Head of Strategic Sourcing

At Halter were on a mission to enable farmers and graziers to run the most productive and sustainable operations. Our customers are using Halter to break free from the time-intensive constraints of conventional practices. Imagine watching 500 cattle stand up and walk calmly towards their next break No quad bikes no dogs no fences. Just a group of cattle walking at their own pace. People say it looks like magic. Our customers are revolutionizing grazing with Halter. Its changing lives and transforming an industry. People join Halter to do meaningful work. By joining us youll be solving challenging problems within a talented team and a culture built for high performance. Our team out-think out-work and out-care. Were committed to delivering real change in the world - this isnt easy and in truth we love that its hard.

Were backed to deliver on a mission that matters by Tier 1 investors including Founders Fund Bessemer Venture Partners BOND DCVC Blackbird Promus Ventures Rocket Labs Peter Beck and Icehouse ventures.

To find out more visit our LinkedIn & Instagram.

The Role
The supplier relationships Halter builds today will define what were capable of building tomorrow. The components we source the contract manufacturers we partner with and the commercial terms we secure are not procurement decisions. They are strategic decisions that shape our cost structure our product quality our supply chain resilience and our ability to scale.

The Head of Strategic Sourcing owns those decisions. Youll identify and bring on the right suppliers and contract manufacturing partners develop the relationships we already have and negotiate the commercial deals that give Halter a genuine advantage. Your remit spans the full supply base from the smallest component supplier through to our most critical contract manufacturing partners.

This is a high-impact externally facing role. Youll spend significant time on the ground with suppliers and CMs building the kind of trust-based relationships that open doors unlock preferential terms and create partners who want to invest in Halters success. Youll bring the commercial sharpness to negotiate hard and the relationship instincts to know when to push and when to build.

Youll work closely with the supply chain leadership team the quality team the Operations Delivery Lead and hardware engineering. Sourcing decisions dont happen in isolation and the best ones happen when commercial technical and operational perspectives are in the room together.
Youll be measured on the quality of the supplier base you build the commercial outcomes you secure and the strength of the relationships you develop across Halters supply chain.

What Youll Do
New Supplier Identification and Selection

• Own the end-to-end process of identifying evaluating and onboarding new suppliers and contract manufacturing partners across all categories from initial market mapping through to commercial agreement.

• Develop and maintain a clear view of the global supplier landscape for Halters key component categories identifying opportunities to access better capability lower cost or reduced supply risk.

• Work with hardware engineering and the quality team to assess technical capability and quality readiness as part of supplier selection ensuring new suppliers can meet Halters design and quality requirements before commitments are made.

• Support NPI programmes by identifying and qualifying new suppliers for new components ensuring the right supply base is in place before each product enters production.

Supplier Development

• Develop strategic suppliers over time building their capability capacity and alignment with Halters requirements so they grow as a partner rather than just a vendor.

• Identify where existing suppliers are underperforming on cost quality lead time or service and develop structured improvement plans to close the gap.

• Work with the supply chain leadership team on supply base resilience identifying where concentration risk or single-source dependency needs to be addressed and leading the sourcing work to fix it.

• Build Halters profile with key suppliers and CMs as a customer worth investing in creating the conditions for preferential access priority allocation and long-term partnership.

Commercial Negotiations

• Lead commercial negotiations across the supplier base securing pricing payment terms lead times MOQs and contractual protections that reflect Halters commercial interests and scale trajectory.

• Develop and own the negotiation strategy for major supplier agreements bringing a total cost of ownership perspective rather than just unit price.

• Identify and deliver cost reduction opportunities across the supply base working with engineering on design-to-cost initiatives and with supply planning on volume consolidation.

• Ensure Halters commercial agreements include appropriate terms around quality IP exclusivity where relevant capacity commitments and risk allocation.

Supplier Relationship Management

• Own strategic supplier relationships at a senior level acting as Halters primary point of contact with key suppliers and CMs on commercial and strategic matters.

• Build the governance cadence for strategic supplier relationships including regular business reviews that cover performance forward plans and joint development opportunities.

• Manage escalations at the supplier relationship level when performance capacity or commercial issues threaten Halters supply position.

• Represent Halter as a partner of choice in the market building the companys reputation with suppliers as a customer that is commercially serious technically credible and worth growing with.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Work closely with hardware engineering on make-vs.-buy decisions component standardisation and supplier selection for new designs.

• Partner with the supply chain leadership team to ensure sourcing decisions support the integrated supply plan and resilience strategy.

• Collaborate with the quality team to ensure supplier and CM qualification processes are joined up and that quality and commercial decisions are made together.

• Feed supplier market intelligence into the S&OP process and programme planning ensuring the business has an accurate picture of supply market conditions and risks.

What You Bring

• Significant experience in strategic sourcing or procurement in a hardware or electronics manufacturing environment with a track record of building and managing a high-performing supply base.

• Exceptional commercial negotiation skills. Youve led complex supplier negotiations and you know how to structure a deal that reflects long-term value not just the lowest unit price.

• Strong supplier development capability. You know how to take a supplier from adequate to excellent and youve done it across multiple categories.

• Deep knowledge of the global supply landscape for hardware components and contract manufacturing including how to find the right suppliers assess their capability and bring them on efficiently.

• The ability to build genuine trust-based relationships with senior counterparts at suppliers and CMs. People on the other side of the table respect you and they want to do business with Halter because of how you operate.

• Strong cross-functional instincts. You work naturally with engineering quality and supply chain teams and you know that the best sourcing decisions are made with technical and operational input not in isolation.

• Commercial sharpness alongside total cost of ownership thinking. You look beyond unit price to lead time quality cost supply risk and the cost of getting it wrong.

• Excellent communication. You can represent Halter credibly in a boardroom negotiation with a major CM and translate the outcome into a clear brief for the operations team.

• A bias for speed and decisiveness. You make well-reasoned calls with imperfect information and you move fast without cutting corners on things that matter.

• Low ego and comfortable with discomfort. You lean into hard conversations raise the awkward thing early and never shy away from tension when it needs to be resolved.

• Youre fun and a joy to work with. Strategic sourcing is high-stakes and relationship-intensive. You bring energy charm and sharp commercial instincts to it and people are better for having you around.

Halter is committed to promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace a place where we can each be ourselves and do the best work of our lives. Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the requirements women and under-represented groups of candidates tend to only apply when they meet every requirement. If you think you have what it takes but dont necessarily tick every requirement on this job description please still get in touch and apply to Halter. Wed love to chat to see if youll be an epic fit!

If this opportunity sounds like you please apply below by sending through your cover letter explaining why youre excited about this role and working at Halter along with your CV and well be in touch!

Please also feel free to check out the careers page for more information on working at Halter and dont forget to follow us on LinkedIn & Instagram.

• Work that genuinely matters. Every now and again a company comes along that transforms an entire industry and leaves the world in a better place. Our team gets to be part of something truly meaningful helping farmers improve their livelihoods spend more time with their families and build more sustainable operations.

• Spectacular people solving hard problems. Our culture is designed for talented people to do work that changes lives. The team is filled with diverse kind and driven people who push each other to do their best work. Youll be thrown into the deep end tackling complex challenges and building something tangible that solves real problems.

• Youll grow here. Autonomy mastery and learning define how we work. Youll have the freedom to work on interesting problems master new skills and continuously develop yourself both through your role and our $1000 personal growth fund.

• This isnt easy and we love that its hard. Working at Halter will be the most rewarding and the most challenging work of your life. We move fast take bold bets and work hard to reshape an entire industry. As one team member put it: Joining Halter is a bit like strapping yourself to a rocket ship but its an epic journey to be a part of!

Required Experience:

Director