Director of Procurement

About Pets + People Consumer Products

Pets + People brings joy to customers through innovative and licensed products for pets and households. Since 2008, the company has pioneered brand licensing into pet product markets and expanded into the consumer sector for people in 2014. Based in New York City, the firm supports brands globally with a dedicated team of over 80 employees. Their expertise enables them to broaden brand reach effectively.

Role Overview

We are looking for an energetic and strategic Director of Procurement to oversee and transform our global production operations within a fast-moving Consumer Packaged Goods environment. This key role drives operational excellence for both domestic and international manufacturing, focusing on innovation, automation, and scalability to keep pace with business expansion.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end production operations worldwide, owning the purchase order lifecycle from initiation to manufacturing, delivery, and payment.
• Develop and implement production strategies supporting growth, scalability, and timely delivery across multiple regions and partners.
• Serve as a senior leader driving cross-functional alignment related to production.
• Proactively manage capacity, scheduling, and risk in a complex, high-SKU product environment.
• Introduce process improvements, automation, and system upgrades to enhance speed, transparency, and decision-making.
• Minimize manual processes and streamline workflows across teams.
• Promote data-driven production management with clear metrics, dashboards, and reporting.
• Foster strong relationships with domestic and international manufacturing vendors.
• Set and monitor supplier performance metrics like delivery timeliness and accuracy.
• Lead cost optimization and continuous improvement through rigorous supplier management.
• Act as the escalation contact for vendor-related issues concerning execution, capacity, and delivery.
• Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing production team, nurturing a culture of accountability and growth.
• Define organizational roles and communication routines to support scaling.
• Develop emerging leaders via coaching and feedback.
• Enhance operational rigor via standardized workflows and clear cross-department processes.
• Identify and mitigate risks tied to capacity, costs, supply continuity, and execution both domestically and internationally.
• Ensure production systems can scale effectively to support rapid growth and changing requirements.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of advancing experience in production, manufacturing, or operations leadership, preferably within the CPG sector; industry background may vary.
• Proven ability to manage production operations on domestic and global scales.
• Experience leading and growing teams of 5 to 10, with a hands-on approach to mentorship and development in a lean, efficient setting.
• Strong leadership within complex production environments managing extensive SKU portfolios.
• Established history of initiating process improvements, automation, and innovative practices.
• Expertise in global vendor management and negotiation.
• Bilingual proficiency in Chinese and English is preferred.
• Strategic mindset combined with skill to execute detailed operational tasks.
• Adaptability to a fast-evolving, dynamic work environment.
• Advanced proficiency in Excel and ability to rapidly learn and implement new technological tools.