Purchasing Manager

Purchasing Manager – Manufacturing

Poway, California | Onsite
Confidential Search

Are you a procurement leader who can think strategically, lead a team, negotiate with confidence, and still understand what it takes to keep a manufacturing operation running?

Our client, an established manufacturing organization, is seeking an experienced Purchasing Manager to lead plant-level procurement operations and help strengthen its overall supply chain. This is a hands-on leadership role with responsibility for purchasing strategy, supplier performance, cost optimization, supply continuity, team development, and procurement process improvement.

We're looking for someone who doesn't just react to shortages—you anticipate them, solve them, and build processes that help prevent them.

What You'll Do

Lead the Purchasing Team

• Lead, mentor, and develop a team of Buyers responsible for supporting plant production requirements
• Oversee purchasing activities from MRP requirements through purchase order execution and delivery
• Establish and monitor KPIs around supplier delivery, order accuracy, procurement cycle times, and team performance
• Create accountability while developing a collaborative, solutions-oriented purchasing organization

Protect Supply & Production

• Serve as the escalation point for critical shortages, supplier delays, and supply disruptions
• Develop proactive mitigation strategies to maintain continuity of supply
• Partner with Planning, Production, Engineering, Quality, Finance, and other stakeholders to resolve supply challenges
• Manage allocation and capacity constraints while prioritizing materials based on production requirements

Drive Strategic Sourcing & Supplier Performance

• Build and manage relationships with critical and high-impact suppliers
• Lead complex negotiations involving pricing, contracts, service levels, lead times, and commercial terms
• Drive supplier performance reviews and corrective actions for recurring delivery, quality, or service issues
• Identify cost savings, cost avoidance, inventory optimization, and sourcing opportunities
• Develop dual- and multi-sourcing strategies to reduce supply chain risk

Improve Systems & Processes

• Maintain purchasing and supplier data integrity within the ERP system
• Standardize purchasing workflows, controls, and procedures
• Identify opportunities to automate and streamline procurement processes
• Use data and analytics to improve purchasing decisions, supplier performance, and inventory management
• Support procurement digitalization and continuous improvement initiatives

What You'll Bring

• 5–7 years of progressive procurement or purchasing experience within a manufacturing or industrial environment
• 3+ years of purchasing, procurement, or supply chain leadership experience
• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Logistics, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience
• Strong working knowledge of MRP/MPS and material planning in a manufacturing environment
• Advanced experience with ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or comparable platforms
• Strong Excel and data analysis skills
• Demonstrated success negotiating with suppliers and driving measurable cost improvements
• Experience managing supplier performance, shortages, allocations, and supply chain risk
• Working knowledge of inventory strategies including safety stock, ABC/XYZ segmentation, reorder points, and consignment
• Experience with dual/multi-sourcing and supplier qualification strategies
• Strong leadership, communication, negotiation, and problem-solving skills

Global Supply Chain Experience

We're especially interested in candidates who understand the realities of managing an international supply chain, including:

• Asia, Europe, and U.S. supplier networks
• Incoterms 2020
• Air versus ocean freight decisions
• Customs and international shipping timelines
• Multimodal and consolidated freight strategies
• Capacity constraints and supplier allocation
• Country-of-origin and supply-risk considerations

Why Consider This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to do more than manage purchase orders. You'll have the ability to lead a team, influence sourcing strategy, strengthen supplier partnerships, improve processes, reduce risk, and directly impact plant performance and profitability.

The ideal candidate combines strategic thinking with operational expertise—you can negotiate a critical supplier agreement one day and work with your team to resolve an urgent material shortage the next.

If you're a manufacturing procurement leader who enjoys developing people, solving complex supply challenges, and building stronger purchasing operations, we'd like to hear from you.

This is a confidential search. Additional information regarding the company, location, compensation, and opportunity will be shared with qualified candidates during the interview process.