Land Purchasing Manager

The Role

A growing Northern California homebuilding division is replacing its purchasing leader. This is the seat that owns the trade partner base and the cost-per-start number for the division — not a coordinator role with a manager title.

You'll run the bid cycles, negotiate and hold the master agreements, own option and start package pricing, and partner directly with construction ops on trade capacity. The division is building at pace and needs someone who knows what it actually costs to build in the Sacramento and Placer County markets.

What You'll Own

Trade Partner Management

• Maintain and expand the division's preferred trade partner network across Northern California
• Run annual and mid-cycle bid processes across all scopes — framing, concrete, drywall, mechanical, roofing, flatwork
• Negotiate master agreements priced to current market conditions, not last cycle's numbers
• Carry redundancy in every critical scope so a single trade partner is never a schedule risk

Cost Governance

• Own cost-per-start budgeting for the division; track actuals to plan and explain variances with context
• Leverage national account contracts while protecting division-level flexibility
• Manage the option and start package catalog — pricing, availability, and cycle time
• Drive value engineering and structural cost work without giving up build quality

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with construction operations on trade capacity planning
• Work with land and finance on pro forma assumptions for new communities
• Coordinate with design/studio on option complexity and trade impact
• Lead and develop the purchasing coordinators and buyers under this seat

What You've Done

• 7+ years in homebuilding or residential purchasing, including time in a senior or leadership seat
• Deep familiarity with California construction costs, trades, and labor market dynamics — Sacramento / Placer / Central Valley preferred
• Run a bid process from setup through award — you know a good number when you see one, and you know when you're being played
• Managed a trade partner base through at least one market cycle
• Production homebuilding background strongly preferred; comfort inside a larger corporate structure is a must
• Proficiency in purchasing or ERP systems (BuildPro, Newstar, Oracle, SAP, or similar)
• U.S. work authorization required