Director of Purchasing

Demakes Bros.; Lynn (MA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Job summary

Demakes Bros. is seeking an experienced Director of Purchasing to lead our procurement function and develop a strategic, scalable approach across the organization.

This hands‑on leadership role blends strategic thinking with day‑to‑day execution in a fast‑paced manufacturing environment. The role oversees meat and protein purchasing, supplier negotiations, contract management, market analysis, and supply risk management.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Operations, or a related field.
• 8+ years of progressive purchasing, procurement, sourcing, commodity trading, or supply chain experience.
• Experience leading a purchasing function or team.
• Strong experience purchasing meat, proteins, or other food commodities.
• Experience with international protein sourcing, trading, or commodity merchandising.
• Proven experience negotiating supplier contracts, pricing, terms, and strategic agreements.
• Experience evaluating commodity risk, purchasing positions, and sourcing strategies to manage cost and supply exposure.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen and an understanding of how purchasing decisions impact margins and overall business performance.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn market, inventory, forecast, and financial data into actionable decisions.
• Hands-on approach and willingness to work at both strategic and tactical levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead, manage, and develop a small team of purchasing professionals while actively involved in day-to-day purchasing.
• Take direct ownership of meat and protein purchasing while overseeing other categories.
• Develop and execute short- and long-term purchasing and sourcing strategies.
• Monitor meat and protein markets, pricing trends, supply/demand dynamics, and market conditions.
• Translate market intelligence into actionable purchasing recommendations and supplier selections.
• Develop commodity risk management strategies to mitigate price volatility and disruptions.
• Evaluate domestic and international sourcing opportunities and supplier options.
• Lead supplier negotiations including pricing, contracts, terms, and volume commitments.
• Build strong supplier relationships and continually evaluate alternative sources.
• Balance cost, quality, inventory and service levels in decisions.
• Identify cost savings opportunities while aligning with business needs.
• Identify supply risks and develop mitigation strategies.
• Align purchasing with forecasts, production schedules, and changing needs.
• Partner with Sales and Finance to understand customer requirements and margins.
• Document and monitor supplier contracts and terms.
• Establish KPIs, supplier performance, and cost trends.
• Improve analytical tools and reporting to support purchasing decisions.
• Conduct post-purchase analysis and identify improvements.
• Improve purchasing processes, reporting, controls, and systems as the business grows.
• Provide leadership visibility into commodity markets and cost changes.
• Support budgeting and forecasting with market outlooks and cost projections.
• Collaborate with Quality to ensure supplier materials meet requirements.
• Support new product development by evaluating sourcing options and costs.
• Handle tactical purchasing needs and supplier issues when needed.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Team leadership

Meat/protein purchasing

Supplier negotiations

Contract management

Market analysis

Inventory management

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Job description

We are seeking an experienced Director of Purchasing to lead our purchasing function and help build a more strategic, scalable approach to procurement across the organization. This is a highly hands-on leadership role for someone who can think strategically but is also willing to roll up their sleeves and work through the day-to-day details.

The Director of Purchasing will lead a small team while personally owning key purchasing activities, including meat and protein buying, supplier negotiations, contract management, commodity market analysis, sourcing strategy, and supply risk management.

This individual will play a critical role in strengthening our approach to commodity purchasing through improved market intelligence, inventory visibility, analytical tools, and structured decision-making. The position will work closely with executive leadership to evaluate market conditions, manage purchasing risks, and translate market insights into actionable purchasing strategies.

The right person must be comfortable moving between developing a long-term purchasing strategy, negotiating a significant supplier agreement, analyzing commodity markets, and working through an immediate operational issue on the same day. We are looking for someone who is resourceful, practical, and skilled in problem-solving across many facets of a fast-paced manufacturing environment.

Based at our Lynn manufacturing facility, this role will work closely with Operations, Planning, Sales, Finance, Quality, and other areas of the business to ensure purchasing decisions support both immediate production needs and the company's longer-term objectives.

What You'll Do

• Lead, manage, and develop a small team of purchasing professionals while remaining actively involved in day-to-day purchasing activities and working alongside the team to address operational needs.
• Take direct ownership of meat and protein purchasing while providing oversight and direction across other purchasing categories.
• Develop and execute short- and long-term purchasing and sourcing strategies, incorporating commodity market intelligence, supply risk, and business requirements.
• Monitor domestic and global meat and protein markets, including pricing trends, supply and demand dynamics, geopolitical factors, and other market conditions that may impact purchasing decisions.
• Translate commodity market intelligence into actionable purchasing recommendations, including purchasing timing, supplier selection, volume commitments, and inventory positioning.
• Develop and implement commodity risk management strategies to mitigate price volatility, supply disruptions, and other purchasing exposures.
• Evaluate domestic and international sourcing opportunities, including global protein suppliers, import considerations, and alternative supply channels.
• Lead supplier negotiations, including pricing, contracts, volume commitments, terms, and other commercial agreements.
• Build strong relationships with key suppliers while continually evaluating alternative sources and opportunities.
• Balance cost, quality, inventory, service levels, and supply continuity when making purchasing decisions.
• Identify and execute cost savings opportunities while ensuring purchasing decisions support the broader needs of the business.
• Proactively identify supply risks and develop strategies to minimize potential disruptions.
• Work closely with Planning and Operations to align purchasing with forecasts, production schedules, inventory levels, and changing business needs.
• Partner with Sales and Finance to understand customer requirements, forecasts, pricing considerations, and margin impacts.
• Negotiate and manage supplier contracts and ensure commercial terms are appropriately documented and monitored.
• Establish and track purchasing KPIs, supplier performance, commodity trends, cost savings, and purchasing risk exposure.
• Develop and improve analytical tools, reporting capabilities, and processes that strengthen purchasing decisions and provide greater visibility into commodity costs and inventory positions.
• Conduct post-purchase analysis to evaluate purchasing decisions, supplier performance, pricing outcomes, and opportunities for improvement.
• Improve purchasing processes, reporting, controls, and systems as the business continues to grow.
• Provide executive leadership with visibility into commodity markets, purchasing performance, supply risks, and expected cost changes.
• Support budgeting and forecasting with commodity outlooks, purchasing assumptions, and market-based cost projections.
• Partner with Quality and Food Safety to ensure suppliers and materials meet company requirements.
• Support new product development and new business opportunities by evaluating sourcing options, availability, and cost.
• Jump into tactical purchasing needs, supplier issues, shortages, expediting, and other day-to-day challenges when necessary.

What We're Looking For

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Finance, Operations, or a related field required.
• 8+ years of progressive purchasing, procurement, sourcing, commodity trading, or supply chain experience.
• Experience leading a purchasing function or team.
• Strong experience purchasing meat, proteins, or other food commodities strongly preferred.
• Experience with international protein sourcing, trading, or commodity merchandising preferred.
• Strong understanding of domestic and global meat and commodity markets, including pricing drivers, supply and demand dynamics, and market volatility.
• Knowledge of international sourcing considerations, import requirements, and global supply chain dynamics preferred.
• Proven experience negotiating supplier contracts, pricing, terms, and strategic agreements.
• Experience evaluating commodity risk, purchasing positions, and sourcing strategies to manage cost and supply exposure.
• Strong commercial and financial acumen and an understanding of how purchasing decisions impact margins and overall business performance.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to turn market, inventory, forecast, and financial data into actionable decisions.
• Experience developing or implementing analytical tools, purchasing reports, and process improvements.
• Ability to make sound decisions quickly, including when operating with incomplete information or uncertain market conditions.
• A hands-on approach and willingness to work at both the strategic and tactical levels.
• Resourceful and comfortable solving problems without always having a defined process or playbook.
• Ability to operate effectively in a fast-moving environment and shift between longer-term priorities and immediate business needs.
• Strong relationship-building skills and ability to partner effectively across Operations, Planning, Sales, Finance, Quality, and other functions.
• Strong communication, negotiation, organization, and decision-making skills.
• Experience within meat processing, food manufacturing, protein, CPG, or a related industry required.

What Success Looks Like

Success in this role requires someone who can build the strategy and execute it. You will be expected to strengthen our overall approach to purchasing, supplier management, commodity intelligence, and risk management while remaining close enough to the day-to-day business to solve problems and make decisions quickly.

The successful candidate will bring greater structure and discipline to commodity purchasing decisions, improve visibility into market conditions and supply risks, strengthen supplier relationships, and develop the processes and analytical capabilities needed to support a growing business.

This is an opportunity to have a significant impact on the business, develop a growing purchasing team, and help build the purchasing capabilities needed to support our continued growth.