Director of Strategic Purchasing

JC Ford Company; Columbia (TN); On-site; USD 115,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

JC Ford Company in Columbia, Tennessee, seeks a Purchasing Director to organize tactical and strategic procurement initiatives and develop purchasing standards that support company objectives while ensuring continuity of supply for manufacturing operations.

The role leads all procurement activities, develops supplier partnerships, drives continuous improvement, and implements best practices to improve material availability, reduce lead times, and optimize total cost of ownership (TCO).

Qualifications

• 7–10 years purchasing or procurement in manufacturing.
• 5+ years in purchasing leadership and supervision.
• Experience negotiating supplier contracts and strategic sourcing.
• Experience with MRP/ERP systems, Traverse preferred.
• Strong analytical skills and data-driven decision making.
• Excellent verbal and written communication; cross-functional leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead procurement to reduce lead times and costs using TCO/landed cost approaches.
• Develop and execute strategic sourcing for direct and indirect materials.
• Manage supplier relationships to ensure quality, delivery, cost, and service.
• Negotiate pricing, contracts, terms, and long-term supplier agreements.
• Develop purchasing policies, procedures, and best practices.
• Collaborate with Engineering, Operations, Production, and Sales for NPIs and changes.
• Monitor supplier performance and implement corrective actions as needed.
• Drive Lean initiatives and continuous improvement across procurement.

Skills

Procurement leadership

Supplier negotiation

Data-driven analysis

Cross-functional leadership

Lean methodologies

Tools

Traverse

Job description

JC Ford Company in Columbia, Tennessee, seeks a Purchasing Director to organize tactical and strategic procurement initiatives and develop purchasing standards that support company objectives while ensuring continuity of supply for manufacturing operations.

The role leads all procurement activities, develops supplier partnerships, drives continuous improvement, and implements best practices to improve material availability, reduce lead times, and optimize total cost of ownership (TCO).