Manager Procurement

The Purchasing Manager oversees daily purchasing operations to ensure materials and services meet the organization’s quality, delivery, and cost requirements. This role leads and develops the purchasing team, manages supplier execution, and ensures purchasing activities support production schedules, customer commitments, and business needs.

Working closely with Planning, Operations, Engineering, Quality, Program Management, and Finance, the Purchasing Manager drives supplier performance, resolves material shortages, manages purchasing risks, and improves processes and data accuracy.

Key Responsibilities

Team Leadership and Development

• Direct daily purchasing activities, establish priorities, and allocate resources to meet production and program requirements.
• Recruit, train, coach, and develop purchasing personnel; establish clear expectations and evaluate performance.
• Build team capability in purchase order management, supplier communication, material issue resolution, and ERP utilization.
• Promote accountability, proactive communication, and timely resolution of purchasing and supplier issues.

Purchasing Execution and Cost Control

• Oversee timely purchase order placement and maintenance in accordance with approved suppliers, pricing, agreements, and authorization requirements.
• Ensure supplier acknowledgments accurately reflect purchase order pricing, quantities, specifications, and required delivery dates.
• Resolve pricing discrepancies, invoice issues, and purchase order changes with suppliers and internal stakeholders.
• Monitor purchase price variances and ensure negotiated pricing, payment terms, and agreement benefits are applied.
• Support customer proposals by obtaining and validating material pricing, lead times, and availability.
• Monitor expediting, transportation, and other purchasing-related costs to support budget and operational objectives.

Supplier Performance and Relationships

• Manage day-to-day supplier relationships to support material availability, production schedules, and program requirements.
• Monitor supplier delivery, quality, capacity, and responsiveness against established expectations and purchasing agreements.
• Conduct supplier performance reviews, manage escalations, and drive recovery plans and corrective actions for recurring issues.
• Partner with Quality and Engineering to resolve supplier nonconformances and support supplier development and qualification activities.
• Hold suppliers accountable for purchase order requirements, delivery commitments, and contractual obligations.

Material Availability and Risk Management

• Partner with Planning and Operations to align purchasing priorities with production schedules and customer commitments.
• Oversee supplier delivery follow-up, expediting, and escalation of material shortages.
• Maintain visibility into open purchase orders, past-due deliveries, long-lead materials, and supply risks.
• Coordinate recovery actions for supplier delays, capacity constraints, quality issues, obsolescence, and supply disruptions.
• Support evaluation and qualification of alternate materials or suppliers by coordinating purchasing information and requirements with Engineering, Quality, and other stakeholders.
• Communicate material risks, recovery status, and decisions requiring management support.

Process Improvement and Controls

• Improve purchasing workflows, purchase order management, and ERP data accuracy.
• Establish and track purchasing metrics, including supplier on-time delivery, purchase order placement timeliness, past-due orders, purchase price variances, and shortage reduction.
• Support inventory objectives by aligning purchasing execution with demand and managing order changes, cancellations, and excess material exposure.
• Maintain accurate purchasing records and ensure compliance with company policies, approval requirements, and applicable contractual obligations.
• Support corporate procurement initiatives and implement consistent purchasing practices.

Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Operations Management, or a related field, with at least six years of relevant experience and four years of people management experience; or

• Master’s degree in a related field, with at least six years of relevant experience and two years of people management experience.