The Purchasing Director is responsible for leading the procurement function for all direct materials required for our production lines. This includes creating and implementing sourcing strategies, managing supplier relationships, negotiation contracts and driving continuous improvement initiatives to reduce costs, improve quality and delivery performance.
Will work closely with the Advanced Purchasing, Supplier Development, R&D, Manufacturing and Quality Functions.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Develop local, regional, and global sourcing strategies for main commodities to ensure we have a solid supply base.
Identify, evaluate, and select suppliers for raw materials based on their capabilities, performance and alignment on company objectives.
Established and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers to drive collaboration, innovation, and improvements.
Collaborate with quality teams to ensure that direct materials meet or exceed quality standards and specifications.
Lead negotiations of terms and conditions of contracts to guarantee certainty of supply with the best terms.
Intensive, regular contact with internal/external interface partners to recognize developments (in market, demand, etc.) and exert influence accordingly.
Develop and execute cost reduction activities and plan to meet annual purchasing performance goals.
Monitor supplier performance thru established KPI's and coordinate, along with supplier development, efforts in case supplier is not meeting expectations.
Develop a purchasing forecast with purchasing controlling.
Support activities when launching programs coordinating efforts with advance purchasing.
Nominate suppliers on time for new projects.
Provide leadership and guidance to the purchasing team, including setting performance goals, conducting performance reviews and fostering a culture of collaboration and accountability.
Other duties as assigned.
Education / Experience
Bachelor's degree in Engineering is required, MBA preferred.
Minimum of 10 years of Purchasing /Supply Chain / Quality experience.
Previous experience with VA/VE (Value Analysis/Value Engineering).
Candidates with C. P. M. certifications/designations preferred.
Cross-functional experience gained in procurement-related functional areas.
Strong International background.
Language Ability
Fluent in English
Spanish or other second idiom desirable
Solid evaluation and analytical ability as well as strong organizational and communication skills are necessary.
Reasoning Ability
Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw conclusions.
Computer Skills
Proficiency with WORD, POWERPOINT, EXCEL, required. SAP and Autoneum specific Purchasing Software to be trained.
This position works under pressure of deadlines with interruptions occurring regularly.
Travel is required, by car or air, to visit suppliers and manufacturing locations. Some international travel could be required.
Position frequently requires more than 40 hours per week.
The primary purpose of this job description is to summarize the key/essential duties. Other duties may be assigned.
To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.