Senior Buyer
Robert Half · Muscatine, IA · Yesterday
On-sitePurchasingTemporary
About the role
We're seeking a hands-on Senior Buyer to step into a critical role supporting a manufacturing operation during a planned leave of absence. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who enjoys balancing purchasing, inventory management, vendor relations, and data analysis in a fast-paced environment. Initial engagement is contract approximately 6 months in duration with potential for longer-term opportunity based on business needs.
Responsibilities
- Manage purchasing activities for inventory and production materials
- Build and maintain strong vendor relationships
- Monitor inventory levels and help resolve shortages, discrepancies, and supply issues
- Analyze Bills of Materials (BOMs) and purchasing requirements
- Review pricing, lead times, and supplier performance
- Investigate invoice discrepancies and purchasing exceptions in partnership with Finance
- Coordinate with Quality on non-conforming materials and vendor-related issues
- Partner with Engineering on product changes, obsolete parts, and sourcing alternatives
- Support ERP-driven purchasing and inventory processes
- Contribute to ongoing system and process improvement initiatives
Why consider this opportunity
- High-impact role supporting a critical manufacturing operation
- Opportunity to work closely with leadership and key business functions
- Exposure to ERP transformation and process improvement initiatives
- Diverse responsibilities that go beyond traditional purchasing
- Potential for long-term career opportunity
Qualifications
- 5+ years of purchasing, procurement, materials management, or supply chain experience
- Manufacturing experience required
- Strong ERP experience (SAP, PeopleSoft, Oracle, JD Edwards, or similar)
- Advanced Excel skills with the ability to analyze and manipulate large datasets
- Experience working with inventory, BOMs, production planning, and supplier management
- Strong problem-solving skills and attention to detail
- Ability to work independently while collaborating across multiple departments
Preferred qualifications
- SAP experience or ERP implementation exposure
- Experience supporting Engineering Change Requests (ECRs)
- Power BI or reporting/analytics experience
- Background in inventory control or materials planning