Senior Manager, Procurement and Commercial Services

Powertech Labs Inc is a cleantech company with the mission of being a trusted innovation partner providing solutions, specialized testing, and technical expertise for a safe and sustainable global energy future. Powertech has a global reputation for delivering transformative solutions in both the electric power industry as well as the transport sector. A clean future will be driven by electric and hydrogen power, and we will help get there.
We are always guided by our values as a global clean-technology and engineering company:

• Safety: This top everything. We do our work safely or we do not do it at all.
• Challenges: We ready ourselves for the hardest challenges – through attaining accreditations, developing industry-leading innovative products & services, investing in our labs, hiring great people, and making them better.
• Diverse Teams: We are strongest together and capitalize on our varied attributes – together we are more than the sum of parts.
• Our customers: Customers fuel this company, and we constantly work with them to earn and retain their trust and loyalty. We expect that our customers hold us accountable to our commitments.
• Excellence: Striving for excellence, acting with integrity, and having the highest standards in quality are core to what we do.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Business Operations, the Senior Manager, Procurement and Commercial Services provides enterprise-level leadership and direction for Powertech’s procurement, sourcing, supplier management, contract services, and commercial governance.
This role is accountable for establishing and executing procurement and commercial strategies that support Powertech's strategic objectives, operational excellence, capital investment programs, laboratory operations, and growth initiatives. The Senior Manager ensures Powertech achieves best value outcomes through effective sourcing, supplier partnerships, contract management, risk mitigation, and governance practices while maintaining compliance with corporate policies, delegated authorities, and regulatory requirements.
The successful candidate will lead a high-performing team and foster a results-oriented service culture that delivers strategic, compliant, and value-driven procurement and contract services.

What You'll Do
Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute enterprise procurement, supplier relationship management, contract management, logistics, and commercial governance strategies aligned with Powertech’s business objectives.
• Advise the Executive Leadership Team on emerging market trends, supplier risks, sourcing opportunities, capital procurement strategies, and commercial matters that may affect organizational performance.
• Manage the departmental operating budget to support effective service delivery and organizational priorities.

Procurement Services

• Oversee the delivery of procurement, strategic sourcing, contract administration, vendor onboarding, supplier governance, and contract lifecycle management services across Powertech.
• Lead and oversee medium- to high-value, complex, strategic, and high-risk sourcing initiatives that have significant operational, financial, or commercial impact.
• Ensure procurement activities comply with corporate policies, regulatory requirements, delegated authorities, ethical practices, and governance standards.
• Drive demand planning, spend management, category management, and sourcing optimization initiatives to maximize value and improve procurement outcomes.
• Oversee logistics operations and service providers to ensure the safe, timely, compliant, and cost-effective movement of goods, equipment, and materials, including transportation, customs coordination, warehousing, inventory handling, delivery reliability, and operational efficiency.

Supplier and Commercial Relationship Management

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, strategic partners, and service providers.
• Establish supplier performance management programs, including performance metrics, risk monitoring, corrective actions, and supplier-specific continuous improvement initiatives to strengthen performance and value delivery.
• Lead negotiations involving complex commercial, contractual, pricing, risk allocation, intellectual property, and service delivery terms.
• Assess supplier financial stability, market conditions, emerging risks, and sourcing alternatives to improve supply assurance and organizational resilience.
• Identify opportunities for innovation, strategic partnerships, supplier-enabled solutions, and long-term value creation through effective supplier engagement.

Project and Business Partnership

• Act as the senior procurement and commercial advisor for major projects, capital investments, laboratory equipment acquisitions, facility recovery initiatives, and strategic growth programs, leading procurement and sourcing strategies, evaluation methodologies, negotiations, and contract recommendations that support project schedules, budgets, risk management, and client commitments.
• Support organizational growth initiatives, including international sourcing opportunities, cross-border procurement activities, and strategic supplier development.
• Work with stakeholders to improve procurement planning, demand forecasting, inventory management, and supplier engagement practices.

Systems Optimization

• Lead organization-wide improvement of procurement operations through process optimization, technology enablement, analytics, performance measurement, and best practices that enhance efficiency, compliance, customer service, and value realization.
• Establish and oversee procurement performance measures, analytics, risk assessments, and reporting to support continuous improvement, strategic decision-making, and senior leadership updates.

Risk, Compliance, and Governance

• Establish and maintain effective procurement controls to mitigate commercial, financial, legal, operational, cybersecurity, environmental, and reputational risks while ensuring compliance with corporate policies and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with Legal, Finance, Quality, Risk Management, and operational leaders to address complex contractual, commercial, compliance, and risk-related matters.
• Monitor procurement compliance and implement corrective actions where required.
• Support insurance claims, business continuity activities, recovery initiatives, and emergency response efforts through effective procurement and contractual leadership.

People Leadership

• Lead, coach, mentor, and develop a high-performing procurement and contract services team.
• Establish clear performance expectations and foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
• Build organizational procurement capability through workforce planning, succession planning, skills development, and knowledge sharing.
• Promote responsive service that supports operational and business objectives.

What You Bring
Education

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Commerce, Finance, Engineering, Law, or a related discipline.
• A Supply Chain Management Professional designation or equivalent is preferred.
• Master's degree or advanced business education is considered an asset.

Experience

• Minimum 12–15 years of progressively responsible procurement, sourcing, supply chain, logistics, or contract management experience.
• Significant leadership experience managing teams in a complex technical, engineering, utility, research, manufacturing, or professional services environment.
• Demonstrated experience leading strategic sourcing initiatives, contract negotiations, supplier relationship management, and procurement governance programs.
• Experience supporting project-based organizations and working with cross-functional stakeholder groups.
• Proven success leading organizational change, process improvement, and business transformation initiatives.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Excellent negotiation, influencing, and relationship management skills.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through complexity and ambiguity.
• Strong understanding of procurement governance, contract law fundamentals, and commercial risk management.
• Exceptional communication and presentation skills.
• Experience working with ERP, procurement, project management, and reporting systems.
• Ability to build trusted partnerships across all levels of the organization.
• Strong analytical, strategic thinking, and problem-solving capabilities.

What we offer
Location: Surrey B.C.
Job Status: Full-Time Regular
Affiliation: M&P
Level: P4
Annual Salary: $131K - $165K

Powertech Labs is an equal opportunity employer. We include everyone. We welcome applications from anyone, including members of visible minorities, women, Indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, persons of minority sexual orientations and gender identities, and others with the skills and knowledge to productively engage with diverse communities. We are also happy to provide reasonable accommodations throughout the selection process and while working at Powertech Labs.

Maintaining customer-confidence and our reputation is key: To this end, all our campus and laboratories are accredited to ISO9001 (quality), ISO14001 (environment stewardship) and ISO45001 (safety) and IEC/ISO 17025 for over 100 standards. To complement the focus on accreditation, we encourage our experts to drive global standards and provide development opportunities for all staff to grow in their role and to advance in their careers. 

Working at Powertech is not a job but a career. If you want to be a part of a growing clean technology company that is impactful and working towards a common goal of accelerating the world towards a net zero carbon future, come and join our team.