The posting
Job Summary
The Manager, Global Logistics Procurement & Freight Audit leads KEEN’s center led freight audit and global logistics procurement function. The role is accountable for the operating discipline that connects carrier and provider contracts, rate governance, freight audit, invoice payment, spend visibility, sourcing decisions, and provider performance. The Manager turns logistics data and market intelligence into clear recommendations that protect service, strengthen controls, and improve total freight cost.
This is a working manager role. It owns critical outcomes directly while building the capability, controls, and team structure needed to scale the function. The Manager develops the Procurement Coordinator, creates reliable cross training and coverage, and is the primary functional owner for freight audit and logistics procurement across global regions and transportation modes.
Please note this job description is not designed to contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without cause.
Essential Functions
Description
Freight Audit and Financial Control
- Own the global freight audit program and the third party audit relationship. Establish clear service levels, review cadence, escalation paths, and performance expectations.
- Ensure freight invoices are audited against current contracts and approved rate cards, correctly coded and allocated, resolved within agreed timelines, and released for payment in line with Finance and Accounts Payable controls.
- Lead material invoice disputes, recurring billing defects, payment risk, credit recovery, and root cause corrective action with carriers, providers, and internal partners.
- Establish a practical control environment for rate loading, contract changes, access, audit evidence, and exception approval. Ensure the process can withstand leadership and Finance review.
- Own freight spend reporting, budget to actual performance, variance analysis, accrual input, savings tracking, and executive ready financial updates.
Global Logistics Procurement
- Set the global logistics sourcing strategy across ocean, air, parcel, ground, intermodal, drayage, customs, and related services. Maintain an annual sourcing and renewal calendar.
- Lead RFQ and RFP processes from business case through award recommendation and implementation. Define requirements, build bid models, coordinate stakeholder evaluation, negotiate terms, and document decisions.
- Negotiate and administer carrier and provider agreements with attention to rate protections, service commitments, accessorial exposure, volume commitments, data requirements, and implementation readiness.
- Maintain current rate, contract, and provider data for freight audit, budgeting, forecasting, operational planning, and supplier performance management.
- Develop freight cost models for major lanes, regions, and modes. Translate volume assumptions, market conditions, routing choices, and carrier economics into decision support for leadership.
Provider Performance and Center Led Governance
- Lead provider business reviews and performance management. Define KPIs, review cost and service results, identify gaps, and drive accountable recovery plans.
- Partner with regional logistics and operational teams to ensure sourcing decisions, contracts, audit rules, and cost allocations are understood and adopted consistently.
- Provide market intelligence and a clear point of view on capacity, pricing, service reliability, regulatory changes, and emerging commercial risk.
- Represent Global Logistics in cross functional discussions that affect freight cost, service, provider selection, system data, and policy. Escalate decisions that require senior leadership or policy approval.
People Leadership and Capability Building
- Directly lead, coach, and develop the Global Logistics Procurement Coordinator. Set priorities, establish measurable objectives, give timely feedback, and build confidence through practical learning and clear accountability.
- Create and maintain documented standard work, cross training, coverage plans, and a recurring operating cadence for procurement and audit activities.
- Balance hands on execution with delegation. Build the coordinator role into a dependable foundation for audit, reporting, data quality, and procurement support rather than a single point of failure.
- Model strong business judgment, constructive challenge, and stewardship of the P and L. Build trust with internal partners while holding external providers accountable to commitments.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's Degree in Logistics, Supply Chain, Business, Procurement, Finance, or a related field required.
- Six (6) or more years of progressively responsible experience in transportation, logistics procurement, freight audit, supply chain finance, or a related field.
Any equivalent combination of experience and education which clearly indicates the ability to perform the essential functions of the position may substitute on a year for year basis.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
- Demonstrated experience leading complex work across functions, such as an RFQ or RFP, provider transition, freight audit program, financial control process, or major analytics initiative.
- Demonstrated ability to lead, coach, and hold others accountable. Direct people leadership experience is preferred; strong leadership of projects, peers, or external partners will also be considered.
- Experience with carrier pricing, contracts, invoice validation, accessorials, freight cost allocation, and supplier performance management across multiple transportation modes.
- Advanced Excel and financial analysis skills. Experience with freight audit systems, ERP systems, transportation or visibility platforms, and reporting tools is preferred.
- Strong command of logistics sourcing, carrier economics, contracting, negotiation, and commercial risk management.
- Deep understanding of freight audit controls, rate governance, invoice exceptions, payment workflows, and finance partnership.
- Ability to structure ambiguous problems, build a fact base, and communicate a clear recommendation to senior leaders.
- Comfort working in a global, matrixed environment with multiple time zones, diverse stakeholders, and competing priorities.
- Practical, detail oriented operating style with the ability to move between executive level strategy and the underlying data or transaction.
- Clear written and verbal communication. Ability to influence without relying solely on formal authority.
Travel - Yes, up to 10% of the time.
Base Salary: $115,000 - $120,000 yearly
The salary range posted for this position represents the anticipated hiring range for this role. Offers are made within this range based on factors such as relevant experience, skills, education, internal equity, and market considerations. This is the hiring range for the position; compensation above the posted maximum is not typically available at the time of hire.
Work Location: Hybrid
This role is based in the Portland, OR area and follows a hybrid work model. Employees are expected to reside within a reasonable commuting distance of our Portland office and generally work on-site two to three days per week, with flexibility based on business and team needs.
Why Work at KEEN: Driven by a passion for life outside, KEEN is a values-led, independently owned brand from Portland, Oregon, that’s on a mission to create original and versatile products, improve lives, and inspire outside adventure. Founded in 2003, KEEN launched a revolution in the footwear industry with the introduction of the Newport adventure sandal and has donated more than $18 million to non-profit organizations and causes around the world to promote responsible outdoor recreation, including conservation efforts to protect open spaces. KEEN strives to show the world through its products and its actions that a business for good can actually be good for business. By giving back, reducing impact, and activating communities and individuals to protect the places where we work and play, KEEN puts its values in motion and takes action to leave the world a better place.
At KEEN, we believe in a more just and equitable future for all people. As a global brand, we acknowledge that our business, buildings, and daily lives exist within the traditional territories of indigenous peoples. We strive for a future that recognizes the knowledge, rights, and resilience of these peoples.
Fuerst Group, KEEN, and Chrome are equal opportunity employers. We value an inclusive and diverse community. Qualified candidates of all backgrounds are encouraged to apply and will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran status, or disability.
