Purchasing Support Lead

National Food Group•Novi, MI

10d•Onsite

About The Position

The Purchasing Support Lead is a high-impact leadership role at the center of our Category Purchasing team. You'll lead a team of dedicated purchasing support professionals, drive compliance and process excellence, and help shape and advance the department's AI strategy to transform how we work. You'll own the systems, processes, and insights that ensure purchasing efficiency and data integrity — and you'll shape what comes next by building and managing AI-powered workflows and agents that automate, accelerate, and elevate the team's output.

Requirements

5+ years of progressive operational experience with a gradual increase in responsibility, ideally within purchasing, procurement, or a related field.
Forward-looking thinker who actively seeks opportunities, proposes solutions, and is comfortable leading in a fast-evolving environment.
A genuine enthusiasm for AI and emerging technology, with demonstrated experience (or strong aptitude) applying modern tools to real operational problems.
Experience establishing processes, training on those processes, and driving accountability across a team.
Familiar with NetSuite for basic information gathering, reporting, and data understanding.
Advanced proficiency with communication and productivity tools including Microsoft Office and Tableau, with advanced proficiency in Excel.
Strong analytical instincts — able to work with complex data sets, spot what matters, and communicate findings clearly.
Experience leading others and holding a team accountable to results.
Ability to travel when required.

Nice To Haves

Bachelor's degree preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the lead for all category purchasing support staff, including Purchasing Support and Bid Coordinators— setting clear expectations and fostering a culture of coaching, development, accountability and excellence.
Collaborate closely with the Category Purchasing Leadership to translate strategy into actionable team priorities and initiatives.
Set up training and continued development programs for support team members, in collaboration with buyers and the purchasing leadership.
Ensure support staff meets annual goals by providing ongoing coaching and performance accountability.
Serve as a steady, solutions-oriented resource for the team — especially during high-volume periods or complex, high-priority projects that may require after-hours availability.
Build and strengthen the pipeline of future buyers by identifying high-potential support team members, creating development paths, and partnering with purchasing leadership on succession planning.
Lead change management efforts for new tools, workflows, and operational initiatives, ensuring strong adoption, clear communication, and sustained team engagement.
Take ownership of department-wide purchasing standard operating procedures — proactively identifying friction points, designing better workflows, and scaling solutions that improve team efficiency and output quality.
Ensure 100% data integrity across all purchasing support processes, with responsibility for upholding compliance standards in purchasing practices, bid processes, and purchasing initiatives.
Lead the purchasing support team in executing purchasing initiatives and projects aligned with the direction of Category Purchasing.
Collaborate with buyers, sales teams, and sales leaders to continuously improve purchasing support roles, driving efficiency and consistency throughout the department.
Maintain utmost confidentiality in all work, including written and verbal communications.
Establish clear service expectations for the Purchasing Support team, while ensuring accountability for timely, accurate, and consistent support to buyers and cross-functional partners
Evaluate, pilot, and implement AI-powered tools that make the team faster, smarter, and more effective, from automating routine tasks to generating deeper purchasing insights.
Identify high-value use cases for AI across purchasing operations, reporting, and compliance workflows; pilot new approaches and scale what works.
Act as a technology advocate for the department, staying current on emerging AI tools and trends relevant to purchasing, procurement, and operational excellence.
Design, build, and deploy AI agents that automate repeatable tasks across the purchasing support function — freeing your team to focus on higher-value, strategic work.
Manage the department's library of AI agents and skills — documenting what each does, who owns it, and how it performs — so the team always knows what's available and working as intended.
Conduct regular audits of active AI agents to ensure accuracy, relevance, and alignment with current business processes — retiring or refining anything that no longer delivers value.
Build and deliver consistent purchasing performance reporting, including bid analysis, vendor data, and purchasing initiative progress — keeping leadership informed and action-ready.
Use NetSuite for information gathering, reporting, and operational analysis to support purchasing decisions and team efficiency.
Support the Purchasing Leadership with ad hoc analysis and deep dives that inform strategic decisions.
Establish, track, and continuously improve key operational KPIs for the purchasing support function, including turnaround time, accuracy, productivity, adoption, and service quality.