Purchasing Manager

Kerry Search Partners; Largo (FL); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Kerry Search Partners presents a Purchasing Manager role focused on leading the site purchasing function to ensure material availability, disciplined supplier execution, and strong process control. You will coach the team, build KPI-driven systems, and partner with Operations, Planning, Quality, Engineering, and Finance to align priorities with execution.

The role emphasizes ERP/MRP discipline, supplier relationship management, and continuous improvement in a regulated manufacturing environment.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent in a related field.
• 7+ years in purchasing, procurement, materials, or supply chain.
• 3+ years of direct or indirect people leadership experience.
• Experience managing suppliers, supplier performance, and cross-functional escalations.
• Strong understanding of ERP/MRP systems and materials planning concepts.

Responsibilities

• Lead, coach, and develop the purchasing team with clear expectations and succession planning.
• Own day-to-day purchasing execution to support production plans and customer service.
• Build supplier partnerships with periodic reviews, scorecards, and recovery plans.
• Design and sustain purchasing management systems, KPIs, dashboards, and standard work.

Skills

People leadership

Cross-functional collaboration

Procurement fundamentals

Problem solving

Data-driven decision making

Lean/Six Sigma

Influencing across functions

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

CPSM/CPSD/CPIM/CSCP/CIPS/MCIPS certification

Tools

ERP/MRP systems

Power BI

Oracle ERP

Job description

The Purchasing Manager will lead the site purchasing function to ensure reliable material availability, disciplined supplier execution, strong purchasing process control, and achievement of service, backorder, inventory, working capital, and cost objectives. This leader will develop and coach the purchasing team, build KPI-driven management systems, strengthen supplier partnerships, and partner cross-functionally with Operations, Planning, Scheduling, Quality, Engineering, Finance, Strategic Sourcing, and Warehouse teams to translate business priorities into consistent execution.

The role requires an experienced people and process leader with strong procurement fundamentals, ERP/MRP discipline, supplier relationship management capability, operational problem solving, and the ability to influence across functions in a regulated manufacturing environment.

Key Responsibilities

People Leadership and Talent Development

• Lead, coach, and develop the purchasing team through clear expectations, structured one-on-ones, workload balancing, performance feedback, development planning, and succession readiness.
• Build a high-performance culture focused on accountability, collaboration, capability building, ethical decision-making, urgency, and continuous improvement.
• Establish role clarity, decision rights, escalation paths, and standard work for buyers and purchasing support roles to reduce rework, burnout, and dependency on informal processes.
• Partner with HR and Supply Chain leadership on talent reviews, hiring, onboarding, training, and development plans for purchasing talent.

Purchasing Operations and Service Execution

• Own day-to-day purchasing execution to support production plans, customer service levels, backorder reduction, and material availability.
• Drive disciplined MRP / ERP execution, including purchase requisitions, purchase orders, reschedule messages, master data accuracy, source data, order confirmations, and supplier delivery commitments.
• Lead escalation management for material constraints, past-due purchase orders, line-risk items, supplier misses, and supply continuity issues.
• Partner with Planning, Scheduling, Manufacturing, Warehouse, and Commercial teams to ensure purchasing priorities are aligned to production needs, customer commitments, and working capital goals.

Supplier Relationship Management and Supply Continuity

• Build and sustain supplier partnerships through structured performance reviews, scorecards, recovery plans, tiered escalation, and clear commitments on delivery, quality, responsiveness, and risk mitigation.
• Visit supplier facilities as needed to assess performance, resolve material issues, strengthen relationships, and align on corrective action plans.
• Represent Purchasing in supplier discussions related to delivery performance, cost reduction, continuity planning, constraints, and issue resolution.
• Collaborate with Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Quality, Engineering, R&D, and Quality Management to develop, qualify, and improve suppliers in support of business needs.

Process Excellence, Standardization, and KPI Management

• Design, implement, and sustain purchasing management systems, KPIs, dashboards, tiered operating rhythms, standard work, RACIs, and escalation routines.
• Lead continuous improvement initiatives that reduce non-value-added activity, improve purchasing productivity, standardize processes, and convert recurring firefighting into controlled processes.
• Use data and visual management to monitor supplier on-time delivery, purchasing OTIF, backorders, MRP action message discipline, purchase order health, inventory performance, PPV, and cost-out progress.
• Identify root causes, implement corrective actions, and sustain improvements using structured problem-solving and Lean methodologies.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Engineering, Finance, or related field, or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 7+ years of progressive experience in purchasing, procurement, materials, supply chain, manufacturing operations, or related field.
• 3+ years of direct or indirect people leadership experience, including coaching, performance management, workload balancing, and team development.
• Demonstrated experience managing suppliers, supplier performance, material constraints, recovery plans, purchasing KPIs, and cross-functional escalations.
• Strong understanding of ERP/MRP systems, purchase order management, action messages, source data, and materials planning concepts.
• Experience using data, metrics, dashboards, and structured operating rhythms to manage performance and accountability.
• Demonstrated ability to lead process improvement, standardization, and operational excellence efforts in a complex environment.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with the ability to influence across multiple functions and levels.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in medical device, life sciences, regulated manufacturing, or other quality-system-driven environment.
• Knowledge of ISO 13485, QMS expectations, supplier quality interfaces, ECO/ECN impact, and compliance-sensitive purchasing processes.
• Experience with Oracle or comparable ERP system and Power BI or similar analytics / visualization tools.
• Experience with S&OE, IBP, supplier scorecards, category strategy, risk mitigation, inventory optimization, and working capital improvement.
• Lean, Six Sigma, or structured problem-solving experience.
• Professional certification such as CPSM, CPSD, CPIM, CSCP, or CIPS/MCIPS preferred.