Senior Buyer POST NUMBER: 429818
Essential Duties and Responsibilities Include the following:
Sourcing & Procurement:
- Identify and engage with reliable suppliers of steel products.
- Develop and maintain a portfolio of suppliers and ensure a steady and competitive supply chain.
- Negotiate prices, payment terms, and contract conditions with suppliers.
- Monitor market trends, including price fluctuations and demand/supply shifts, to make informed purchasing decisions.
- Initiate live market RFQ for raw material quotes and determine current pricing while accounting for steel market price trends.
- Plan material procurement to optimize stock levels, reduce holding costs, and prevent stockouts, while ensuring product quality and availability
- Manage supplier performance, including supplier scorecard process, address areas of concern.
- Assist with new vendor qualification process.
Supplier Relationship Management:
- Build strong relationships with key steel distributors/service centers and suppliers of tooling.
- Routinely follow-up with suppliers to assure they are on track to deliver product in accordance with schedule.
- Regularly review supplier performance to ensure consistent quality, delivery, and pricing.
- Establish long-term agreements with preferred suppliers for better cost savings and continuity.
Market Analysis & Reporting:
- Stay up to date with industry trends, global economic conditions, and trade regulations that impact the steel market.
- Prepare regular market analysis reports to inform senior management of purchasing strategies.
- Use data to forecast steel prices and demand and adjust buying strategies accordingly.
Compliance & Risk Management:
- Ensure all transactions comply with company policies, ethical standards, and applicable regulations.
- Mitigate risks related to price volatility, supply chain disruptions, and financial exposures through strategies or other mechanisms.
Financial & Budgetary Oversight:
- Manage purchasing budgets, ensuring optimal use of resources while meeting company profitability goals.
- Work with finance teams to ensure timely payment and contract closure with suppliers.
- Evaluate and optimize cost efficiency of purchases to enhance margins.
Interdepartmental Support:
- Determine raw material pricing to be used for sales quotes for new and existing customers.
- Provide timely steel market updates to ensure Hynes team members understand current market dynamics and trends; assist with messaging to customer.
- Provide quarterly material cost updates for customer specific programs.
- Collaborate with quality control team members to establish and maintain high-quality standards for steel products and suppliers throughout the supply chain.
- Work closely with cross-functional teams, including production, sales, quality, and finance, to ensure alignment and collaboration across departments
- Other duties as may be assigned
Qualification Requirements: To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. The requirements listed below are representative of knowledge, skill, and/or ability required. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
- The position is based at our Youngstown, Ohio headquarters
o Candidate must live in Cleveland/Akron/Pittsburgh/Youngstown area
- Knowledge of the global steel market required – specifically hot rolled, galvanized and stainless steel with a sheet metal coil focus.
- In-depth knowledge of steel procurement processes and understanding of key price drivers.
- Excellent negotiation and communication skills for managing supplier and client relationships.
- Proven experience in supply chain management
- Knowledge and experience in MRP and ERP systems inventory control, materials requirements planning, demand planning, purchase orders and supply chain planning
- Strong analytical ability to assess market data, forecast trends, and manage risk.
- Ability to work well with others within a team environment
- Leadership skills and the ability to drive change within a dynamic organization
- Collaborative skills in resolving issues
- Familiarity with the roll forming process a plus, as well as other manufacturing processes
- Travel as required
Education and/or Experience:
Bachelor’s degree in purchasing, business, metallurgy, or a related field. Master's degree is a plus, a minimum of 7-10 years’ procurement/materials management experience in a manufacturing environment for steel related industry.
Vaco values a diverse workplace and strongly encourages women, people of color, LGBTQ+ individuals, people with disabilities, members of ethnic minorities, foreign-born residents, and veterans to apply.
EEO Notice
Vaco is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race (including but not limited to traits historically associated with race such as hair texture and hair style), color, sex (includes pregnancy or related conditions), religion or creed, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, status as a veteran, union membership, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, marital status, political affiliation, or any other protected characteristics as required by federal, state or local law.
Vaco LLC and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries are committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, Vaco LLC and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and/or to receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact HR@vaco.com .
Vaco also wants all applicants to know their rights that workplace discrimination is illegal.
By submitting to this position, you agree that you will be giving Vaco the exclusive right to present your as a candidate for the foregoing employment opportunity. You further agree that you have represented information about yourself accurately and have not affirmatively misrepresented your qualifications. You also agree to maintain as confidential, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any information you learn from Vaco about the position and you will limit disclosure of information about the position only to the extent necessary to perform any obligations in furtherance of your application. In exchange, Vaco agrees to exercise reasonable efforts to represent you through all solicitation, job screening and resume dispersal.
Privacy Notice
Vaco LLC and its parents, affiliates, and subsidiaries (“we,” “our,” or “Vaco”) respects your privacy and are committed to providing transparent notice of our policies.
- California residents may access Vaco’s HR Notice at Collection for California Applicants and Employees here.
- Virginia residents may access our state specific policies here.
- Residents of all other states may access our policies here.
- Canadian residents may access our policies in English here and in French here.
- Residents of countries governed by GDPR may access our policies here.
Pay Transparency Notice
Determining compensation for this role (and others) at Vaco depends upon a wide array of factors including but not limited to:
- the individual’s skill sets, experience and training;
- licensure and certification requirements;
- office location and other geographic considerations;
- other business and organizational needs.
With that said, as required by local law, Vaco believes that the following salary range referenced above reasonably estimates the base compensation for an individual hired into this position in geographies that require salary range disclosure. The individual may also be eligible for discretionary bonuses.