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Procurement Director - Aluminum & Direct Materials

Ardagh Group
Chicago, IL Full Time
POSTED ON 6/8/2026
AVAILABLE BEFORE 7/7/2026
Role Overview

The position holder is accountable for a spend worth ~$1.7bn for the North America region. The scope of the role covers all spend in the following categories: Aluminium Can sheet, ODM (Other Direct Materials) and has significant direct impact on the financial performance of the business unit through the delivery of end-to-end supply chain TCO projects and cash generation.

This role will be responsible for, collaboration with the global category teams, owning and implementing the sourcing and category management initiatives in the region, steering the internal stakeholder engagement, and owning the regional relationships / engagements with suppliers (e.g. SRM process and irrespective of the status of the supplier - Global / Regional)

This position will drive the implementation of business processes as per the collaboration model to facilitate the flow of information between the respective business units, project teams, suppliers and procurement.

The role reports to the Regional Procurement VP and will collaborate closely with the global category directors and provide leadership and direction to regional material planning specialists.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy Implementation/ Management

  • Accountable for implementing the regional pillar of the category strategy for Aluminium and ODM to deliver the cost, cash and sustainability KPIs
  • Own the regional implementation of key strategic category initiatives
  • Act as subject matter expert for the regional regulatory / sustainability framework and ensure compliance with an in-depth understanding of the regional category landscape.
  • Setup and govern effective regional commodity risk management and hedging processes.
  • Within the framework of the global category strategies, lead negotiations and tenders for regional category aspects.
  • Support development of category benchmarks, challenge and champion continuous improvement and value engineering
  • Ensure supply chain monitoring capabilities are developed to secure supply at the right cost and working capital.
  • Own the regional contract management for direct categories through effective deployment of all agreed terms and conditions and TCO initiatives.

Supplier Management

  • Own the regional relationships with direct material suppliers.
  • Setup quarterly SRM review and benchmarking process covering all cross-functional aspects of the supplier performance whilst ensuring business counterparts are equally engaged.
  • Timely implementation of pricing adjustments in conjunction with the supplier and relevant market indices
  • Continuously monitor and challenge the suppliers on TCO opportunities and value delivery

Team Management

  • Install optimised resources allocation and performance management according to business priorities
  • Lead by example in deploying the global/regional collaboration matrix
  • Promote a culture of knowledge sharing and encourage close liaison between regional procurement heads and category leads to improve the overall performance of the team

Internal Stakeholder Management

  • Ensure proper business partnering with other relevant functions such as Material Planning, Manufacturing, Technical, Quality, & Global Category Directors.
  • Actively drive and enlist business partnering support for Procurement initiatives
  • Clearly articulate implications of changes in category landscape towards internal business stakeholders
  • Master change management for the business unit through concise execution and communication
  • Ensure relevant and effective performance-tracking measures are in place
  • Identify and report on business risk and opportunities and procurement performance

General

  • Demonstrate engagement towards the Ardagh core values “trust, teamwork & Excellence” through upholding our standards of business conduct, leading by example, compliance with Group policies & procedures and ways of working
  • Promote and establish a working environment that embraces the importance of employees acting ethically as well as with integrity, to meet the business objectives in congruence Ardagh’s Code of Conduct.
  • Install the group’s key internal controls for the region and guarantee the execution thereof

Key Deliverables

  • Successfully deploy within region, the category strategies for all direct materials to strengthen the organisation’s competitiveness, sustainability compliance and the fit-for purpose product portfolio
  • Drive Sustainability through the installation, measurement, and monitoring of SBTi’s for the direct materials in close collaboration with the supplier base
  • Manage and benchmark supplier performance on continuity, contingency, quality, service, value and financials.
  • Identify, quantify, and deliver opportunities and levers for value optimisation and sustainability targets in collaboration with sales, finance, treasury, quality and operations.
  • Own (part of the) internal and external commodity risk management process for the region
  • Implement solutions for transformational value creation as captured in the category strategies and the contractual terms and conditions with the suppliers.
  • Provide clear Real Time (RT) visibility and forecasting(dashboards) on price and working capital variances (actual vs budget) of the direct material categories.
  • Provide clear Real Time (RT) visibility (dashboards) on volume variance (actual vs contract) and stock development of the direct material categories.
  • Install, develop and coach a high-performant regional direct-procurement team into an engaged integral part of the organisation with core skills such as TCO-management, SRM, compliance, sustainability, Market Intelligence, commodity management, cost-modelling, benchmarking, risk analysis and mitigation…)
  • Onboard and carve out focussed SMART targets backing the business goals for cascading into the respective team functions

Required Qualifications

  • University degree; Master's degree preferred
  • A minimum of 10 years work experience in procurement, category management and/or supply chain, ideally at leading multinationals.
  • Experienced in ideation and delivery of procurement initiatives addressing technical, financial and sustainability advancements
  • Track record of delivering value from strategic frameworks and contract management through internal and external partners
  • Strong leadership skills with experience of direct line management
  • Skilled in managing a geographically dispersed team
  • Proven ability to work in a cross-functional team in a multicultural organisation

Core Competencies / Skills

  • Solid financial market and business acumen
  • Proven negotiation skills
  • Experience in using sourcing optimization technology
  • Experience in sourcing of direct materials
  • Advanced stakeholder management and project execution skills
  • Effective communication and influencing skills, ability to convince and persuade others
  • Ability to think globally and act locally, combined with strategic direction and flawless operational execution
  • Align on targets and translate these into SMART KPI’s
  • Strong result-oriented mindset and ownership
  • High resilience and ability to prioritise in a constraint environment with regards to demands and workload
  • Fluency in English
  • Key Ardagh behavioural skills: Change leader, customer oriented, target-driven, cross-collaborative, building high-performant teams, & lead by example

Ardagh Metal Packaging is a leading global supplier of sustainable, infinitely recyclable metal beverage cans to brand owners. A subsidiary of sustainable packaging business Ardagh Group and a leading industry metal packaging company, Ardagh Metal Packaging employs more than 6,300 people across Europe, North America and Brazil, with sales of approximately $4.7 billion.

Ardagh Metal Packaging believes that the success of our business depends on the success of our people. We strive to create working environments where our employees feel valued and can work to their full potential. We offer exciting and rewarding opportunities for talented and creative people. If you have ambition and want to make an impact with your career, come and join our team - you’ll enjoy the journey!

Ardagh Metal Packaging - North America has been and will continue to be an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breast feeding, and related conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, race, creed, religion (including religious dress and grooming), color, national origin, ancestry (including association, affiliation, or participation with persons or activities related to national origin, English-proficiency or accent, or immigration status), physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital or domestic partner status, age, veteran or military status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state, or local law. Discrimination against any employee or applicant based on any of these factors is prohibited.

The anticipated base annual salary range for this role is between $136,900.00 and $205,300.00 per year. This role is bonus eligible. The bonus incentive program is based on the company meeting or exceeding certain targets. Please note that the salary range provided is a good faith estimate and is only applicable for roles that are based out of Illinois. The final salary will be determined after considering relevant factors, including, but not limited to, a candidate’s qualifications, experience, and work location, where appropriate.

Benefits Offered

  • Medical, prescription, dental and vision plans
  • Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA)
  • Life insurance
  • 401(k) retirement plan with company match
  • Paid holidays and vacation
  • Short- and Long-Term Disability (STD/LTD)
  • Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
  • Apprenticeship programs
  • Professional and personal development opportunities through Employee Resource Groups

Please note the compensation and benefits information above is accurate as of the date of this posting. Ardagh reserves the right to modify this information at any time in accordance with applicable law.

Salary : $136,900 - $205,300

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