Purchasing Manager

Comar•Buena Vista Township, NJ

19h•Onsite

About The Position

We are seeking an experienced Purchasing Manager to lead purchasing, supplier management, and supply chain activities at our Buena, NJ manufacturing facility. This is a fully onsite position, five days per week. This role is responsible for ensuring the reliable and cost-effective availability of the materials, products, and services needed to keep plant operations running efficiently and meet production and customer requirements. The Purchasing Manager will oversee sourcing and supplier relationships for a broad range of production and non-production needs, including resins, additives, colorants, packaging components, MRO supplies, spare parts, tooling-related services, outside processing, equipment, and other plant operating requirements. This position will play an important role in managing supplier performance, controlling costs, maintaining appropriate inventory levels, and reducing supply chain risk. Working closely with Production, Scheduling, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Finance, Customer Service, and plant leadership, the Purchasing Manager will help ensure materials and services are available to support production schedules, new product launches, engineering changes, and changing business priorities. A key focus of this position will be developing and maintaining a strong, dependable supplier network. The Purchasing Manager will lead vendor negotiations, manage pricing and agreements, evaluate supplier performance, resolve supply and delivery issues, and identify opportunities for cost reduction and cost avoidance without compromising quality, service, or operational continuity. The role will also be responsible for strengthening supply chain resiliency by identifying risks and establishing alternate sources for critical materials, suppliers, and services. This includes developing contingency sourcing strategies and mitigating risks associated with supplier capacity, quality, logistics, pricing, lead times, and material availability. This position is primarily based in an office environment with regular interaction across plant functions and routine visits to the manufacturing floor, warehouse, receiving, maintenance, and tooling areas. The successful candidate will be a collaborative and proactive leader who demonstrates sound judgment, urgency, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to build productive relationships with internal teams and external supplier partners.

Requirements

At least five years of purchasing, procurement, materials management, or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment.
Demonstrated experience managing suppliers.
Demonstrated experience negotiating pricing.
Demonstrated experience supporting production operations.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field (or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience).
Experience within plastics injection molding, packaging, or high-volume manufacturing.
Knowledge of resin markets, colorants, packaging components, MRO purchasing, tooling support, inventory management, supplier qualification, and production planning practices.
Professional certifications such as CPSM, CPIM, CSCP, CPM, or APP.

Responsibilities

Lead purchasing, supplier management, and supply chain activities.
Ensure reliable and cost-effective availability of materials, products, and services.
Oversee sourcing and supplier relationships for production and non-production needs.
Manage supplier performance, control costs, maintain inventory levels, and reduce supply chain risk.
Ensure materials and services are available to support production schedules, new product launches, engineering changes, and changing business priorities.
Develop and maintain a strong, dependable supplier network.
Lead vendor negotiations, manage pricing and agreements.
Evaluate supplier performance and resolve supply and delivery issues.
Identify opportunities for cost reduction and cost avoidance.
Strengthen supply chain resiliency by identifying risks and establishing alternate sources.
Develop contingency sourcing strategies and mitigate risks.