Job Description

OVERVIEW:

Western Digital is ~ $20 Billion dollar Fortune 200 company, with over 50 years of experience in the Storage industry. The Vice President, Procurement role is key to its success and with procurement spend over a $6 Billion dollars, the strategic impact of this business function is significant & requires innovation to be successful. This position reports to Senior Vice President Global Operations.

Urgency, Accountability & Transparency is the motto in Operations & is an underpinning to our philosophy.

THE ROLE

Based in San Jose Bay area, and reporting directly to the SVP Global Operations, the mission of the Chief Procurement Officer is to support the businesses in adding value and reducing costs by being excellent in procurement strategy development and implementation, supply based management, supplier relationship management and transactional procurement processes.

With direct responsibility for the Western Digital’s general purchasing organization, this senior executive is expected to strengthen the global Purchasing organization and its capabilities to become an indispensable business partner on innovation and cost initiatives.

This executive will develop long term sourcing strategies and actionable steps to improve operational performance, while ensuring best purchasing value and competitive advantage through the purchasing of capital, direct and indirect materials and services to support Wester Digital businesses worldwide.  

Key areas of responsibility for this executive include the following:

• Lead all categories within our procurement structure: Non-Product Related, HDD & Flash
• Ensure continuous delivery of double digit annual purchasing savings through aggressive cost innovation
• Drive spend leverage for select direct material to significantly higher savings
• Responsible for global talent management
• Provide thought leadership and vision to support the organizational objectives
• Seen as a key strategic partner across all functions within the business

SPECIFIC ACCOUNTABILITIES ARE:_ _

Purchasing Organization

• Act as the senior executive supplier contact point
• Responsible for the E2E Purchasing processes (systems, policies and processes, P2P )
• Responsible for cross business commodity coordination as required
• Align Business Groups around the supplier strategy and supply base consolidation
• Develop/implement Purchasing outsourcing strategy

Optimize Purchasing performance

• Ensure the optimum Purchasing performance to achieve quality, cost, timing, environmental, safety, sustainability and technology requirements in line with business objectives
• Deliver committed Key Performance Indicators on e.g. savings and DPO
• Roll out global materials forecasts and drive material lead-time reduction programs
• Rationalize the supply base
• Implement stringent procedures on supplier quality assurance and track progress

Develop Purchasing organization

• Drive a transition to a new organizational model
• Drive the implementation of Purchasing Contract Management, aligning processes, master data management and negotiation time schedules
• Improve knowledge management and contract templates
• Continue enhancing the skill sets of the Purchasing organization
• Coach and develop key individuals
• Lead the cross sector Purchasing talent process

Qualifications

Candidate Profile

The successful candidate will be a proven, world-class global Purchasing leader who possesses all of the following experience and competencies:

Experienced CPO

This individual will have at least 15 years of experience in Purchasing, BPO and supply chain, and ideally will have already served as the top Purchasing executive for a global semiconductor  company with annual revenues over $2 billion for at least three years’ time. With a proven track record of forming win-win partnerships with suppliers, this executive should bring both a strategic and ‘hands on’ mindset and a proven track record in change management.

Global experience

A globally-minded leader, this executive will be at home doing business across Europe, the Americas and Asia. This person will be comfortable with diverse teams of people and should be culturally attuned to succeeding in a complex global environment.  

_Business acumen _

Must have the strategic capability to devise short- and long- term Purchasing strategies, balanced by the operational capability to implement them.  It is critical that this individual has strong general business acumen and can play a key role on the broader senior leadership team.  This executive must also be highly analytical, process-driven and results-oriented, with a bias for action.

Executing for results

The successful candidate will be a leader for change in Purchasing strategy and process and must be capable of creating a sense of urgency. This individual must have the ability to break down complex problems, systematically identify causes and develop solutions.  This includes an ability to adapt to altering situations, to persist despite setbacks, and to get things done.

Leading teams

This executive must be a motivational leader who engages the team through enthusiasm and excitement about the business. The successful candidate will be expected to recruit and retain highly talented individuals and manage in a challenging highly global environment and also have the attributes of a mentor or teacher who can develop a performance-oriented team and build a strong bench of talent.

Strong Communicator/Influencer

This individual must be highly collaborative and able to work effectively outside the sphere of direct influence, have strong leadership skills and be able to communicate clearly with a wide range of constituents in a highly matrix organization. In addition, the newly to be appointed CPO must have a sharp business mind and be capable of interacting with senior leaders throughout the company to ensure credibility and collaboration between the Purchasing organization and the business and have a reputation for unimpeachable integrity.

Additional Information

Western Digital is committed to providing equal opportunities to all applicants and employees and will not discriminate based on their race, color, ancestry, religion (including religious dress and grooming standards), sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), gender (including a person’s gender identity, gender expression, and gender-related appearance and behavior, whether or not stereotypically associated with the person’s assigned sex at birth), age, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, marital status (including domestic partnership status), physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, protected medical and family care leave, Civil Air Patrol status, military and veteran status, or other legally protected characteristics. We also prohibit harassment of any individual on any of the characteristics listed above. Our non-discrimination policy applies to all aspects of employment. We comply with the laws and regulations set forth in the Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law poster.

Western Digital thrives on the power and potential of diversity. As a global company, we believe the most effective way to embrace the diversity of our customers and communities is to mirror it from within. We believe the fusion of various perspectives results in the best outcomes for our employees, our company, our customers, and the world around us. We are committed to an inclusive environment where every individual can thrive through a sense of belonging, respect and contribution.

Western Digital is committed to offering opportunities to applicants with disabilities and ensuring all candidates can successfully navigate our careers website and our hiring process. Please contact us at staffingsupport@wdc.com to advise us of your accommodation request. In your email, please include a description of the specific accommodation you are requesting as well as the job title and requisition number of the position for which you are applying.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS DETAILS

• An employee’s pay position within the salary range may be based on several factors including but not limited to (1) relevant education; qualifications; certifications; and experience; (2) skills, ability, knowledge of the job; (3) performance, contribution and results; (4) geographic location; (5) shift; (6) internal and external equity; and (7) business and organizational needs.
• The salary range is what we believe to be the range of possible compensation for this role at the time of this posting.  We may ultimately pay more or less than the posted range and this range is only applicable for jobs to be performed in Colorado or remote jobs that can be performed in Colorado.  This range may be modified in the future.
• You will also be eligible to participate in Western Digital's Short-Term Incentive (STI) Plan and to receive equity awards under our annual Long-Term Incentive (LTI) program, which consists of restricted stock units (RSUs), pursuant to the terms of these programs.  RSU awards are also available to eligible new hires, subject to Western Digital’s Standard Terms and Conditions for Restricted Stock Unit Awards.
• We offer a comprehensive package of benefits including paid vacation time; paid sick leave; medical/dental/vision insurance; life, accident and disability insurance; tax-advantaged flexible spending and health savings accounts; employee assistance program; other voluntary benefit programs such as supplemental life and AD&D, legal plan, pet insurance, critical illness, accident and hospital indemnity; tuition reimbursement; transit; the Virgin Pulse Program; the Applause Program, employee stock purchase plan, and the Western Digital Savings 401(k) Plan.
• Note: No amount of pay is considered to be wages or compensation until such amount is earned, vested, and determinable. The amount and availability of any bonus, commission, benefits, or any other form of compensation and benefits that are allocable to a particular employee remains in the Company's sole discretion unless and until paid and may be modified at the Company’s sole discretion, consistent with the law.