Senior Purchasing Agent

Kaiser Aluminum; Kalamazoo (MI); On-site; USD 95,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Kaiser Aluminum is seeking a senior Purchasing Agent III for the Kalamazoo Plant to lead operational procurement and contract management across locations. You will manage purchase orders, supplier coordination, and day-to-day procurement support for operations.

The role emphasizes negotiation, cross-functional cooperation with maintenance, engineering, finance, safety, and environmental teams, and opportunities to contribute to sourcing improvements.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree preferred or equivalent experience.
• Seven+ years in purchasing/procurement/supply chain, preferably in manufacturing.
• Experience negotiating terms and managing supplier agreements.
• Experience leading projects and mentoring team members.
• Ability to work with plant leadership across multiple functions.

Responsibilities

• Develop purchase orders per company policy for materials, services, equipment, and capital buys.
• Support day-to-day procurement for plant and corporate locations with focus on accuracy and service.
• Expedite orders, resolve delivery issues, and minimize business disruption.
• Ensure requisitions and contracts meet delegation of authority and procedures.
• Manage supplier performance and costs, and support supplier evaluations and improvement plans.

Skills

Operational buying

Contract negotiation

Supplier coordination

Stakeholder management

Problem solving

Attention to detail

Education

Bachelor's degree in business or supply chain

Tools

ERP systems

Microsoft Office

Job description

The Kaiser Aluminum - Purchasing Agent III is a senior operational procurement role responsible for supporting plant and corporate purchasing needs across Kaiser Aluminum locations. Responsible for purchase order management, contract administration, supplier coordination, issue resolution, and day-to-day support of the business. As capability and business needs allow, this role may also support selected strategic sourcing activities, including sourcing support, supplier performance improvement, cost reduction, and cross-site procurement initiatives. This position will be located onsite at our Kalamazoo Michigan Plant.

The successful candidate will have strong operational buying experience, practical contract negotiation skills, and the ability to work effectively with plant leadership, maintenance, engineering, finance, environmental, safety, and corporate stakeholders. The role requires someone who can manage daily procurement execution while also recognizing opportunities to support broader procurement improvement efforts.

This is an onsite position. At this time, we are not able to offer visa sponsorship for this role, either now or in the future. Therefore, we cannot move forward with candidates who would require sponsorship and or are on (e.g., H-1B, F-1, STEM OPT, OPT) visas.

What you will work on:

Operational procurement and plant support

• Develop purchase orders in accordance with company policy for materials, services, rentals, equipment, professional services, environmental services, construction, and capital purchases.
• Support day-to-day procurement needs across assigned plant and corporate locations with a focus on accuracy, responsiveness, and service to operations.
• Expedite orders, resolve delivery issues, and work with suppliers and internal stakeholders to minimize business disruption.
• Ensure requisitions, purchase orders, and contract approvals comply with Delegation of Authority requirements and applicable procurement procedures.
• Maintain strong relationships with plant personnel at all levels to ensure procurement expectations are understood and met.

Contract and Commercial Management

• Apply approved Kaiser Aluminum contract language and commercial terms for contracted services and supplier agreements.
• Negotiate pricing, commercial terms, service levels, and supplier commitments to achieve strong business value while reducing risk.
• Prepare, review, and administer purchase contracts, service agreements, capital-related purchase documents, and related commercial documents.
• Ensure final purchase orders and contracts receive appropriate legal, financial, environmental, safety, operational, and management reviews when required.
• Identify, document, and elevate commercial, operational, and contractual risk when supplier terms or performance may expose the business.

Supplier Management and Cost Control

• Manage supplier performance to support service, quality, cost, and supply continuity.
• Monitor supply market conditions, price trends, supplier capabilities, and constraints that may affect operations or cost.
• Track costs, savings opportunities, supplier performance, and other procurement metrics as assigned.
• Support supplier evaluations, supplier improvement plans, and supplier relationship management activities.
• Assist with cost reduction, standard work, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Leadership and Team Development

• Provide functional guidance, mentoring, and training to Purchasing Agents I and II where assigned.
• Serve as a resource for buyer questions related to purchase orders, supplier issues, contract language, and procurement process compliance.
• Lead or support cross-functional operational procurement initiatives involving operations, maintenance, engineering, finance, environmental, safety, and corporate teams, and participate in selected strategic initiatives where operational knowledge improves sourcing, supplier performance, or cost outcomes.
• Demonstrate leadership capability, sound judgment, and readiness to assume broader operational procurement responsibility, including direct leadership or management duties as business needs require.

Process Improvement and Analytics

• Report on established strategic deployment metrics and procurement KPIs.
• Use spend reporting, supplier metrics, and data analysis to identify opportunities to improve service, cost, compliance, and efficiency in operational procurement and to support strategic sourcing initiatives when assigned.
• Challenge the status quo, identify root causes, and support practical solutions that improve procurement performance.
• Perform Purchasing Agent responsibilities at any level as business needs require.

What you will bring to the role:

Education

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, a technical field, or a related discipline preferred. Equivalent experience may be considered.

Experience

• Seven or more years of progressive purchasing, procurement, sourcing, or supply chain experience preferred, ideally in a manufacturing or industrial environment.
• Demonstrated experience in tactical buying, purchase order management, expediting, and plant-level procurement support.
• Significant experience negotiating commercial terms, supplier agreements, service contracts, and purchase commitments.
• Experience with supplier management, contract administration, cost tracking, and issue resolution.
• Experience leading projects, mentoring employees, coordinating work across sites, providing functional leadership, or preparing to assume direct management responsibility.
• Prior supervisory or management experience is preferred; however, candidates with strong functional leadership capability may be considered if they can move into direct leadership or management responsibility immediately or over a short transition period.
• Experience with capital projects, maintenance services, indirect procurement, MRO, construction services, or professional services preferred.
• Lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, or project management experience preferred.

Skills and Capabilities

• Strong written and verbal communication skills across all levels of the organization.
• Sound negotiation skills and the ability to stay focused on practical, positive business outcomes.
• High attention to detail and a strong commitment to accuracy, compliance, and timely follow-through.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to assess complex processes, underlying issues, and critical business details.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced manufacturing environment while keeping information organized and accessible.
• Strong PC skills, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and related business systems.
• Strong business and financial acumen.
• Ability to influence stakeholders without direct authority.
• Effective coaching and mentoring skills.
• Strong decision-making and problem-solving capability.
• Ability to lead through change and drive organizational alignment.
• Commitment to continuous improvement and professional development.
• Ability to operate as a hands-on operational procurement lead while developing the capability to support selected strategic procurement initiatives.

Personal attributes

• Understands Kaiser Aluminum's operating environment, organizational complexity, and business value drivers.
• Demonstrates strong interpersonal and business partnering skills.
• Builds constructive working relationships with colleagues, leaders, suppliers, and internal customers.
• Is self-motivated and able to complete tasks with limited
• Is willing to work flexible hours and travel as needed. Travel may be up to 10%.

Work environment

Approximately 95% of the job function is performed in an office setting requiring normal safety precautions. Approximately 5% of the job function may require time in a plant or manufacturing environment, including areas with operating machinery and standard plant safety requirements.

No third-party candidate submissions are being accepted at this time for this opening.

We are an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered based on job-related qualifications and abilities. There shall be no discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, national origin, veteran, or disability status.

About Kaiser Aluminum: Talented people join our team because we are a company passionate about environmental sustainability, employee growth, contributing back to our communities and championing an inclusive culture.