Purchasing Manager at San Diego Human Resources Consulting, Inc. in Poway, California, United States

Job description

• 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.
• 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.

Responsibilities

• 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

Requirements

• 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
• 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

Skills

Required

• MRP/MPS
• Material planning
• ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, or comparable)
• Excel
• Data analysis
• Negotiation
• Supplier performance management
• Dual/multi-sourcing
• Supplier qualification
• Leadership
• Communication
• Problem-solving

Preferred

• International supply chain
• Incoterms 2020
• Freight decisions (air vs ocean)
• Customs and international shipping
• Multimodal and consolidated freight
• Country-of-origin and supply-risk