Purchasing Agent

Clayton Homes (New); Austin, Northern (TX, KY); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Brohn Homes in Austin, TX seeks a Purchasing Agent to lead the full procurement cycle, from budgeting and bid solicitation to vendor negotiations and contract management. You will partner with construction, design, and architecture teams to drive cost efficiency, quality, and value across communities.

The ideal candidate has a high school diploma (associate or bachelor’s preferred), at least 2 years in construction purchasing, strong analytical and negotiation skills, and proficiency with Excel,

Qualifications

• High School Diploma required; Associate or Bachelor's degree preferred.
• At least 2 years of experience in construction contracting or purchasing.
• Strong collaboration and communication with cross-functional teams.
• Proficient in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook; able to learn purchasing systems like KOVA.
• Ability to analyze costs and negotiate fair contracts.

Responsibilities

• Develop budgets and solicit bids for new communities.
• Review material take-offs and cost estimates with subcontractors and consultants.
• Evaluate subcontractors and negotiate contracts.
• Analyze proposals and prepare bid-award packages.
• Maintain purchasing records in SharePoint and oversee contract administration.
• Leverage national contracts to maximize value.

Skills

Growth mindset

Collaboration

Analytical ability

Decision making

Negotiation

Technical skills

Education

High School Diploma

Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Communications, Construction, or related field

Tools

Excel

Word

Outlook

KOVA

Job description

**Position Summary:** The Purchasing Agent serves as a key driver of Brohn Homes’ procurement strategy, balancing cost efficiency with quality and fairness. This role is responsible for leading the full purchasing cycle — from budgeting and bid solicitation to vendor negotiations and contract management. By analyzing costs, leveraging economies of scale, and fostering strong vendor partnerships, the Purchasing Agent ensures Brohn delivers homes that reflect both value and excellence. Acting as a strategic partner to construction, design, and architecture teams, this position plays a critical part in shaping the financial and operational success of every community we build. **Duties / Responsibilities:****Own the Day-to-Day Purchasing Cycle*** Develop budgets and solicit bids for new communities.* Prepare and review material take-offs and cost estimates with subcontractors and consultants.* Evaluate subcontractors and negotiate with vendors to secure competitive, fair contracts.* Analyze proposals and prepare bid-award packages with detailed cost breakdowns and recommendations for leadership approval.* Maintain complete and compliant purchasing records in SharePoint to ensure accuracy and transparency.* Oversee the contract administration process to ensure timeliness, clarity, and accountability.**Category & Cost Management*** Manage assigned spend categories, ensuring accurate hard costs and alignment with national programs when applicable.* Collaborate with warranty, construction, and design teams to review issues and implement product or process improvements.* Monitor and maintain direct cost budgets for accuracy, including new community setups and plan additions.* Leverage national contracts and economies of scale to maximize division value and cost efficiency.**Drive Continuous Improvement*** Partner with the construction team to streamline labor and material supply chain processes.* Identify opportunities for cost reduction while minimizing material waste and pricing discrepancies.* Provide feedback on redline plan changes and participate in floor plan reviews to improve design and value.**Support Options & Product Plans*** Oversee the creation and maintenance of sales and design studio options, ensuring accurate pricing and timely updates.* Manage the options database and keep all product changes current.* Collaborate with KB Architecture on new product development and maintenance initiatives.**Cross-Functional Collaboration*** Act as a resource for construction, sales, and estimating teams to ensure smooth rollouts of communities and plans.* Coordinate with vendors and trade partners to resolve discrepancies and ensure alignment with Brohn standards. **Qualifications:*** Education & Experience: High School Diploma required; an Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Business, Accounting, Communications, Construction, or a related field is preferred.* At least 2 years of experience in construction contracting or purchasing is required, ideally with exposure to residential homebuilding.* Growth Mindset: Ready to take the next step beyond coordination — leading negotiations, managing budgets, and making strategic purchasing decisions.* Collaboration Skills: Strong communicator who can build trust and maintain professional relationships with vendors, contractors, and cross-functional teams.* Analytical Ability: Confident with numbers, budgets, and cost analysis, with the ability to see both details and the bigger picture.* Decision-Making & Negotiation: Skilled at evaluating options, negotiating fairly, and making sound purchasing decisions that balance cost, quality, and value.* Technical Skills: Proficiency in Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook, with the ability to quickly learn and adapt to computerized purchasing systems such as KOVA (or similar platforms).* Personal Attributes: Organized, proactive, and solutions-oriented, with the ability to juggle multiple priorities while maintaining fairness, accuracy, and integrity. * **Supervisory Responsibility:** This position has no supervisory responsibilities. * **Work Environment:** This job operates in a professional office environment. * **Physical Demands:** The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or hear. The employee is frequently required to stand; walk; use hands to finger, handle or feel; and reach with hands and arms.The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb, balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl. The employee must frequently lift and move up to [10] pounds and occasionally lift and move objects up to [25] pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception and ability to adjust focus. * **Position Type/Expected Hours of Work:** This is a full-time, exempt position. Under the Regulations, Part 541, an exempt employee is one who is not entitled to the minimum wage or overtime pay protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Days and hours of work are [Monday through Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.] This position may work outside of normal business hours to include evenings and weekends as needeed. * **Travel:** Less than 10% travel is expected for this position. * **EEO Statement:** Brohn Homes is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are committed to the policy of equal employment opportunity in recruitment, hiring, career advancement, and all other employment practices. * **Other Duties:** Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.