Strategic Sourcing Specialist

Strategic Sourcing Specialist
Job Type: Full-Time Permanent
Work Location: Wallenstein, ON (Hybrid)
Reporting To: VP, Operations
Compensation: $88,500 - $100,000

At Earthscape Play, we create beautiful, innovative custom playground sculptures and structures that inspire children and adults to creatively play. By partnering with some of the most prestigious Landscape Architecture firms in North America, we bring brilliant playground concepts to life. Our award-winning design-build firm is located just outside of Elmira, Ontario in Waterloo Region.

Together, our ambitious team designs, engineers, builds, and installs state-of-the-art timber playgrounds that become iconic and well-loved destination spaces. The work environment we’ve created is positive, productive, fun, and rewarding. To see our one-of-a-kind projects, visit www.earthscapeplay.com.

Summary of the Role:
As Earthscape Play continues to grow, we are looking for a high-impact Strategic Sourcing Specialist to expand our supplier network. In this role, you won’t just manage vendors, you will architect the procurement strategy that fuels our next stage of growth. You will identify key partners across vital material categories, negotiate competitive pricing, and secure the quality and scale needed to bring our playgrounds to life.

Key Responsibilities:

Supplier Development & Strategic Sourcing

• Identify, assess, and onboard suppliers across key material categories including wood, CNC, metal, hardware, and custom components within required timelines.
• Develop a robust supply base that meets Earthscape's quality standards, lead times, and cost competitiveness requirements.
• Evaluate potential supplier capabilities, capacity, quality systems, and financial stability in collaboration with Manufacturing, Engineering, and Purchasing teams.

Cost Competitiveness & Negotiation

• Evaluate total landed costs, including logistics, tariffs, duties, and freight, to optimize overall supply chain value.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, and supply agreements to achieve target cost structures while ensuring supply security.
• Analyze and compare supply options to determine optimal sourcing strategies across regions.

Supplier Qualification & Transition

• Coordinate sample requests, supplier audits, and material trials with Engineering and Manufacturing to qualify new suppliers.
• Establish initial documentation, part specifications, vendor records, and pricing agreements before handing off ongoing procurement.
• Transition repeatable purchasing activities to the tactical Purchasing team once suppliers are established and validated.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Operations, Engineering, Manufacturing, and Purchasing to align supplier development with project schedules and expansion timelines.
• Support supply chain requirements for potential fabrication partners, specialized trade contractors, and local manufacturing facilities.
• Maintain clear reporting and visibility on sourcing priorities, progress, risks, and cost savings metrics.

Ideal candidates will have the following qualifications:

• 5+ years of experience in cross-border logistics expertise, including USMCA/CUSMA trade agreements, customs, tariffs, and freight.
• 5+ years in strategic sourcing, supplier evaluation, and contract negotiations within manufacturing or custom fabrication.
• Familiarity with interpreting fabrication & detail drawings.
• Strong knowledge of sourcing structural timber, architectural metals, hardware, and custom parts.
• Proven track record of optimizing total landed costs while ensuring supply chain reliability.
• Regular travel required (typically 1–2 trips per month) across the U.S. to conduct on-site supplier evaluations, quality audits, and manufacturing reviews
• Strong communication and cross-functional collaboration skills across our mult-disciplinary teams including Engineering, Operations, and Purchasing.

What’s in it for you?

This job will offer you the opportunity to work on some of North America’s most innovative playground projects. The pace, challenges and problem-solving opportunities will mean you are never bored. You will have the chance to develop and refine a wide variety of skills in our rapidly growing business. Your colleagues are dynamic, and highly skilled. They have an impressive range of backgrounds, skills and expertise.

We believe in great compensation for great employees, and we reward our staff with a combination of:

• Profit sharing and performance bonuses
• Employee share ownership opportunities (ESOP) after 1 year of service
• Six-week sabbatical after 14,000 hours worked
• Tuition reimbursement
• Extended health and dental benefits
• Flex time with options to work remotely to support work-life balance
• Company events
• Casual dress code

Accommodation: We are committed to treating all people in a way that respects their dignity and independence. Should you require any accommodation during the recruitment process or otherwise, please notify us of this when you apply, and we will work with you to meet your accessibility needs.

Pre-employment checks: As part of our selection process, successful candidates may be required to consent to background checks relevant to the role, prior to receiving a job offer. These could include: work references, education and credential confirmation, employment verification, identity check, criminal offense and driver’s license record.

At Earthscape Play, we are committed to building an environment where everyone feels included, valued, and heard. Diversity, inclusion, and belonging are an important part of our everyday work, and it is our belief that they enable us to reach our goal of bringing incredible play spaces to life. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, racialized people, people with disabilities, people from gender and sexually diverse communities and/or people with intersectional identities.