What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director Strategic Sourcing - Indirect and Capex position at Freshpet?
Who We Are
At Freshpet, our goal is to change the way people nourish their pets forever. We strive to strengthen the bond between people and our pets so that we both live longer, healthier, and happier lives while being kind to the planet. We believe that if we can create fresh, real foods that pets love and help them live healthier lives, that their pet parents will also enjoy the many benefits of a rich life shared with a pet.
We started off with a mission to change the way pet parents feed dogs and cats, but we also wanted to be a company that had a thoughtful approach to how we operate. We wanted to do things differently, make great products but be gentle to the planet, good to the people who touch our business, and leave a positive impact with everything we do. We work hard every day to ensure that the original vision is met, starting with making the highest quality foods in our kitchens to running our business with integrity, transparency, and social and environmental responsibility. IT’S AMAZING WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU START COMPLETELY FRESH!
What You Will Do
As Director of Strategic Sourcing – Indirect and Capex, you will lead the development and execution of sourcing strategies across Indirect, MRO, Capex, and Services categories, driving significant cost savings, risk mitigation, and supplier performance for Freshpet.
You will serve as a trusted strategic partner to Plant Operations, Engineering, Marketing, and Facilities Management — translating business needs into sourcing strategies that support Freshpet's rapid growth. This role requires strong leadership, executive presence, and the ability to build lasting supplier and internal stakeholder relationships at all levels.
How You Will Make An Impact
Education Requirements
At Freshpet, we offer a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package, including medical, dental and vision insurance, basic and optional life insurance, short- and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts, and a 401(k) plan with company match, paid parental leave, pet insurance, tuition assistance, a generous PTO plan and so much more!
Our Commitment To a Diverse Workforce
At Freshpet, we embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, sex, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
Freshpet aims to foster, cultivate, and preserve a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our employees are our most valuable assets. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement as well. Freshpet is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas.
Freshpet is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Freshpet via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Freshpet. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Freshpet as a result of the referral or through other means.
At Freshpet, our goal is to change the way people nourish their pets forever. We strive to strengthen the bond between people and our pets so that we both live longer, healthier, and happier lives while being kind to the planet. We believe that if we can create fresh, real foods that pets love and help them live healthier lives, that their pet parents will also enjoy the many benefits of a rich life shared with a pet.
We started off with a mission to change the way pet parents feed dogs and cats, but we also wanted to be a company that had a thoughtful approach to how we operate. We wanted to do things differently, make great products but be gentle to the planet, good to the people who touch our business, and leave a positive impact with everything we do. We work hard every day to ensure that the original vision is met, starting with making the highest quality foods in our kitchens to running our business with integrity, transparency, and social and environmental responsibility. IT’S AMAZING WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN YOU START COMPLETELY FRESH!
What You Will Do
As Director of Strategic Sourcing – Indirect and Capex, you will lead the development and execution of sourcing strategies across Indirect, MRO, Capex, and Services categories, driving significant cost savings, risk mitigation, and supplier performance for Freshpet.
You will serve as a trusted strategic partner to Plant Operations, Engineering, Marketing, and Facilities Management — translating business needs into sourcing strategies that support Freshpet's rapid growth. This role requires strong leadership, executive presence, and the ability to build lasting supplier and internal stakeholder relationships at all levels.
How You Will Make An Impact
- Lead and mentor Freshpet’s indirect procurement team while developing, owning and executing a multi-year indirect and Capex sourcing strategy aligned to Freshpet’s growth and operational objectives.
- Serve as the procurement leader and strategic advisor to Plant Operations, Engineering, Marketing, and Facilities Management, owning cross-functional relationships and driving alignment between business needs and sourcing strategy
- Establish procurement project frameworks and governance standards, ensuring sourcing activities are executed on time, within scope, and aligned to stakeholder specifications and business requirements
- Present procurement performance, savings pipeline, and strategic recommendations to senior leadership, benchmarking results against external procurement best practices
- Run large scale negotiations (RFI, RFP, RFQ) from RFx development to full supplier selection and evaluation, including collaborative interactive procurement tools where appropriate.
- Evaluate risks, negotiate services, prices, and terms of contracts, and authorize purchases to obtain the best possible value while adhering to product specifications and business requirements.
- With Freshpet Legal support, own the development, negotiation, and execution of complex, high-value supplier agreements, ensuring contract terms proactively protect Freshpet's financial, operational, and legal interests across all indirect and Capex categories
Education Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in engineering, supply chain, business, or related field
- 8 years of experience in indirect/MRO sourcing required.
- Additional 3-5 years experience on large capital spend negotiations is preferred.
- Partner proactively with Finance and Engineering to understand capital planning, assess procurement impact of forecast changes, and ensure sourcing activities are positioned ahead of project timelines and budget requirements.
- Define, track, and report procurement KPIs including savings delivery, supplier performance, contract compliance, and sourcing cycle time — driving corrective action where performance falls below expectations and ensuring consistent, credible value reporting to senior leadership
- Deep expertise in indirect, MRO, and Capex category management across a complex, multi-site manufacturing environment
- Proven ability to develop and execute sourcing strategies that deliver measurable cost savings, risk mitigation, and supplier performance improvement
- Extensive experience leading complex, high-value negotiations including RFI, RFP, and RFQ processes with large-scale supplier agreements
- Strong financial acumen with the ability to partner with Finance and Engineering on capital planning, budget management, and savings tracking
- Demonstrated ability to influence and build alignment with senior stakeholders across functions and organizational levels
- Experience building and leading high-performing procurement teams, including coaching, development, and performance management
- Proficiency in eSourcing platforms, contract lifecycle management tools, and spend analytics software
- Ability to manage a broad portfolio of concurrent sourcing initiatives, balancing immediate business needs against long-term strategic objectives
- Deep understanding of capital project procurement processes, with the ability to establish and scale best practices, policies, and procedures
- Comfortable operating with autonomy and accountability in a fast-paced, high-growth environment where not all variables are within direct control
- Ability to quickly develop working knowledge of manufacturing equipment, technology, and operational processes to identify sourcing leverage opportunities
At Freshpet, we offer a competitive salary and an excellent benefits package, including medical, dental and vision insurance, basic and optional life insurance, short- and long-term disability protection, flexible spending accounts, and a 401(k) plan with company match, paid parental leave, pet insurance, tuition assistance, a generous PTO plan and so much more!
Our Commitment To a Diverse Workforce
At Freshpet, we embrace and encourage our employees’ differences in age, sex, color, disability, ethnicity, family or marital status, gender identity or expression, language, national origin, physical and mental ability, political affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, veteran status, and other characteristics that make our employees unique.
Freshpet aims to foster, cultivate, and preserve a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our employees are our most valuable assets. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but our reputation and company’s achievement as well. Freshpet is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
We are interested in every qualified candidate who is eligible to work in the United States. However, we are not able to sponsor visas.
Freshpet is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. Please, no phone calls or emails. All resumes submitted by search firms to any employee at Freshpet via-email, the Internet or in any form and/or method without a valid written search agreement in place for this position will be deemed the sole property of Freshpet. No fee will be paid in the event the candidate is hired by Freshpet as a result of the referral or through other means.