The Company
Empire Auto Parts is a leading provider of aftermarket collision parts to independent body shops, multi-shop operators, and dealer-operated body shops throughout the New England, Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast regions. Empire serves customers in a 16-state region via a strategic network of 6 hubs and 27 satellite locations with a differentiated product offering of over 40k SKUs for nearly 800 automotive makes and models. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Totowa, NJ, the company employs over 650 people. Empire is backed by Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm with significant industry expertise in the vehicle aftermarket segment.
The Role
Empire seeks to hire a Vice President Procurement to improve strategic and tactical procurement capabilities and deliver on growth and operational strategies. The VP will have commercial responsibility for the company’s entire portfolio of direct spend. Under this key leader, the company will achieve optimal value from spend while balancing and enhancing other requirements, such as quality, service, inventory availability, delivery, and security of supply. The VP will evolve the existing infrastructure of processes, policies, technology, personnel, and expertise. The VP will oversee day-to-day order processing, domestic freight and drayage, item maintenance, and vendor claims processing. Additionally, the VP will oversee procurement of inventory to directly support new hub and satellite expansions. The VP of Procurement will work alongside the SVP of Vendor Management and Overseas Freight to create and maintain successful, beneficial relationships with company auto parts and ocean freight vendors, as well as support product management, quality, and pricing efforts. The role reports to the CEO, leads a team of six, and is based at company headquarters in Totowa, NJ.
Experience & Requirements
• 12+ years of professional procurement experience in distribution organizations (preferably with experience in automotive parts) with well-respected procurement functions, including 5+ years leading teams.
• Expert understanding of procurement operations and related policies, processes, procedures, and systems. Strong understanding of inventory management, warehousing, and control policies, processes, procedures, and systems.
• Strong financial, quantitative, and analytical skills; experience with business and supplier performance reporting
• Ability to create and execute a procurement function vision, as well as an ability to work within larger organizational objectives.
• Experience with overseas sourcing, especially Taiwan and China.
• Demonstrated success leading cross-functional project teams and influencing others through both direct and indirect networks. Self-reliant, hands-on leader, adept at working across the organization to drive change through action and influence.
• Strong orientation to team leadership, coaching, collaboration, and positive communication. Experience attracting, developing, and retaining high-performing teams.
• A flexible, dynamic, self-demanding, and proactive individual; able to motivate him/herself and others; a natural bias for action and ability to deal with ambiguity.
• Excellent communication skills, including written, verbal and presentation skills; comfortable and credible with both internal stakeholders and external audiences.
