Senior Manager – Strategic Sourcing

Location: Pune, Maharashtra

Experience: 8–12 years

About SPIRO

SPIRO is a rapidly growing electric mobility company focused on accelerating the adoption of affordable, clean-energy mobility solutions. With a strong presence across Africa and expanding manufacturing and assembly capabilities, SPIRO is building an integrated EV ecosystem spanning electric motorcycles, swappable batteries and charging infrastructure.

As SPIRO continues to scale its manufacturing and supply ecosystem, we are looking for a strategic sourcing professional who can build competitive, resilient and cost-efficient supplier ecosystems.

Role Overview

We are looking for a Senior Manager – Strategic Sourcing to lead strategic sourcing initiatives across key categories, with a strong focus on cost optimisation, supplier development, localization, commercial negotiations and supply continuity.

The role will work closely with Engineering, Product Development, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance and Operations teams to develop and execute sourcing strategies that support SPIRO's growth plans.

The ideal candidate will have strong experience in automotive / EV / manufacturing procurement, with the ability to identify and develop suppliers, drive should-cost and cost-reduction initiatives, negotiate commercial terms and support new product and manufacturing programs.

Key Responsibilities

- Strategic Sourcing

- Develop and execute category-wise strategic sourcing plans aligned with business and product requirements.
- Identify, evaluate and onboard new suppliers for components, assemblies, equipment and other strategic categories.
- Develop alternate and multi-source suppliers to reduce supply and business continuity risks.
- Conduct supplier benchmarking, market intelligence and competitive sourcing exercises.
- Build long-term sourcing strategies for critical components and categories.

2. Cost Optimisation & Commercials
- Drive cost reduction through competitive bidding, negotiations, value engineering, localization and alternate sourcing.
- Conduct should-cost analysis, price benchmarking and commercial feasibility assessments.
- Negotiate pricing, payment terms, tooling costs, MOQ, lead times, warranties and other commercial terms.
- Identify opportunities for VA/VE and supplier-led cost optimisation.
- Track sourcing savings and ensure delivery against annual cost-reduction targets.

3. Supplier Development & Management




- Build and manage strategic supplier relationships.
- Evaluate suppliers on cost, quality, capacity, technology, delivery and financial stability.
- Work with Quality and Engineering teams to improve supplier capability and performance.
- Develop suppliers for new components and support supplier industrialisation.
- Drive corrective actions for supplier-related cost, quality and delivery issues.
- Establish supplier performance metrics and periodic business reviews.

4. New Product Development & Localization
- Partner with Engineering, R&D; and Product teams during NPD and product localisation programs.
- Identify sourcing opportunities for new EV components and assemblies.
- Support localization of components and reduce dependency on imports.
- Evaluate domestic and international suppliers for critical EV and automotive components.
- Participate in technical-commercial evaluation of new products and suppliers.

5. Manufacturing & Project Procurement
- Support sourcing requirements for new manufacturing and assembly projects.
- Lead procurement strategy for CAPEX, equipment, tooling and indirect categories where required.
- Work closely with project, engineering and operations teams to ensure sourcing milestones are achieved.
- Support greenfield and brownfield expansion projects from a sourcing perspective.

6. Supply Risk Management
- Identify supply risks across strategic categories and develop mitigation plans.
- Establish alternate sources for critical components.
- Monitor commodity and market trends impacting sourcing decisions.
- Evaluate supplier capacity and scalability in line with business growth.
- Ensure sourcing strategies support uninterrupted production and future scale-up.

7. Cross-functional Stakeholder Management
- Collaborate closely with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing, Supply Chain, Finance and Product teams.
- Translate business and technical requirements into effective sourcing strategies.
- Lead supplier negotiations and cross-functional sourcing reviews.
- Present sourcing strategies, savings, supplier performance and risks to senior management.

8. Team & Process Leadership




- Lead and mentor sourcing/procurement team members.
- Establish sourcing processes, governance mechanisms and performance dashboards.
- Drive procurement process improvements and digitalisation.
- Develop sourcing MIS and management reports covering savings, supplier performance, risks and sourcing pipeline.

Key Success Metrics

- Annual procurement cost savings
- Supplier localization %
- New supplier development and qualification
- Reduction in single-source dependency
- Supplier on-time delivery and quality performance
- Sourcing lead-time reduction
- NPD sourcing milestone adherence
- Supplier cost competitiveness
- Working-capital / payment-term improvements
- Supply continuity and risk mitigation

Candidate Profile

Must Have

- 8–12 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing / Procurement / Supplier Development.
- Experience in automotive, EV, mobility, engineering or manufacturing environments.
- Strong experience in strategic sourcing and commercial negotiations.
- Proven track record of cost reduction and supplier development.
- Experience managing domestic and/or international suppliers.
- Strong understanding of sourcing, supplier evaluation, RFQ/RFQ analysis and commercial negotiations.
- Experience working with Engineering, Quality, Manufacturing and Supply Chain teams.
- Strong analytical and data-driven decision-making skills.
- Excellent stakeholder management and communication skills.

Preferred

- Experience in electric vehicles, batteries, automotive components or mobility products.
- Exposure to localization and import substitution programs.
- Experience with greenfield/brownfield manufacturing projects.
- Exposure to CAPEX procurement and equipment sourcing.
- Experience with ERP/procurement systems such as SAP, Oracle or similar.
- Engineering degree; MBA/PGDM in Supply Chain, Procurement or Operations would be an advantage.

What We Are Looking For We are looking for someone who is more than a transactional procurement professional — a strategic sourcing leader who can build supplier ecosystems, negotiate aggressively but collaboratively, identify cost opportunities and create scalable sourcing strategies for a high-growth EV business.

The candidate should be comfortable operating in a rapid-paced environment, working with ambiguity and taking ownership of sourcing initiatives from supplier identification through qualification, negotiation and commercial closure.

📌 Senior Manager Strategic Sourcing (Maharashtra)
🏢 SPIRO
📍 Maharashtra