Global Director, Seating and Safety

About Ford

Come help build a better world, where every person is free to move and pursue their dreams …Ford Motor Company was built on the belief that freedom of movement drives human progress. It’s a belief that has fueled our passion to create great cars and trucks. And today, it drives our commitment to become the world’s most trusted mobility company, designing vehicles for a smart world that helps people move more safely, confidently, and freely. Ford is experiencing significant business transformation in an ever-changing digital world. We are dedicated to delivering distinctive products and solutions, having an “always on” relationship with customers and continuously improving our user experience.

The Opportunity

Ford is experiencing growth and transformation not seen since Henry Ford introduced the Model T. As the company undergoes significant change, the Supply Chain function is transforming to ensure the success and sustainability of the organization and the execution of the Ford + Plan. The Global Director, Seating and Safety will bring a growth mindset to the team, embrace developing our future leaders, nurture the supply base and support business objectives while developing and leading strategic change in a rapidly changing environment. 

The Team

The Global Director, Seating and Safety will be a part of the Supply Chain leadership team and report to the Global Director, Interiors & Raw Materials. 

Ford’s Supply Chain team works to ensure that parts and services sourced from around the globe are of the highest quality, at optimal cost, and delivered on-time. We aim to build strong relationships with the supply base so that Ford can produce vehicles that our customers want and value. Building and maintaining strong, mutually beneficial relationships with a diverse range of suppliers helps us lower costs, improve quality and make progress toward our sustainability goals. We recognize that a diverse supply base is an integral part of our overall success, providing fresh perspectives that lead to cutting-edge innovations and accelerated business development. We continue to foster productive relationships with entrepreneurs from a wide range of backgrounds to meet our customers’ needs and expectations.

The Position

This role will be instrumental in crafting and executing a sourcing strategy including resiliency measures, quality, cost and delivery objectives. We are seeking someone with a strong background in end-to-end Supply Chain operations and who is passionate about leading a global team. This role will be responsible to use data and expertise to quickly assess gaps in the supply chain team’s operations and create strategies to address them. The Global Director, Seating and Safety will be responsible for developing resiliency strategies for commodities impacting the passenger space to drive the Supply Chain transformation in addition to determining the best plan of action for Ford within the value stream map. 

The successful candidate will have proven success and experience in the areas of:

• Transformational leadership to drive impact to the business; relationship expertise both internally and externally and strong learning agility.
• Development and implementation of comprehensive global commodity strategies aligned with the company’s overall business goals and objectives. 
• Maintaining Sourcing and Material Costing roadmap, value map and opportunity funnel. 
• Sourcing with a specific focus on supplier management and contract manufacturing operations, including a deep understanding of supply chain.
• Resiliency planning and execution throughout the space.

This role will be based in Dearborn, MI and will require approximately 20% in travel. Relocation assistance is available.

The Global Director, Seating and Safety will be responsible to set Supply Chain Category Management and Execution vision and strategy in alignment with the Ford+ plan. They will be responsible for the creation and implementation of the strategic plan and objectives which will lower costs, maintain a successful supplier base, and ensure the materials needed to drive Ford’s production goals and the Ford + plan. 

The successful candidate will be a “builder” with an innovative spirit. They will be required to focus on continuous improvement, failing fast, and being agile where necessary. 

The minimum requirements we seek

• Bachelor’s degree with a focus in Business, Engineering, Finance, Supply Chain or similar 

• Minimum of 15 years of experience in Supply Chain or similar discipline

• 10+ years leadership experience 

• Functional supply chain management experience gained through previous leadership in one or more areas of the function

• Strong financial and business acumen

• Ability to lead complex negotiations and excellent knowledge of contractual terms and conditions

• Ability to analyze and synthesize data to inform areas of opportunity 

• Ability to influence change across all layers of an organization

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to present in both forms with confidence at an executive level. 

• Skilled at navigating a large, matrixed environment. Team player, adept at building relationships and adapting to a strong culture.

• Ability to break down complex issues and implement new and innovative strategies.

• Exhibit the Ford OS behaviors of Excellence, Focus and Collaboration and a high level of resilience to function in a complex environment.

What We Can Offer

As part of the Ford family, you’ll enjoy excellent compensation, and a comprehensive benefits package that includes generous PTO, retirement, savings and stock investment plans, incentive compensation, and much more. You’ll also experience exciting opportunities for professional and personal growth and recognition. Candidates for positions with Ford Motor Company must be legally authorized to work in the United States on a permanent basis. Verification of employment eligibility will be required at time of hire.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a culturally diverse workforce. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability status or protected veteran status. In the United States, if you need a reasonable accommodation for the online application process due to a disability, please call 1-888-336-0660.