Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate

About the role

The Principal Supplier Strategist / Small Business Advocate plays a pivotal role within Leidos' Defense Sector, supporting the Vice President, Material and Procurement Operations. This high-impact role involves shaping supplier strategy to enable competitive growth across programs of record and strategic capture pursuits. The incumbent will manage strategic supplier relationships, drive long-term agreement negotiations, and support supply base optimization.

Responsibilities

• Lead Sector supplier strategy development across priority Defense programs and capture pursuits, aligning sourcing approaches with Sector growth objectives, customer needs, affordability goals, and mission requirements.
• Develop and maintain an Sector view of supplier/subcontractor spend across Defense programs to identify common product and service categories, duplicated buys, supplier concentration, and opportunities to aggregate demand.
• Analyze supplier use across Defense programs to identify suppliers with broad Sector reach, including those supporting three or more programs or multiple product and service categories.
• Segment the Defense supplier base into strategic partners, leverage opportunities, critical/risk suppliers, small business partners, and transactional suppliers based on spend, program reach, product/service diversity, mission criticality, performance, risk, and growth relevance.
• Drive strategic sourcing actions, including demand consolidation, make/buy recommendations, competitive sourcing strategies, Sector-term negotiations, long-term agreement development, supplier performance governance, and supplier risk mitigation.
• Conduct market analysis, supplier landscape reviews, and supply base assessments to identify strategic sourcing opportunities, capability gaps, emerging supplier options, and supplier development priorities.
• Collaborate with Contracts, Supply Chain, Business Development, Program Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, and other stakeholders to integrate supplier strategies early in capture, proposal, and program lifecycles.
• Represent Defense Sector Contracts and Supply Chain leadership in strategic sourcing reviews, program gate reviews, supplier strategy sessions, and business growth campaigns.
• Serve as the Defense Sector advocate for small business engagement, ensuring supplier strategies support FAR/DFARS requirements, customer commitments, and small business participation goals.
• Oversee development, coordination, and execution of Small Business Subcontracting Plans for proposals and active programs.
• Monitor, analyze, and report performance against small business objectives to internal stakeholders, external customers, and applicable government reporting channels.
• Lead Defense Sector support for Summary Subcontracting Report and Individual Subcontract Report submissions, coordinating with programs, subcontractors, and internal stakeholders to ensure subcontracting plans and reports are submitted in accordance with government requirements and regulations.
• Promote long-term partnerships with diverse suppliers and support supplier development initiatives that enhance capability, compliance, competitiveness, innovation, and mission readiness.
• Build executive-level dashboards, heat maps, and supplier analytics that provide leadership with visibility into cross-program spend patterns, supplier concentration, strategic sourcing opportunities, small business performance, savings opportunities, and active supplier management actions.
• Translate supplier data into executive-ready insights, recommendations, and action plans that enable measurable savings, stronger supplier performance, improved compliance, and reduced Sector risk.

Requirements

Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and 12+ years of prior relevant experience, or a Master’s degree with 10+ years of prior relevant experience.
• Experience in supply chain, procurement, subcontract management, contracts, supplier strategy, business operations, or a related discipline.
• Experience supporting federal, defense, aerospace, or highly regulated contracting environments.
• Deep knowledge of FAR/DFARS, small business program requirements, and government reporting obligations.
• Proven experience negotiating complex supplier agreements, including long-term agreements, Sector agreements, strategic procurement arrangements, or other high-value supplier contracts.
• Demonstrated experience developing supplier strategies, leading strategic sourcing initiatives, managing supplier relationships, and supporting supplier performance governance.
• Strong understanding of subcontractor spend analysis, supplier segmentation, supplier risk management, and sourcing strategy development.
• Experience supporting Small Business Subcontracting Plans, small business reporting, supplier diversity initiatives, or government subcontracting compliance requirements.
• Ability to analyze complex supplier, spend, program, and performance data and translate findings into executive-level recommendations and action plans.
• Demonstrated ability to collaborate across Contracts, Supply Chain, Program Management, Business Development, Engineering, Manufacturing, Finance, and executive leadership.
• Strong communication, negotiation, influencing, and executive presentation skills.
• Ability to work independently, lead cross-functional initiatives, and manage competing priorities in a fast-paced environment.
• US citizen and able to obtain and maintain a US DoD security clearance.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience supporting Department of Defense programs, Programs of Record, capture pursuits, or proposal development for large government acquisitions in defense industry.
• Working knowledge of CPSR compliance, NIST SP 800-171, and cyber/supplier readiness requirements.
• Experience developing executive dashboards, supplier heat maps, spend analytics, or supply base risk assessments.
• Knowledge of eSRS reporting, Summary Subcontracting Reports, Individual Subcontract Reports, and Small Business Subcontracting Plan administration.
• Experience with Costpoint ERP.
• Knowledge of Lean, Six Sigma, or similar process improvement methodologies.
• CPSM, CPC, CFCM, ISM, APICS, PMI PMP, or other relevant professional certification.
• Experience working with RF, electronic warfare, missile, radar, SATCOM, aviation, space, manufacturing, or advanced defense technology supply chains.
• Experience identifying cost savings, affordability improvements, supplier consolidation opportunities, and Sector procurement efficiencies.
• Demonstrated ability to effectively lead and/or manage change.
• Demonstrated ability to build trusted relationships with internal stakeholders, government customers, and strategic suppliers.

Desired Attributes

• Strategic thinker with the ability to connect supplier strategy to business growth, mission success, and affordability.
• Data-driven leader who can identify patterns, risks, and opportunities across complex supplier ecosystems.
• Strong advocate for small business participation, supplier diversity, and long-term supplier development.
• Collaborative partner who can influence across functions without direct authority.
• Mission-focused professional who understands the importance of reliable, compliant, and resilient supply chains in support of national defense objectives.

Benefits

Pay Range: $116,350.00 - $210,325.00

Leidos offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes competitive compensation, Health and Wellness programs, Income Protection, Paid Leave, and Retirement. More details are available at www.leidos.com/careers/pay-benefits.

About Leidos

Leidos is an industry and technology leader serving government and commercial customers with smarter, more efficient digital and mission innovations. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, with 47,000 global employees, Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $16.7 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2025. For more information, visit www.Leidos.com.

Securing Your Data

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