Purchasing Operations Buyer - FNA

Ford; India; On-site; INR 900,000 - 1,200,000; Full time

Job summary

Ford in India seeks a seasoned purchasing professional to manage RFQ, PO/TO lifecycle, and supplier engagement across functions.

You will negotiate costs, reconcile milestones, handle price claims, and support capacity planning while ensuring purchasing controls and KPI targets.

The role requires a bachelor’s in engineering (MBA or master’s in engineering acceptable) and 3–8 years in Purchasing/Strategic Sourcing, with SAP/Ariba and Excel/Power BI.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Master’s in engineering or MBA or equivalent qualification.
• Experience in Purchasing/Strategic Sourcing, New Product Development, Supply Chain or related role.
• Strong RFQ, negotiation, PO/TO lifecycle knowledge and purchasing controls.

Responsibilities

• Manage RFQ through PO/TO execution and close-out.
• Engage with suppliers and internal stakeholders to resolve commercial and supply issues.
• Execute PO/TO, requisitions, supplier quotes, and amendments.
• Negotiate costs at program milestones and verify commercial adjustments.
• Manage supplier price claims and settlements for cancellations, expedites, obsolescence and schedule instability.
• Support procurement resourcing, supplier onboarding, and code creation.
• Administer engineering changes and NM/TO lifecycle costs; ensure governance and KPI compliance.
• Maintain purchasing master data, supplier codes, and documentation.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical thinking

Cross-functional teamwork

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in engineering

Master’s degree in engineering

MBA

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Power BI

SAP S/4HANA

Excel

Job description

• Manage operational purchasing activities from purchase requisition and RFQ through commercial alignment, purchase/tool order approval and close-out.
• Engage with Component Suppliers, Internal stakeholders - Core Sourcing Buyer, Capacity Buyer, Supplier Technical Assurance (STA) Engineer, Product Development Engineer, Finance, Material Planning & Logistics, After sales (FCSD) Buyer and other skill teams to resolve commercial and supply issues while meeting purchasing controls and Key Performance Indicator (KPI) targets.
• PO/TO Execution - Execute Purchase Order (PO) and Tool Order (TO), including purchase requisitions, supplier quote receipt, commercial negotiation and approvals. Also execute interim orders and lump-sum purchase orders as required.
• Job 1 Pricing - Reconcile and negotiate costs between program milestones (Program Approval to Job 1); determine interim, firm and final prices; verify commercial adjustments and complete required PO/TO amendments.
• Supplier Price Claims – Manage Raw-material price adjustments and other current-production commercial requirements. Prepare, negotiate and settle supplier claims relating to cancellations, expedites, obsolescence and schedule instability.
• Manage supplier price claims through in-depth market research and data collection. Develop a negotiation strategy, align proposals with leadership, negotiate and conclude the agreement, and close the claim in the system.
• Resourcing - Support current-production resourcing activities from supplier selection, portal registration, onboarding, supplier-code creation and freight and packaging cost studies through final implementation.
• Engineering Changes - Administer engineering and running changes, below-threshold Not To Exceed (NTE) concerns, New Model Program Economics Level true-up, Raw Material Indexing (RMIP) maintenance and PO non-renewal resolution.
• Commercial Recoveries - Responsible for Engineering Design & Testing (ED&T) overdue recovery, freight, tariffs and other commercial recoveries. Setup PRIS / BAR (Buyer Action Reminder) in the system, monitor progress and ensure timely recovery.
• Supplier Reviews - Conduct ongoing supplier reviews and resolve operational escalations, including accounts-payable and MP&L issues, supply shortages, supplier performance follow-up and interfaces with PD program teams and FCSD.
• Capacity Management - Support detailed capacity validation. Execute short-term mitigation actions such as bank builds and additional overtime, and implement long-term actions through Purchase Order and Tool Order execution for capacity programmes. Responsibilities include long-lead funding alignment, tooling negotiation, tool-audit documentation, refurbishment, supplier follow-up and PPAP monitoring. Promptly flag missing releases, insufficient budgets, delivery risks and other exceptions to the responsible teams.
• Cost Reduction Activities - Support Total Value Management (TVM) /cost initiatives, annual supplier negotiations, cost-status reviews, Optimal Cost Estimate (OCE) / Gap closure, cost-strategy workshops, special cost-attack teams and savings-target communication.
• Supply Continuity - Support cross-functional production-risk activities such as Price Change Request (PCR) actions, stamping offloads, financial-distress resolution, Daily Production Plan (DPP) follow-up, warranty/field-service negotiations and supply-continuity actions.
• Other responsibilities - Perform frozen-turnover checks, gap-analysis data extraction, physical verification of supplier declarations, financial submissions and Job 1 cost true-ups.
• Governance and Documentation - Maintain accurate documentation, audit readiness, stakeholder communication and timely closure of assigned actions in accordance with purchasing policies, DOA (delegated authority) and KPI requirements.
• Maintain purchasing master data and transactional records - including CSS updates, supplier codes, auto-material indexing/true-up.

Experience: 3 to 8 years in Purchasing / Strategic Sourcing, New Product Development, Supply Chain or a related purchasing role.

Education: A bachelor’s degree in engineering, a master’s degree in engineering, a Master of Business Administration or an equivalent relevant qualification.

Commercial & Process Knowledge: Strong understanding of RFQ and negotiation, PO/TO lifecycle, supplier onboarding, cost and claim administration, tooling/capacity execution, supply disruption resolution and purchasing controls.

Soft Skills: Excellent negotiation, analytical and problem-solving skills; clear communication; strong cross-functional teamwork across cultures; attention to detail; ownership, perseverance and timely escalation.

IT Skills: Advanced Microsoft Office skills, particularly in Excel and Power BI; working knowledge of SAP or other ERP systems; and the ability to work with I-ERP, SAP S/4HANA and Ariba..