Defense Senior Buyer Planner

Position Summary

The role of Sr. Buyer/Planner will focus on the procurement of technical, highly engineered components for assigned commodities to support new product development and manufacturing product lines. The Sr Buyer will ensure adherence to corporate standards, operational plans and Procurement goals including: RFQ’s, negotiations, cost accountability, purchase order placement, resolution of supply issues to meet customer demand, resolution of invoicing issues, project execution, and attainment of Key Process Indicators (KPIs).

Principal Activities

• Perform analysis of customer demand, sales forecasts and historical material usage to develop and execute make to order, stock to order and build to forecast plans.
• Manage MRP parameters to ensure appropriate supply pipeline and inventory is available to meet customer demand and sudden changes in the production schedule.
• Create Purchase Orders, review daily the open purchase order report to resolve late and partial shipments with suppliers and update the MRP system.
• Review daily the Exception report and expedite material as needed.
• Resolve incoming shipment discrepancies and invoice discrepancies in a timely manner.
• Attend daily production meetings and project meetings to provide updates and take immediate action on critical items.
• Ensure accuracy of supplier/item master data including UOM, unit price, delivered lead-time.
• Prepare documentation for and submit RFQ’s, analyze the price, lead time, terms, and adherence to technical specifications.
• Partner with the Commodity Managers on the Global Supply Chain Team to identify new suppliers with cost savings opportunities while ensuring Total Cost of Ownership, quality, and delivery objectives are met.
• Analyze and monitor contract performance to ensure compliance with contractual obligations.
• Ensure supplier compliance with stocking programs such as Kanban, JIT, etc.
• Manage and develop suppliers thru KPI target reviews for on-time delivery, PPM, invoice discrepancies and service levels with goal of continuous improvement.
• Communicate supplier pricing issues to the Purchasing Manager in a timely manner.
• Able to teach teammates skills they may not currently possess.

Candidate Requirements

• Experience Requirements: Understanding of overall materials flow and other Supply Chain functions; Knowledge and understanding of global market trends; Strong negotiation skills, price analysis, and make buy analysis; Experienced with domestic and international sourcing, supplier selection, supplier qualification, and managing/developing supplier overall performance; Strong planning and analytical skills; experienced working with MRP in an ERP environment – IFS preferred, but not mandatory; Extensive knowledge of inventory management concepts in a lean manufacturing environment; Experience in reviewing and understanding basics of technical documents (drawings, prints, specifications, etc.) as required for purchasing; Experience in High Mix-Low Volume custom fabricated material manufacturing environment; Experience in buying metals, motors, pumps, and rotors is a plus; Ability to work on cross-functional teams within a highly matrixed organization; Project management skills including the ability to prioritize, balance, and manage multiple efforts with strong results/goal orientation; Uses time effectively, prioritizes and organizes workflow; can orchestrate multiple activities at once; Agility and personal adaptability with the ability to successfully manage multiple priorities with a high sense of urgency in a dynamic business environment; Excellent communication (oral and written) and interpersonal skills with the ability to convey information and ideas in a variety of media, tactful, confident, at all global levels, internal and external; High ethical standards per CIRCOR Code of Conduct & Business Ethics and CIRCOR Supplier Code of Conduct; Knowledge and proficiency in MS Office suite applications; Intermediate to advanced skills in Excel: pivot tables, VLOOKUP’s, advanced formula’s, macros are a plus.
• Education & Experience: Bachelor's Degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Engineering or a related discipline; 5 to 10 years’ experience purchasing for a manufacturing facility or lean environment; Proficient working in MRP system in manufacturing environment; Professional procurement or material certification is a plus.