Buyer Country Lead

Messer Americas; Bridgewater Township (NJ); On-site; USD 110,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Messer Americas seeks a senior procurement professional to lead sourcing and spend management in a global setting. You will negotiate with suppliers, analyze needs, and drive savings while aligning with contracts and internal stakeholders.

The role requires 10+ years in procurement, strong negotiation, and proficiency with SAP and Coupa. Fluency in English is essential; Spanish or French is a plus. On-site in New Jersey with opportunities to optimize processes and train teams.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Engineering or related field.
• Minimum 10 years of procurement or supply chain management experience.
• Proven negotiation skills and track record of savings/value add.
• Strong communication and analytical abilities; able to interface with leaders across the organization.
• Fluent in English; Spanish or French a plus.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate and manage annual spend of $25–$50M.
• Review requisitions, develop sources, issue bid requests and evaluate quotations.
• Lead sourcing with internal partners and external vendors; ensure contract compliance.
• Coordinate with global buyers and ensure hub compliance with global contracts.
• Analyze data to support compliance reporting and savings tracking.
• Provide training on requisition-to-pay process; improve processes and controls.

Skills

Negotiation skills

Communication skills

Analytical thinking

Project management

Supply chain knowledge

Excel

PowerPoint

Bilingual Spanish/English

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, or Engineering

Tools

SAP

Coupa

ERP systems

Job description

Principal Responsibilities

• Negotiation and Management of Spend ($25 to $50 Million/yr)
• Review and analyse purchase requisitions, investigates and develops sources of supplies, prepares bid specifications, issues bid requests and reviews quotations
• Analyse internal demand requirements and external market condition to identify areas of opportunity and improvement
• Lead sourcing efforts with Internal Business Partners and External Vendors
• Coordinate with global buyers where appropriate and ensure Hub compliance with global contracts
• Perform bid comparison and vendor evaluation, lead award decisions, negotiate contract terms, coordinate with Legal, and ensure on-going contract compliance
• Reporting and Compliance
• Ensure purchase order is consistent with buyer/seller contractual obligations
• Experience with analysing data to assist in compliance reporting
• Track progress with regard to compliance with preferred, use of appropriate process and controls, and savings
• Report savings and compliance metrics monthly
• Process Improvement
• Troubleshoot questions from vendors and field personnel to identify preferred purchase to pay method and to assist in questions related to, SAP and/or Coupa
• Identify root causes and propose solutions when invoice and Purchase Order do not match
• Good understanding of PO and Non/PO invoice process
• Assist vendors and field personnel in research and reconciliation of past due invoices
• Seek out opportunities for continuous improvement, increasing knowledge of the business, systems, procurement and finance department responsibilities
• Provide training to all Internal Business Partners in the requisition to pay process
• Advanced knowledge of requisitioning, purchasing and receiving modules in SAP and Coupa
• Support internal audits and external audits
• Achieve the benefits (savings and value add targets) and objectives set
• Ensure that all savings whether made by Procurement or the business which is supplier facing are recorded
• Network within the business to identify opportunities for procurement to deliver value and savings
• Monitor agreed processes with the key Internal Business Partners to ensure procurement's early involvement in projects which will incur external spend
• Ensure that where appropriate contracts exist which provide suitable levels of risk mitigation and prevention
• Negotiate supply agreements with "A" suppliers and filler metal suppliers
• Promote corporate values of the company
• Ensure code of conduct is observed in all dealings with our suppliers and business partners, fostering relationships and the basis of mutual respect
• Ensure staff and suppliers act in accordance with all appropriate safety legislation and guidelines
• Work with suppliers and internally to ensure that they comply with the Ethical Purchasing Policy

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree , preferable within Discipline Supply Chain, Business, Engineering
• Experienced minimum 10 years in Procurement or Supply Chain Management roles, or in a commercial environment
• Proven negotiation skills
• Proven ability for continuous improvement/savings/value add and a strong advocate of best practice
• Strong communication (written and verbal), organizational and interpersonal skills
• Excellent analytical and independent thinking skills
• Ability to interface with individuals at all levels of the organization to understand Business Partner's needs
• Must be able to prioritize workload with minimum supervision
• Teamwork and collaboration skills - Bilingual Spanish/ English Required key skills (functional/technical)
• Customer focus; excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Able to work across all functions and levels of an organization
• Ability to learn quickly and adapt to change effectively; a change leader and team player
• Finance and Accounts Payable, Commercial Awareness
• Strong understanding and adherence to policies and procedures
• Strategic thinker with strong business acumen. Able to think beyond function and drive strategic solutions
• Committed to ongoing improvement
• Very strong technically: sourcing process, IT systems, negotiating, and supply chain management
• Advanced level in Excel and Powerpoint
• Quality and safety focus oriented
• Supervisory skills & team management
• Project management
• Contract negotiation and ideally drafting
• Proven ability for continuous improvement/savings/value add and to be a strong advocate of best practice
• Language skills - Fluent in English , French and / or Spanish a plus

Equal Opportunity Employer

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For further information, please review the Know Your Rights notice from the Department of Labor.