Head of Sourcing & Resilience at Ultra in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England, UK

Job description

• Lead Eaton's strategic sourcing, supplier performance and supply chain resilience activities, ensuring the business has a competitive, capable and resilient supply base aligned to customer commitments, operational requirements and future growth.
• As a member of the Supply Chain Leadership Team, the role is accountable for sourcing strategy, supplier performance, risk mitigation, inventory optimisation and organisational capability across the supply chain.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies across electronics, PCBAs, mechanical commodities, indirect procurement and new programmes.
• Lead supplier selection, contract negotiations and strategic supplier partnerships.
• Deliver cost competitiveness through value engineering, supplier development and total cost of ownership improvements.
• Support make-versus-buy decisions and supplier footprint optimisation.
• Ensure sourcing decisions balance cost, quality, delivery, inventory and risk.
• Own the site's supply chain resilience strategy and supplier risk governance framework.
• Maintain visibility of supplier financial health, capacity, business continuity, geopolitical exposure, cybersecurity and material availability risks.
• Lead reviews of all sole-source and single-source components, ensuring mitigation plans are in place and actively managed.
• Drive risk reduction through dual sourcing, supplier diversification, inventory buffering, long-term agreements and alternative technology solutions.
• Partner with Engineering and Quality to eliminate sole-source dependencies through redesign, requalification and standardisation initiatives.
• Lead supplier recovery and escalation activities where delivery, quality or capacity threaten customer commitments.
• Ensure continuity plans exist for critical suppliers, materials and technologies.
• Lead strategic supplier reviews and performance improvement activities.
• Improve supplier delivery, quality, responsiveness and capacity readiness.
• Sponsor supplier development and continuous improvement programmes.
• Support bids, new product introductions and programme launch through early supplier engagement and readiness reviews.
• Leverage supplier capability to improve affordability, manufacturability and programme execution.
• Develop inventory strategies that balance resilience, customer service and working capital.
• Improve inventory turns through lead-time reduction, supplier flexibility and planning alignment.
• Reduce excess and obsolete inventory through proactive lifecycle management and supplier engagement.
• Build and develop a high-performing sourcing organisation.
• Drive succession planning, capability development and employee engagement.
• Promote a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement.
• Contribute actively to Supply Chain Leadership Team priorities and site objectives.

Requirements

• Skills & Experience
• Leadership experience within aerospace, defence or a similarly regulated manufacturing environment.
• Strong background in strategic sourcing, supplier management and category leadership.
• Experience managing supplier risk, resilience and business continuity programmes.
• Demonstrated success reducing sole-source dependency and improving supplier performance.
• Strong commercial, contractual and stakeholder management capability.
• Proven track record of building and leading high-performing teams.
• Degree qualified in Supply Chain, Engineering, Manufacturing or Business.
• MCIPS or equivalent professional qualification.
• Knowledge of AS9100, aerospace quality requirements and export controls.
• Experience supporting New Product Introduction and complex programme environments.

Skills

Required

• Leadership
• Strategic sourcing
• Supplier management
• Category leadership
• Supplier risk management
• Reducing sole-source dependency
• Improving supplier performance
• Commercial capability
• Contractual capability
• Stakeholder management

Preferred

• Knowledge of AS9100
• Aerospace quality requirements
• Export controls