, pack sizes, and sourcing rules.

Implement and improve procurement workflows, approvals, and reporting processes.

Partner with IT to enhance ERP and related systems to streamline end-to-end order and procurement processes.

Partner with Production and Planning to ensure material availability, capacity alignment, and schedule adherence.

Ensure on-time execution of all NPD-related procurement activities and product launches.

Identify and mitigate supply chain risks including single-source, geopolitical, capacity, and quality risks.

Ensure compliance with company policies, ethical sourcing standards, and regulatory requirements.

Own contingency planning and supplier recovery strategies.

Partner with Quality on Non-Conforming Material Reports, defect reduction, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Act as a strategic business partner to Sales, Operations, Engineering, and Innovation.

Create and present metrics which highlight Procurement successes and performance.

Partner with leadership to evaluate future procurement department needs, including team structure, role clarity, hiring priorities, and scalable ways of working.

Support the growth of the procurement function over time, with the expectation that this role will eventually oversee, develop, and manage procurement team members as business needs evolve.

10+ years of progressive procurement, sourcing, supply chain, or vendor management experience, with at least 5 years in a procurement leadership or strategic sourcing role.

Deep understanding of end-to-end procurement, including sourcing strategy, supplier management, contract negotiation, purchasing operations, cost optimization, inventory planning, risk mitigation, and procurement systems.

Strong ERP/MRP system experience, ideally with NetSuite or a similar platform, and the ability to improve workflows, reporting, data accuracy, and system adoption.

Demonstrated success negotiating supplier agreements, pricing structures, payment terms, MOQs, lead times, and long-term vendor partnerships.

Strong financial and commercial acumen, including experience identifying cost savings, improving cash flow, supporting working capital goals, and understanding COGS drivers.

Experience supporting product development, product launches, or production ramp-up in partnership with cross-functional teams.

Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret procurement data, supplier performance trends, and business needs into clear recommendations.

Strong project management, prioritization, and follow-through skills, with the ability to manage competing priorities in a fast-paced, growing business.

Comfort using technology, systems, reporting tools, and AI-enabled solutions to improve efficiency, automate tasks, and strengthen procurement operations.

Leadership mindset with the ability to build trust, influence without authority, improve processes, and help shape a scalable procurement function.

Experience building, scaling, or transforming a procurement function is strongly preferred.

Prior people management experience, or demonstrated readiness to grow into direct people leadership as the procurement department expands, is preferred.

Global sourcing, multilingual proficiency, supplier compliance, sustainability, or B Corp-aligned procurement experience is a plus.

As a full-time employee you will be able to participate in our benefit package outlined below. You’ll also have access to awesome perks such as an on-site Fitness Space in our Kingston Factory, fully-stocked snacks and beverage options, great colleagues, and an open, collaborative team environment.

Health/Dental/Vision Insurance: effective 1st of the month following hire date; Flexible Spending Account (FSA) & Health Savings Account (HSA) options

Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Floating holiday

RBW Holidays: New Year's Day, Martin Luther King Day, Presidents’ Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day & Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, & additional Christmas Holiday (Christmas Eve, Boxing Day - varies year to year)

Profit-Sharing - 5-year vesting (20% a year, qualifies after the first year of employment) provided there is a strong and profitable year, the company gifts a portion of the profits to the employees in the form of a retirement contribution

Life/ADD insurance policy, with an option for voluntary additional coverage

Employer-paid short-term disability coverage

Monthly EV credit towards electric car charging on premises at Kingston Factory

90,000 - $130,000 USD per year (Kingston NY - Factory)

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