Supplier Development Specialist

Location: Kearney, NE
Schedule: Fully Onsite
Reports To: Division Sourcing & Procurement Manager

Position Overview

We are seeking a proactive and driven Supplier Development Specialist to strengthen supplier performance, quality, and long-term strategic partnerships across a high-volume manufacturing environment. This role serves as the key link between sourcing, procurement, quality, and suppliers, ensuring vendors consistently meet expectations related to quality, delivery, cost, and operational performance.

The ideal candidate will move beyond reactive issue resolution and focus on developing sustainable supplier strategies, performance metrics, accountability frameworks, and continuous improvement initiatives that help prevent disruptions before they occur. This individual will regularly engage with suppliers, conduct site visits and audits, evaluate supplier capabilities, and drive corrective actions while helping build a scalable supplier management program.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute supplier development strategies to improve supplier performance, quality, delivery, and reliability.
• Establish KPIs, scorecards, and performance metrics to proactively measure supplier success and accountability.
• Identify supplier risks and implement preventive actions to mitigate potential quality or supply chain disruptions.
• Conduct supplier audits, assessments, and site visits to ensure compliance with quality standards and operational requirements.
• Lead supplier corrective action processes and monitor effectiveness through continuous improvement initiatives.
• Collaborate closely with sourcing and procurement teams to evaluate, qualify, onboard, and develop suppliers.
• Support supplier selection and contracting activities by providing supplier capability assessments and performance data.
• Drive standardization and best practices across supplier management processes.
• Analyze supplier performance trends and recommend strategic improvements to support business objectives.
• Partner with internal stakeholders across procurement, supply chain, operations, engineering, and quality to resolve supplier-related issues.
• Maintain supplier documentation, records, and performance reporting within ERP and supplier management systems.
• Build strong supplier relationships while holding vendors accountable for commitments and agreed performance standards.

Qualifications

Required

• Bachelor's degree preferred; equivalent combination of education and significant industry experience will be considered.
• 3-5 years of experience in:
  • Supplier Development
  • Supplier Quality
  • Procurement
  • Supply Chain
  • Manufacturing Operations
• Experience conducting supplier audits, assessments, and performance reviews.
• Strong understanding of supplier quality systems and continuous improvement methodologies.
• Experience creating or implementing supplier performance metrics, scorecards, and accountability processes.
• Experience working with ERP systems, quality management systems, or supplier management platforms.
• Ability to travel to supplier locations as needed.

Preferred

• Manufacturing industry experience required; high-volume manufacturing environments strongly preferred.
• Experience managing a large supplier base and complex material portfolios.
• Knowledge of supplier qualification, supplier risk assessments, and corrective action processes.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or related continuous improvement exposure is a plus.

Key Competencies

• Proactive problem solving
• Supplier relationship management
• Quality auditing and compliance
• Strategic sourcing support
• Risk identification and mitigation
• Performance management
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Data analysis and KPI development
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Strong communication and negotiation skills

What Success Looks Like

In this role, success is defined by the ability to proactively identify supplier risks before they impact the business, implement measurable supplier performance programs, improve supplier accountability, and create scalable processes that ensure the right suppliers are consistently delivering quality products on time and to standard. This individual is expected to help build a supplier development function that drives long-term operational excellence rather than simply reacting to supplier issues as they arise.