Company Introduction:

Lindt & Sprüngli is a Swiss chocolate manufacturer and recognized as a global leader in the market for premium chocolate, offering a large selection of products around the world.  Lindt & Sprüngli looks back on a long-standing tradition of 175 years during which it has become known as one of the most innovative and creative companies making premium chocolate under the key brand Lindt.

Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. is the holding company of the US family of companies Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Lindt & Sprüngli (USA) Inc. and Russell Stover Chocolates Inc.  Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. offers a shared-services model acting as the Center of Excellence for the North American market by providing world-class Supply Chain, Project Management, Information Technology, and additional business services to the local entities. 

This is an exciting time to join our company as we are further accelerating the success story and market expansion over the next years.  High performing, entrepreneurial, result driven and passionate employees are key success factors for Lindt & Sprüngli.  We are warmly welcoming ambitious talents to join us.

What Lindt & Sprüngli offers:

• A highly passionate team driven for success

• A fast-changing business environment and entrepreneurial mindset

• Central and prime office location in Kansas City next to the Plaza

• US or international career opportunities within the Lindt Group

• Opportunities to be involved in employee committees

• A flexible work environment offering a hybrid model

• Market competitive compensation, annual bonus and benefits

• And of course – delicious premium chocolate!

Lindt & Sprungli wants employees who align to our core values:     

• Excellence: You have passion for what you are doing and strive for excellence

• Innovation: You are constantly looking for new and better ways to deliver success

• Entrepreneurship: You are empowered and accountable for your actions and results

• Responsibility: You act with integrity and treat everyone with respect

• Collaboration: You support your colleagues across disciplines, business segments and geographies 

Job Description Summary:

The IT Sourcing Manager will be responsible for leading strategic sourcing activities, managing supplier relationships, negotiating technology contracts, and implementing cost-saving and value-creation initiatives across the IT category for Ghirardelli, Lindt & Sprüngli (USA), and Lindt & Sprüngli North America. This role will support sourcing across key technology categories, including software/SaaS, cloud services, IT infrastructure, hardware, telecom, cybersecurity solutions, professional services, managed services, and software licensing renewals. The Sourcing Manager will collaborate closely with IT, Finance, Legal, Information Security, business stakeholders, and suppliers to drive procurement excellence, manage supplier risk, and influence decision-making across diverse functions.

The position maintains alignment with the global procurement strategy and the directives of the Head Group Indirect Procurement in Lindt International.

This position is a hybrid role that can be located in Kansas City, MO or San Leandro, CA.

This position is not eligible for relocation.

Essential Functions

Category Strategy Development and Execution

• Develops and executes category strategies for IT-related indirect materials and services in close collaboration and alignment with the Sourcing Director Indirects, focusing on cost, quality, service, risk mitigation, innovation, and supplier alignment with organizational goals.

• Supports the development and implementation of sourcing strategies across relevant IT categories using the 7-step sourcing process, including software/SaaS, cloud services, infrastructure, hardware, telecom, cybersecurity tools, professional services, managed services, and software licensing renewals.

• Conducts market analyses, supplier benchmarking, spend reviews, and total cost of ownership assessments to identify trends, risks, savings opportunities, supplier consolidation opportunities, and emerging technology sourcing needs.

• Builds and maintains strategic relationships with suppliers, negotiating favorable terms that support quality, cost, service levels, supply assurance, business continuity, and long-term value creation.

Contract Negotiation & Execution

• Leads contract negotiations with suppliers to secure favorable terms, conditions, pricing, and service commitments, balancing quality, service, risk management, compliance, and cost objectives.

• Ensures robust contracts are developed to support long-term supplier relationships and protect the company’s interests, including appropriate provisions for confidentiality, data privacy, information security, intellectual property, liability, audit rights, business continuity, SLAs, KPIs, and termination rights.

• Ensures all contract terms align with legal, compliance, procurement, privacy, cybersecurity, and information security requirements, as well as the organization’s procurement strategies.

• Manages key contract lifecycle activities, including renewals, amendments, statements of work, software licensing terms, service agreements, and supplier performance obligations.

• Ensures suppliers comply with agreed contractual terms in collaboration with Legal, IT, Information Security, Finance, and other relevant functions.

• Ensures agreements with Group suppliers are correctly implemented across the relevant subsidiaries in North America, collaborating closely with Group Indirect Procurement where appropriate.

Manage and Prioritize Procurement Project Pipeline

• Works with business partners across functions to understand and support procurement requirements, building an annual project pipeline with associated benefit targets in alignment with functional priorities and business needs.

• Maintains the sourcing project tracker with current project information, status, risks, dependencies, savings opportunities, renewal milestones, and stakeholder actions.

• Proactively manages cross-departmental stakeholders, including IT, Finance, Legal, Information Security, Supply Chain, and local business units, to align priorities, resolve trade-offs, and influence outcomes that enable timely sourcing decisions and execution.

• Supports budgeting, forecasting, and renewal planning by providing visibility to supplier spend, contract timelines, project status, and expected financial impact.

Cost-Savings Program and Execution

• Executes cost-saving and value-creation initiatives through strategic sourcing, supplier consolidation, demand management, competitive bidding, contract optimization, and process efficiencies.

• Tracks and reports sourcing savings, cost avoidance, supplier consolidation benefits, and total cost of ownership improvements, ensuring alignment with annual cost-saving targets.

• Participates as a key contributor in cost-savings ideation workshops with relevant functions and translates opportunities into actionable sourcing projects.

• Partners with suppliers to identify cost-saving and innovation opportunities while ensuring continuous improvement in quality, service, risk reduction, and efficiency.

• Collaborates with the Group Indirect Procurement team to support the execution of global initiatives and leverage global agreements where appropriate.

Procurement Process & Execution Compliance

• Ensures procurement processes follow company policies, procurement best practices, governance standards, and applicable legal, compliance, privacy, and information security requirements.

• Supports the rollout and adoption of procurement systems, e-sourcing tools, contract management processes, supplier onboarding workflows, and related reporting capabilities.

• Maintains procurement documentation and records, ensuring full traceability for audits, internal reviews, supplier due diligence, and contract governance.

• Ensures compliance with the Supplier Code of Conduct, Corporate Social Responsibility requirements, and third-party risk management expectations.

• Partners with relevant functions to support supplier due diligence, data protection reviews, security assessments, and procurement process improvements.

Supplier Performance and Risk Management

• Collaborates across functions to monitor supplier performance against agreed quality, service, delivery, security, compliance, SLA, and KPI standards.

• Implements supplier scorecards and conducts regular performance reviews with key suppliers, ensuring improvement plans are in place where necessary.

• Identifies supplier, commercial, operational, cybersecurity, data privacy, and business continuity risks and develops mitigation or contingency plans to protect the organization.

• Supports vendor governance for strategic suppliers, including renewal planning, performance reviews, escalation management, risk reviews, and continuous improvement discussions.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Information Technology, Finance, or a related field; Master’s degree preferred.

• Minimum of 7–10 years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, category management, supplier management, or contract negotiations.

• Minimum of 4–5 years of IT procurement or technology sourcing experience, preferably across software/SaaS, cloud services, IT infrastructure, telecom, cybersecurity solutions, professional services, managed services, or software licensing.

• Experience negotiating technology agreements, including MSAs, SOWs, SaaS agreements, software licenses, renewals, amendments, SLAs, and professional services agreements.

• Proficiency in procurement systems, ERP platforms, contract management tools, and e-sourcing tools such as Coupa, SAP Ariba, or similar platforms.

• Strong analytical skills with the ability to conduct spend analysis, supplier benchmarking, total cost of ownership analysis, savings tracking, and executive-level reporting.

• Knowledge of procurement policies, supplier governance, contract compliance, third-party risk management, data privacy, cybersecurity, and supplier due diligence practices.

• Excellent problem-solving, project management, organizational, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.

• CPSM, CSCP, CPM, MCIPS, ITIL Foundation, software asset management, or similar procurement or technology-related certification preferred.

Personal Characteristics

• Strategic and Detail-Oriented: Balances long-term category strategy with accurate execution, documentation, and contract compliance.

• Execution-Focused: Drives sourcing projects, renewals, and procurement processes efficiently while managing competing priorities.

• Strong Negotiator: Secures competitive pricing, favorable commercial terms, service commitments, and risk protections.

• Problem-Solver: Resolves supplier, stakeholder, contractual, and procurement issues effectively and escalates risks appropriately.

• Analytical Thinker: Uses data, spend insights, benchmarks, and supplier performance metrics to identify savings and improve sourcing decisions.

• Collaborative Influencer: Builds trust quickly, manages cross-functional stakeholders effectively, and influences without authority to drive alignment, timely decisions, and measurable results.

• Business Partner Mindset: Understands stakeholder needs, communicates clearly, and connects procurement decisions to business, technology, financial, and risk outcomes.

Company Description

Lindt and Sprüngli (North America) Inc. is the Supply Chain and Business Shared Services Company supporting the Lindt & Sprüngli family of brands (Lindt USA, Ghirardelli Chocolates and Russell Stover Chocolates), headquartered in Kansas City, MO.

Employment by Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. is contingent upon I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification, passing the urinalysis drug screen, and satisfactory employment and background checks.

Lindt & Sprüngli (North America) Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, national origin, sex, marital status, sexual orientation and gender identity, disability, veteran status, pregnancy, or any other status protected by law. Principals only, please.

San Leandro Salary Range: $130,000-155,000/year