The Director Procurement will take the lead on multiple aspects of the end-to-end procurement process supporting the goals of encouraging diverse and competitive sourcing, maximizing cost savings, ensuring appropriate risk management practices are followed and strengthening relations with both internal teams and vendors. Responsible for developing and executing procurement strategies across domestic and international transportation, including air, ocean, ground, specialized logistics, and mission-critical operations.  Work closely with executive leadership, sales, operations, and our global network to strengthen ICAT's purchasing power, expand capacity, and support long-term growth. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy supporting government contractors, defense manufacturers, and U.S. government logistics programs. 
• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with airlines, ocean carriers, trucking companies, charter operators, specialized transportation providers, and global logistics partners. 
• Lead procurement initiatives for specialized transportation, including heavy haul, oversized cargo, hazardous materials, AA&E, secure transportation, and time-sensitive shipments. 
• Ensure procurement practices align with applicable government contracting requirements, including FAR/DFARS, ITAR, U.S. flag requirements, and other relevant regulations. 
• Leverage knowledge to identify sourcing opportunities, drive supplier negotiations, and implement cost-saving initiatives 
• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with key vendors and suppliers, ensuring optimal performance and alignment with business objectives 
• Streamline procurement processes for spend, implementing best practices and leveraging technology to enhance efficiency 
• Standardize domestic or international procurement procedures within platforms (WebCargo/7L/WT/CW/Power BI) across enterprise to ensure consistency and compliance by all operators through training and user adoption adherence as follows where applicable:
• Develop and conduct comprehensive training programs for station leadership and operations to drive consistent and effective use of procurement platforms and 3rd party vendor websites for air, ocean, domestic carriers
• Provide ongoing support, addressing operational challenges and ensuring user proficiency and satisfaction.
• Continuously analyze procurement activities performed to identify areas for operational improvements.
• Recommend and implement process improvements, leveraging best practices for local procurement activities
• Utilize Project Management Tools (Monday.com) for planning and initiative reporting
• Responsible for International Partner Procurement, tariff rate management, platform management, and updates for regular trade lanes
• Identify risks within the supply chain and develop strategies to mitigate these risks, ensuring compliance with internal policies and external regulations 
• Collaborate with stakeholders across companies and departments to understand their procurement needs and ensure alignment with overall organizational objectives 
• Stay abreast of market trends and supplier innovations to develop sourcing strategies and enhance procurement effectiveness 
• Develop and present procurement performance metrics and reports to senior?management 
• Interact with third party agents both domestic and international 
• Set up KPI’s for agents and provide ranking based on cost, service, efficiencies, etc. 
• Send KPI’s to Operations and Sales team to optimize on billing 
• Establish a bidding process, reviewing and negotiating rates for the company. 
• Manage special projects regarding pricing and uploading into systems 
• Manage service failures by third parties and related course of action 
• Create special authorization protocols for accessorial charges, while creating SOP’s internally for capturing activity and cost. 
• Continually develop procurement expertise across the organization Set up a process of review for all contracts, supplies and suppliers ensuring that maximum value for money benefits is achieved through supplier rationalization and developing an approved supplier list 
• Establish new vendors for difficult geographical locations. 
• Perform root cause analysis for different clients. 
• Monitor trends in supplier and contract base and propose/implement plans to respond to such trends  
• other duties, as assigned

Qualifications & Skill Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree preferred 
• 8+ years of experience in procurement experience preferably in transportation and/or freight forwarding 
• 5+ years of leading others 
• Established relationships across the domestic and international transportation industry. 
• Experience supporting U.S. government agencies, defense contractors, or major government logistics programs. 
• Strong understanding of transportation pricing, carrier contracting, supplier negotiations, and procurement analytics. 
• Experience with specialized, secure, and mission-critical logistics operations. 
• Familiarity with government transportation regulations and contracting requirements. 
• Proven track record of building relationships and gaining credibility with customers and vendors
• Expert in negotiating rates with trucking companies, carriers, and overseas partners, etc. 
• Knowledge of international and domestic geography, including countries & major cities
• Proven analytical and problem-solving skills in a logistics environment
• Intermediate skills with Microsoft Office products

Key Competencies

• Proven ability to lead, mentor, and share knowledge with team members 
• Fosters accountability and commitment from the team to achieve department goals 
• Ability to plan and effectively set priorities for implementation 
• Proven analytic and problem-solving skills in a time-sensitive, logistics environment
• Excels at meeting deadlines and demonstrates superior time management skills
• Natural ability to multi-task in a fast-paced work setting with a strong attention to detail 
• Superior communication skills and an ability to motivate people with an emphasis on listening skills
• Ability to relate to and successfully interact across a variety of settings and work well with a broad and diverse workforce throughout the organization
• Demonstrates ability to work in a client-centric setting 
• Ability to be flexible as priorities shift 
• Consistent in follow-up and follow-through
• Highly motivated team player with an outgoing and positive work attitude
• Credible with a high level of personal integrity
• Adaptive to ICAT’s core values 

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

• Most work is performed indoors in an office setting 
• Flexible approach to work, due to clients’ needs and project support requirements
• Regularly use hands to type, handle, or feel
• Required to use close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, depth perception and can focus
• Must have clear, easy to understand oral communication ability
• Ability to sit for prolonged periods. May occasionally need to stoop, climb, or squat

Supervisory Responsibilities: Yes

• Direct supervision and accountability of staff
• Support team in setting and achieving goals and performance objectives
• Coach and mentor team members
• Identify department training requirements and conduct training, as needed
• Hold regular individual 1x1 and team meetings
• Clearly communicate department and individual initiatives/goals
• Develop, monitor, and review regularly metrics and goals with team members
• Conduct performance appraisals; provide rewards and execute disciplinary actions/workplace solutions for department staff
• Accountable for recruiting and hiring process for new hire requirements
• Maintain an environment that allows the team to be part of ICAT’s overarching goals and mission

Travel Requirement: Yes, up to 25%

Salary Range:  $113,220 - $133,200

Location: Remote

Notice of AI Use in Job Application Review

As part of our commitment in creating a fair, efficient, and consistent hiring process we may use artificial intelligence (AI) to help our recruiting teams organize, summarize, and analyze information provided by candidates, including resumes, application responses, and other materials submitted during the application process.AI may be used to identify patterns, highlight relevant skills, and experience, and assist in comparing a candidate’s qualifications with the requirement of a specific role. These tools are to improve efficiency and consistency while supporting more informed hiring decisions, which will ultimately be made by the hiring team.