Director of Purchasing - Piston Automotive

The Director of Purchasing leads, develops, and deploys policies and procedures and the associated activities related to purchasing indirect / direct materials, tools / equipment and services necessary for operation of the organization.  Through the development and implementation of commodity strategy plans, management of supplier relationships, and delivery of cost reduction strategies, the Director of Purchasing will seek to continuously improve the supply chain and enhance value for the Piston Group. They will also manage the current Purchasing Department and all future corporate Purchasing Personnel. 

Piston Automotive wasn’t just founded to make things. It was founded to make things better. And that begins with building better teams solely dedicated to achieving excellence at every level of execution through a combination of experience, expertise, and a deep seeded passion for what we do. Our assemblies consistently set the standard because our people consistently raise the bar.

Why Piston Automotive?

Competitive Wages, Paid Holidays & Vacation, Medical & Rx Plans, Dental & Vision Plans, Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Savings Accounts, Employee Assistance Program, Life & Disability Coverage, 401K with Company Match, Tuition Reimbursement, Vehicle and Product Discounts.

• Collaborate with peer directors and executives to drive continuous improvement initiatives to continually improve operational cost and performance.
• Identify process improvements and implement cost reduction opportunities across all purchasing and logistics categories.
• Negotiate contracts and terms and conditions.
• Build and develop relationships with key suppliers and customers.
• Participate in the leadership and strategic direction to the continuous improvement process through the development, deployment and Measurement of Purchasing KPI's.  
• Lead problem solving and issue resolution of defective or unacceptable goods or services (non-directed materials) with all stakeholders to determine cause of problem; take corrective and preventative action.
• Negotiate the lowest total cost of ownership for all purchasing spend categories.
• Monitor contract expirations to ensure uninterrupted service or negative financial impact.
• Provide analytical support for supply chain projects including new business opportunities.
• Manage commercial disputes of non-directed suppliers.
• Develop purchasing structure, procedures, and tools to support company and drive accountability to the process.
• Safe Guard Company Assets.
• Lead participation in vendor selection and purchasing of the most critical non-customer directed goods or services.
• Manage the maintenance of records of purchases, delivery dates, vendors, costs and other resources.
• Develop and review purchase requests to ensure guidelines are followed and purchases are made in a timely manner to avoid unnecessary costs.
• Develop supplier scorecards to assist in supplier development and category bid lists.
• Track purchasing spend and develop scorecard for Annual Cost Saving.
• Develop and maintain files for bid list categories, single source supplier, and blanket PO suppliers.
• Develop risk management programs to ensure continuity of supply in emergency scenarios.
• Ensure high ethical standards for procurement.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• A minimum of eight (8) years of related experience (purchasing, supply chain, or operations)
• Bachelor’s degree, an MBA is preferred.
• High integrity and ethics.
• Excellent negotiation skills
• A strategic thinker
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Conflict resolution experience
• A working knowledge of contract language (the ability to craft the most favorable terms) 
• Previous experience implementing tactical and complex strategic initiatives.
• Proven leadership skills and process orientation. 
• Strong project management experience (capable of leading and managing initiatives effectively and efficiently
• Strong persuasion skills.
• Experience and a solid understanding of quantitative and qualitative analysis with financial analysis acumen. 
• Experience successfully working in a demanding, high performance, and team-oriented culture. 
• Excellent follow-up skills
• Excellent communication with all internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency with Excel, PowerPoint and Access tools.   
• Up to 20% travel
• Must be able to regularly lift and/or move up to 15 pounds

Preferred SKILLS/qualifications:

• MBA 
• Six Sigma Blackbelt 
• Lean Certification 
• Able to think and act strategically and lean, but also be willing to “roll up sleeves" within the purchasing function.
• Strong ability to work in a growing, changing environment to navigate through cultural and operational complexities. 
• Demonstrated strong multi-tasking abilities and a sense of urgency.
• Ability to read, analyze, and interpret common scientific and technical journals, financial reports, and legal documents.
• Ability to respond to common inquiries or complaints from customers, regulatory agencies, or members of the business community.
• Ability to write speeches and articles for publication that conform to prescribed style and format. Ability to effectively present information to top management, public groups, and/or boards of directors.
• Ability to apply advanced mathematical concepts such as exponents, logarithms, quadratic equations, and permutations.
• Ability to apply mathematical operations to such tasks as frequency distribution, determination of test reliability and validity, analysis of variance, correlation techniques, sampling theory, and factor analysis.
• Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions.
• Ability to interpret an extensive variety of technical instructions in mathematical or diagram form and deal with several abstract and concrete variables.