Head of Procurement

About the role

Slate Auto is seeking a Head of Procurement – Indirect, Facilities & Capex to lead all indirect and capital procurement for the Warsaw assembly plant. This role owns the sourcing, negotiation, and supplier management strategy for capital equipment (including automation), MRO, facilities and janitorial consumables, and indirect spend across IT and all other plant functions, including punchout catalog systems such as Amazon Business, Grainger, and Global Industrial. This is a highly visible, hands-on leadership role critical to plant readiness, cost control, and operational uptime as Slate scales toward production.

Responsibilities

• Lead sourcing, negotiation, and contracting for all capital equipment purchases, including automation, robotics, and production support systems.
• Own MRO procurement strategy and supplier base to ensure plant uptime and cost-effective spares/consumables availability.
• Manage facilities and janitorial consumables sourcing, including vendor performance, service levels, and cost management.
• Direct all indirect spend for IT and other cross-functional groups (e.g., travel, professional services, office/admin, safety supplies).
• Administer and optimize punchout/e-procurement systems (Amazon Business, Grainger, Global Industrial, and similar), driving adoption, compliance, and spend visibility.
• Build and manage supplier relationships, scorecards, and contracts; lead negotiations to deliver year-over-year cost savings and favorable terms.
• Develop category strategies and multi-year sourcing roadmaps aligned to plant capacity, capex, and cost-down goals.
• Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Facilities, IT, Engineering, and Operations to align procurement plans with capital budgets and project timing.
• Ensure procurement policy compliance, purchase order governance, and audit-ready documentation across all indirect and capex categories.
• Build and lead a team of buyers/category managers to support plant growth and expanding scope of responsibility.