Indirect Spend Buyer

AFL manufactures industry-leading fiber optic cable, connectivity and accessories and provides engineering and installation services for some of the largest telecom customers in the world. Our company was founded in 1984 with a single fiber optic cable and today, we manufacture thousands of products, generate an excess of $2B in revenue, and employ approximately 11,000 associates worldwide. At AFL, we recognize that our employees are our greatest asset. We hire and train each individual, investing in them to ensure success in their careers. With a commitment to professional development and growth, let us connect you to your next career opportunity.

What We Offer:

• A hybrid in office schedule for qualifying employees


• Flexible time off policy


• 401K Company match (up to 4% - dollar for dollar)


• Professional development, training, and tuition reimbursement programs


• Excellent medical, dental, vision, and life insurance policy options


• Opportunities for career advancement with an industry leading company!

Job Summary

The Indirect Spend Buyer is responsible for facilitating indirect procurement process at AFL with heavy emphasis on procurement of capital equipment, facility upgrades, and related services. This role develops sourcing strategies, negotiates contracts, and ensures timely delivery of CapEx projects while optimizing total cost of ownership and mitigating risk. The Buyer partners closely with Engineering, Operations, Finance, and other stakeholders to align procurement activities with project timelines and budget requirements. Key responsibilities include supplier performance management, contract negotiation, financial analysis, compliance with company policies, and driving continuous improvement in CapEx purchasing processes.

Responsibilities

Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

• Perform standard purchase order management duties - placement, acknowledgement, follow up with suppliers, communication with stakeholders (requestors, receiving function, AFL PMO team, etc.)


• Build and execute category strategies for capital equipment and critical indirect services in accordance with communicated requirements from various AFL functions – leveraging market intelligence, should‑cost analysis, and TCO models.


• Create multi‑year roadmaps for preferred suppliers, standardization, and technology refresh cycles to reduce complexity and cost.


• Other Duties as assigned by Supply Chain Management Team

Support the CapEx Procurement Lifecycle

• Lead sourcing, RFx (RFI/RFP/RFQ), commercial analysis, and award recommendations for capital equipment, tooling, facility upgrades, engineering services, etc.


• Develop and manage procurement plans aligned to project timelines, budget approvals, and stage‑gate processes.


• Coordinate pre‑install site readiness, logistics, commissioning, and warranty/after‑sales support planning.

Supplier Identification, Evaluation & Performance

• Identify and pre‑qualify OEMs and integrators; run competitive events; coordinate the evaluation of technical fit, capacity, lead times, and lifecycle support.


• Work with AFL user functions to onboard AFL selected suppliers


• Negotiate commercial terms, payment milestones, warranties, service levels, and performance guarantees; monitor supplier KPIs (OTD, quality, uptime, etc.)

Contracting & Risk Management

• Work with AFL PMO team to draft and negotiate contracts, MSAs, SoWs, and equipment purchase agreements in partnership with AFL Legal team.


• Mitigate risks via milestone‑based payments, acceptance criteria, liquidated damages, spare parts strategies, and IP/technology protection.


• Ensure compliance with AFL company policies, audit requirements, and applicable regulations (e.g., safety, environmental, cybersecurity for connected equipment).

Financial Stewardship & Analytics

• Build cost models and business cases; perform TCO and ROI/NPV analyses; benchmark pricing and total lifecycle costs.


• Track and report savings (hard and soft), cost avoidance, cash flow timing, and capitalization vs. expense treatment in alignment with Finance.


• Validate invoices against milestones and deliverables; manage change orders and variance controls.

Cross‑Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Engineering, Operations, Facilities, IT, EHS, and Finance to translate technical requirements into commercial outcomes.


• Facilitate design‑to‑cost and standardization decisions and equipment specification finalization.


• Drive consensus in vendor selection through structured scorecards and risk/benefit trade‑off reviews.

Project & Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate closely with AFL PMO team to align procurement workstreams for multiple CapEx projects to timelines/dependencies with clear line of sight to critical path.


• Communicate status, risks, and mitigation actions to stakeholders; escalate issues proactively to enable on‑time commissioning.

Data Integrity & Systems

• Maintain accurate records in ERP (quotes, POs, contracts, assets); ensure item and supplier master data quality.


• Use dashboards to monitor budgets, commitments, forecasted cash out, and supplier performance; drive data‑backed decisions.

Sustainability & Compliance

• Integrate ESG criteria into sourcing (energy efficiency, end‑of‑life recycling, supplier CSR practices).


• Ensure alignment to safety and regulatory requirements throughout equipment lifecycle.

Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to streamline CapEx purchasing, standardize specifications, and reduce total lifecycle cost.


• Lead post‑implementation reviews to capture lessons learned; institutionalize best practices and templates.

Personal Qualities

• Compelling and persuasive communicator with excellent interpersonal skills


• Ability to analyze relevant metrics with good grasp of technical requirements


• Works well under pressure/stress


• High attention to detail

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree or Master's Degree Preferred 


• Proficient with MS Office Products; Excel specifically.


• Prior office related experience in Supply Chain functions required


• Minimum of 3 years experience with Indirect Spend and CapEx purchase negotiations


• CPM, CPIM is a plus


• Project Management experience is a plus

Working Conditions

• The physical environment requires the employee to work indoors under climate controlled conditions. Employee may on occasion be required to work overtime.