Director - Procurement

Job Description:

The Director Procurement will champion and lead SolarSquare's end-to-end procurement and strategic sourcing vision, ensuring the availability of high-quality materials, services, and strategic partnerships to support our fast-growing business.

The role will be responsible for driving sourcing excellence, supply chain resilience, supplier development, pioneering cost optimization, sophisticated contract management, procurement governance, and supply assurance across all direct and indirect categories.

This is a strategic leadership role requiring a balance of commercial acumen, operational excellence, supplier relationship management, and cross-functional collaboration to build a scalable procurement organization.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Procurement Strategy:

- Define and execute the company's procurement strategy aligned with business growth objectives.

- Develop category strategies for direct and indirect procurement.

- Build a resilient supplier ecosystem capable of supporting rapid business expansion.

- Establish procurement policies, governance frameworks, and best practices.

2. Strategic Sourcing & Vendor Management:

- Deepen strategic relationship-building at the executive level with top-tier (Tier 1) domestic and international (as applicable) solar panel, inverter, and mounting system manufacturers to secure competitive supply commitments in a supply-constrained environment.

- Lead strategic sourcing initiatives across key procurement categories including:

1. Solar Modules

2. Inverters

3. Mounting Structures

4. Electrical BOS Components

5. Cables & Connectors

6. Batteries & Energy Storage Solutions

7. Installation Materials

8. Logistics & Warehousing

9. Technology, Facilities, Marketing, and Corporate Services

- Identify, evaluate, onboard, and develop strategic supplier partnerships.

- Drive supplier performance management through defined scorecards and periodic reviews.

- Build contingency sourcing strategies to mitigate supply risks.

3. Cost Optimization & Commercial Excellence:

- Develop and track key procurement performance indicators (KPIs) including Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), supplier performance against scorecards, procurement-driven savings, and inventory turnover.

- Lead commercial negotiations with domestic and international suppliers.

- Drive year-on-year cost reduction initiatives without compromising quality or service.

- Develop should-cost models and benchmarking mechanisms.

- Improve procurement efficiency through strategic buying, volume leverage, and long-term contracts.

- Monitor commodity price movements and proactively manage cost risks.

4. Contract Management:

- Own commercial contracting and supplier agreements.

- Ensure compliance with legal, finance, and procurement policies.

- Mitigate contractual, commercial, and operational risks.

- Lead contract renewals and performance reviews.

5. Supply Continuity & Inventory Optimization:

- Improve procurement planning based on dynamic, geographically-dispersed demand forecasts for the D2C market.

- Minimize stock-outs at the local/warehouse level while optimizing inventory levels and working capital.

- Partner with Supply Chain and Planning teams to ensure uninterrupted material availability.

- Improve procurement planning based on demand forecasts.

- Minimize stock-outs while optimizing inventory levels and working capital.

- Develop supplier capacity plans for business expansion.

6. Cross-functional Collaboration:

- Collaborate closely with Supply Chain & Planning, Manufacturing & Operations, Installation & Project Delivery, Finance, Product & Engineering, Quality, Legal, and Sales Leadership to ensure procurement supports business priorities and customer commitments.

7. Procurement Operations & Governance:

- Build scalable procurement processes and SOPs.

- Drive automation and digitization of procurement workflows.

- Strengthen ERP adoption and procurement analytics.

- Ensure compliance with internal controls and audit requirements.

- Establish procurement dashboards and business reviews.

8. Leadership & Team Development:

- Build, mentor, and lead a high-performing procurement organization.

- Develop future procurement leaders through coaching and structured development.

- Foster a culture of ownership, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.