Purchasing Manager

About the role

The Purchasing Manager leads the day-to-day procurement of raw materials, packaging, equipment, and indirect spend that support coatings manufacturing. This role ensures the timely, cost-effective availability of materials to meet production schedules and customer service commitments.

Responsibilities

• Manage day-to-day purchasing operations, including purchase order creation, order confirmation, expediting, and issue resolution to ensure on-time delivery of raw materials, packaging, and indirect materials.
• Ensure uninterrupted materials availability to support production schedules, proactively identifying and mitigating supply risks, shortages, and lead-time changes.
• Partner with Master Planning and Operations to align purchasing activity with demand, capacity, and production plans.
• Maintain accurate purchasing data in the ERP system (pricing, lead times, minimum order quantities, and supplier records) to improve visibility and execution speed.
• Resolve invoice, receiving, and quality discrepancies in partnership with Finance, Receiving, and Quality.
• Execute sourcing activities, including RFQs, supplier evaluations, and quote analysis, in support of category strategies defined by the Director.
• Negotiate pricing, terms, and supply agreements for assigned categories to deliver cost savings and reliable supply.
• Manage supplier relationships and monitor performance across quality, delivery, cost, and responsiveness; lead corrective actions when performance gaps arise.
• Support supplier consolidation, qualification of alternate sources, and risk-mitigation efforts to strengthen supply continuity.
• Partner with R&D and Quality to identify and qualify new raw materials and suppliers in support of New Product Development (NPD).
• Partner with Planning and Inventory Control to set and maintain inventory targets, safety stock, and replenishment parameters aligned to lead times, demand, and service goals.
• Balance material availability with inventory and working-capital objectives, minimizing excess, obsolete, and slow-moving stock.
• Support inventory accuracy through disciplined data management and partnership on cycle counts.
• Track and report purchase price variance (PPV), cost savings, and material cost trends against budget.
• Identify and execute cost-reduction and value-engineering opportunities in partnership with the Director and cross-functional teams.
• Provide timely reporting and analysis on supplier performance, spend, and procurement metrics.
• Drive continuous improvement of procurement processes, controls, and ERP data quality.
• Standardize purchasing procedures and documentation to ensure consistency, compliance, and auditability.
• Lead, mentor, and develop the buying team, fostering accountability, ownership, and continuous improvement.
• Set clear goals, priorities, and performance expectations aligned to service, cost, and supply-continuity objectives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, business, chemistry, chemical engineering, or a related field.
• 7+ years of purchasing or procurement experience, preferably in the coatings, chemicals, paints, adhesives, or specialty materials industries.
• Working knowledge of raw material categories used in coatings or chemical manufacturing.
• Demonstrated success negotiating supply agreements and managing supplier performance.
• Proficiency with ERP systems and procurement / analytics tools.
• Strong organizational, communication, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• People-leadership experience preferred.
• Professional certifications (CPSM, CPIM, CSCP, or similar) a plus.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• On-time delivery / materials availability to the production schedule
• Purchase price variance (PPV) and purchased material cost savings vs. budget
• Supplier performance (quality, delivery, and responsiveness)
• Inventory turns and/or days of inventory on hand (DOH)
• ERP / purchasing data accuracy