Purchasing Manager

About the role

Purchasing Manager at Safe Air Technology, a manufacturer of specialized HVAC equipment for mission-critical applications. Full-time position with a focus on supporting production schedules and customer commitments.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day purchasing activities for materials, components, equipment, and services required for manufacturing operations.
• Lead and support the purchasing team, establish clear priorities, expectations, and accountability.
• Review production requirements, project schedules, inventory levels, and material demand to align purchasing activities with operational needs.
• Issue and manage purchase orders ensuring accuracy in pricing, quantities, specifications, delivery dates, and terms.
• Proactively monitor open purchase orders and supplier commitments to identify potential shortages or delays.
• Expedite critical materials and develop recovery plans when supplier delays or shortages occur.
• Maintain regular communication with suppliers regarding order status, lead times, capacity, quality concerns, and changing production requirements.
• Develop and maintain strong supplier relationships while holding vendors accountable for quality, cost, and on-time delivery.
• Negotiate pricing, payment terms, lead times, freight terms, and other commercial conditions when appropriate.
• Identify opportunities for cost savings, supplier consolidation, improved purchasing terms, and strategic sourcing.
• Assist with identifying and qualifying alternate suppliers to reduce supply-chain risk and improve material availability.
• Collaborate with Engineering regarding specifications, approved components, substitutions, revisions, and new material requirements.
• Work with Production and Operations to understand upcoming material needs and address shortages affecting manufacturing schedules.
• Collaborate with Quality to address supplier quality issues, nonconforming materials, and corrective actions.
• Cook with Accounting to resolve invoice discrepancies, pricing differences, receiving issues, and other purchase-order-related concerns.
• Maintain accurate purchasing information, supplier records, lead times, pricing, and purchase-order data within the company ERP system.
• Monitor purchasing KPIs, including supplier on-time delivery, purchase price variance, open purchase orders, shortages, lead times, and supplier performance.
• Provide regular updates to leadership regarding critical material risks, supplier concerns, purchasing priorities, and corrective actions.
• Develop and improve purchasing procedures, controls, and standard work to support continued company growth.
• Ensure purchasing activities comply with company policies, approval requirements, and internal controls.
• Support inventory optimization efforts while balancing material availability with working-capital objectives.
• Participate in production planning, project, and supply-chain meetings as required.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field preferred.
• 5+ years of purchasing, procurement, or supply-chain experience, preferably within a manufacturing environment.
• Previous experience supervising or leading purchasing/procurement employees preferred.
• Strong understanding of purchasing processes, supplier management, inventory, manufacturing requirements, and material planning.
• Experience working with ERP or MRP systems required; experience with Sage 100 is a plus.
• Strong negotiation, vendor-management, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to read and understand bills of materials, part specifications, drawings, and other technical purchasing requirements.
• Strong Microsoft Excel and data-analysis skills.
• Excellent organizational skills with the ability to manage a high volume of purchase orders, suppliers, projects, and competing priorities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to work effectively across Engineering, Production, Quality, Accounting, Project Management, and other departments.

Key Competencies

• Sense of Urgency: Recognizes material risks early and acts quickly to prevent production delays.
• Accountability: Takes ownership of purchasing commitments and follows issues through resolution.
• Planning & Organization: Effectively prioritizes purchasing activities based on production and project requirements.
• Supplier Management: Builds productive supplier relationships while maintaining clear performance expectations.
• Problem Solving: Develops practical solutions to shortages, delays, pricing issues, and supply-chain disruptions.
• Communication: Provides timely and accurate information regarding material status, risks, and purchasing priorities.
• Attention to Detail: Maintains accurate purchase orders, pricing, quantities, dates, and ERP information.
• Cross-Functional Collaboration: Works effectively with internal teams to support production and customer requirements.

About Safe Air Technology

Safe Air Technology designs and manufactures specialized HVAC equipment for mission-critical and demanding applications. The company's continued growth requires a strong, responsive supply chain capable of supporting increasingly complex production requirements and customer schedules. Our team operates around three core values: Integrity, Precision, Empowerment.