Sourcing Director

928721

Location
Ayutthaya
Salary
Competitive

Expertise and Skill Tags

Procurement & Purchasing

Our client is a fast-growing international food company with decades of heritage in processed meat and plant-based food products, now establishing its APAC headquarters in Thailand. The company is building a founding leadership team to drive regional sourcing, quality, and operational strategy.

Reporting directly to the CEO, the Sourcing Director will independently identify, evaluate, and qualify new suppliers of raw food ingredients and packaging materials across APAC, delivering meaningful cost savings against the company's current European and US supply base. 

This is a sourcing role focused on supplier discovery through to first purchase, after which ongoing relationships are handed to procurement teams. It is a founding hire building the function from scratch, with potential to grow a team as the business scales.

Key Responsibilities

  • Scout and identify alternative suppliers for raw food ingredients including soy protein isolates, flavours, oils, and starches, as well as packaging materials across China, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and broader APAC
  • Attend industry trade shows and exhibitions to discover new supplier opportunities
  • Conduct factory visits and initial supplier assessments before escalating to QA for formal audit
  • Build and maintain a pipeline of qualified, cost-competitive suppliers
  • Coordinate with QA to understand specifications, food safety requirements, and quality standards before initiating supplier engagement
  • Manage the sample procurement and lab testing process for new ingredients
  • Negotiate pricing, MOQs, and initial commercial terms with prospective suppliers
  • Execute the full sourcing cycle through to first purchase, then hand off to procurement
  • Benchmark APAC-sourced alternatives against current European and US pricing to quantify savings opportunities
  • Report directly to the CEO on sourcing pipeline, savings delivered, and supplier quality status
  • Provide transparent and detailed documentation on all supplier interactions, pricing, and commercial terms
  • Deliver quantifiable cost savings targets on priority ingredient categories within the first 12 months
  • Work closely with QA teams across the group to ensure all sourced materials meet company-specific food safety standards
  • Coordinate with plant operations on material requirements, lead times, and logistics
  • Provide APAC market intelligence and supplier alternatives to support the group's existing procurement needs

Requirements

  • Bachelor's degree in Food Science, Supply Chain, Business, or a related field
  • 8 to 10 or more years of experience in food ingredient sourcing, procurement, or supply chain within food manufacturing
  • Demonstrated experience sourcing raw materials from China including factory assessment and negotiation
  • Strong understanding of food ingredient specifications including proteins, flavours, functional ingredients, and packaging materials
  • Ability to read and interpret food specification documents
  • Familiarity with food safety certification frameworks such as BRC, IFS, or FSSC 22000
  • Experience in food manufacturing across processed meat, plant-based food, alternative protein, or RTE and RTC categories is preferred
  • Experience in OEM or contract manufacturing environments is an advantage
  • Familiarity with European food safety import requirements is advantageous
  • Food safety or supply chain certifications are preferred but not required
  • Fluent in English, both written and spoken; Mandarin Chinese proficiency at conversational to business level is strongly preferred

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