Economic Development Director Jobs in Raleigh, NC

Position Summary: 

This position will be responsible for leading a local supplier development and economic mobility procurement program for a major client. The role will stand up and operate the sourcing engine that connects client demand to qualified local, regional, and in-state suppliers. Core responsibilities include building and maintaining a rolling 6-to-12-month opportunity forecast, leading supplier access and supplier leadership sessions, developing a client-ready local supplier pathway, launching marketplace-style mini-bids, coordinating sourcing activity through the LogicSource Center of Excellence, and reporting local spend conversion through OneMarket technology.

This is not a traditional category-only role. It is a hands-on program leadership and execution position designed to translate the client's local economic impact commitment into a repeatable procurement operating model. The client will retain strategy, stakeholder ownership, compliance oversight, supplier approval, and final award authority; this role will provide the market intelligence, sourcing execution, project governance, community supplier enablement, and reporting infrastructure required to make the program operational and measurable.

Responsibilities:

• Program Leadership
  • Lead the day-to-day execution of the client's local supplier development and economic mobility procurement program, translating economic mobility goals into a practical supply chain operating model.
  • Maintain the program roadmap, workstreams, governance cadence, and leadership reporting structure.
  • Partner with client supply chain, shared services, stakeholders, and LogicSource resources to drive measurable outcomes.
• Supplier Pipeline and Readiness
  • Build and maintain a local supplier intelligence database for suppliers in the client's defined local, regional, and in-state markets.
  • Segment suppliers into Client Ready Now, Client Ready with Support, and Future Ready categories.
  • Help suppliers understand and complete readiness requirements, including onboarding, documentation, compliance, insurance, pricing, and scale planning.
• Opportunity Pipeline and Category Strategy
  • Identify and manage a transparent pipeline of local sourcing opportunities from discovery through implementation and realized spend.
  • Review client spend categories, renewals, large agreements, and buying channels for opportunities to redirect, unbundle, pilot, or competitively source work locally.
  • Partner with category leaders and sourcing teams to convert qualified opportunities into sourcing events, pilots, mini-bids, subcontracting plans, or channel enablement.
• Large Agreement and Tier-2 Local Spend
  • Evaluate large supplier agreements for local subcontracting, local fulfillment, local labor, distributor, or service partner opportunities.
  • Recommend where scopes can be decoupled or structured into local-biddable work packages without compromising quality, service, risk, or value.
  • Track and report Tier-2 local participation through prime suppliers where direct local awards are not feasible.
• Community Engagement
  • Plan and support quarterly supplier access sessions, "How to Do Business with the Client" workshops, supplier forums, and office hours.
  • Coordinate with chambers of commerce and other community partners to expand supplier outreach and participation.
  • Support the rolling 6-to-12-month opportunity forecast so local suppliers can prepare for upcoming sourcing opportunities.
• Reporting and Technology
  • Use OneMarket and LogicSource-enabled tools to manage supplier profiles, opportunity status, sourcing activity, spend conversion, and program dashboards.
  • Report progress by approved local, regional, and in-state reporting tiers, including supplier count, pipeline value, awards, implementation status, and realized spend.
  • Prepare recurring leadership reports and an annual impact summary covering spend, supplier development, sourcing activity, community engagement, and program barriers.
• Governance and Risk Management
  • Prepare governance materials for pipeline reviews, prioritization, decision-making, barrier removal, and leadership updates.
  • Work with client stakeholders across supply chain, legal, finance, risk, compliance, cybersecurity, insurance, accounts payable, and other functional areas to move opportunities through approved processes.
  • Ensure the program creates access and opportunity while preserving client procurement standards, award authority, compliance requirements, and financial stewardship.

Requirements:

• Bachelor's degree required; MBA or advanced degree is strongly preferred.
• 10+ years of experience in category management, strategic sourcing, procurement consulting, or outsourced procurement services.
• Proven experience-owning category strategy and delivering results in a client-facing or advisory environment.
• Experience supporting supplier diversity, local supplier development, economic mobility, or community impact procurement programming.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior-level stakeholders in complex, matrixed environments.
• Experience managing vendor relationships and supporting high-value contract negotiations.
• Highly skilled in diplomacy, consensus-building, and cross-functional leadership.
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a strong commitment to client service and value creation.
• Polished communicator and presenter, both formally and informally.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office, including Excel-based financial analysis and PowerPoint presentations.
• Proven experience driving operational transformation and organizational change management.
• Strong problem-solving, judgment, and leadership capabilities.
• Ability to operate strategically while maintaining comfort overseeing execution details.

Measures of Success:

• Delivery of committed client value, including savings, cost avoidance, local spend conversion, supplier development, and broader business outcomes.
• Quality and impact of category strategies, sourcing plans, and local supplier opportunity pipelines.
• Client satisfaction, trust, and engagement longevity.
• Effectiveness of COE utilization and execution.
• Supplier performance and contract effectiveness.
• Measurable growth in qualified local supplier participation, awarded opportunities, implemented work, and realized spend.
• Quality, timeliness, and credibility of program reporting, governance materials, and leadership dashboards.

Travel: This hybrid position will require commitment to on-site work at the client location multiple times per week. The role will also require local travel for supplier access sessions, community engagement events, supplier site visits, and stakeholder meetings, with occasional out-of-state travel as business needs require.

Other Duties: This Position Description is not an exhaustive list of duties and responsibilities, and the employee is expected to perform other duties as necessary and assigned. The duties and responsibilities of this position may be modified at any time to meet changing business needs.