Head of Procurement (Virtual Position)

Job Description

Job Description

Job Title : Procurement Manager

Department : Procurement

Reports To : General Procurement Manager

FLSA : Exempt

Summary:

Direct and manage all procurement and purchasing activities for Riken Americas Corporation under the President. The Procurement Manager is accountable for optimizing the company’s total purchasing strategy to maximize profit, securing raw materials and services at competitive price, quality, and delivery terms, and maintaining reliable supplier relationships that support uninterrupted operations and the company’s contribution to the U.S. economy and society. The role supports both the REC/KY (Riken Americas Corporation, Kentucky) and RIMTEC/NJ (Rimtec Corporation, New Jersey) sites and requires regular coordination and travel between the two locations.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Procurement Strategy & Leadership

• Comply with all environmental, health, safety, and quality standards applicable to procurement activities.
• Optimize the total purchasing strategy for maximization of profit across all categories of spend.
• Update and maintain a concrete medium-term purchasing plan aligned with the company’s business objectives, and keep seeking bigger contribution to U.S. economy & society.
• Develop, implement, and enforce procurement policies, procedures, and standard work to ensure consistent and compliant purchasing practices.
• Establish annual departmental goals and KPIs, and drive initiatives to achieve them.
• Keep the President, General Procurement Manager (parent company), and Management members abreast of any procurement or material supply issues that could impact the company’s operations, and make recommendations to protect the company’s interest.
• Report procurement activities and operational status on a regular and timely basis at the Monthly Progress Meetings and as needed.
• Investigate laws and regulations related to procurement and reflect them in purchasing practices.

Sourcing and Contracts

• Maintain positive, long-term relationships with suppliers in support of successful negotiations for raw materials and services.
• Negotiate all contracts with suppliers regarding price, quality, and delivery, and ensure favorable terms and risk allocation for the company.
• Lead supplier sourcing, qualification, evaluation, and performance review; drive continuous improvement in supplier quality, cost, and delivery.
• Develop and qualify suppliers to ensure stable supply of raw materials and services.
• Identify and reduce single-source supply risks; develop and qualify backup suppliers.
• Collaborate with the group companies under Riken Technos Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation for new business and supply opportunities.

Execution and Management

• Responsible for raw material inventories; analyze and report on raw materials and packaging materials to maintain appropriate inventory levels.
• Communicate and collaborate with appropriate Managers (Production, R&D, QA/QC, Sales, Finance) to determine raw material needs and forecast demand.
• Manage the logistics of raw materials, including inbound freight, customs, and delivery scheduling to support production requirements.
• Place purchase orders and manage order execution to ensure on-time delivery and quality.
• Confirm supplier invoices and coordinate payment processing with Finance.
• Monitor material supply issues and report all procurement activities at the Monthly Progress Meetings.

Budget & Cost Management

• Responsible for departmental budgets in the area of procurement.
• Drive cost-reduction and cost-avoidance initiatives across categories without compromising quality or delivery.
• Track, analyze, and report procurement savings and spend against budget and KPI targets.

Sustainable and Responsible Sourcing

• Promote responsible procurement in accordance with the RIKEN Group Code of Conduct and applicable supplier codes of conduct.
• Conduct supplier audits (on-site and remote) to verify compliance with quality, EHS, labor, and ethics standards.
• Ensure understanding of and compliance with U.S. procurement-related laws and regulations, including customs / trade compliance, ITAR/EAR export controls, Buy America Act, FAR/DFARS (where applicable to government-related procurement), supplier diversity, Conflict Minerals (Dodd-Frank Section 1502), and Anti-Bribery (FCPA).
• Ensure understanding of and compliance with chemical regulations including REACH, RoHS, and TSCA.

Business Continuity & Supply Chain Risk Management

• Develop and maintain business continuity plans (BCP) for critical materials and suppliers.
• Assess and mitigate geo-political risks affecting the supply chain.
• Identify and reduce single-source supply dependencies; qualify alternate and backup suppliers.
• Continuously evaluate supplier financial health and operational stability.

Team & Cross-Functional Leadership

• Manage, coach, and direct the activities of procurement staff reporting to this position (Purchasing and Supply Chain Specialist).
• Support operations at both the REC/KY and RIMTEC/NJ sites, including regular travel between the two locations.
• Participate in various committees related to procurement as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor’s Degree (B.S.) from a four-year college or university, preferably in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
• Eight to ten years of progressive procurement/purchasing experience, including contract negotiation and supplier management.
• Prior experience in a manufacturing or chemical/process environment is strongly preferred.
• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and advanced PC skills, including SAP (Materials Management / Procurement modules) or other related systems and Microsoft Office Suite.

Certificates, Licenses, Registrations

• None required. APICS/ASCM (CPIM or CSCP), ISM CPSM, or equivalent procurement certification is a plus.

Prequalification

• Prequalified by parent company in Japan, where applicable.

Core Competencies

• Adaptability, Stress Tolerance, Managing Work, Negotiation, Strategic Sourcing, Supplier Relationship Management, Regulatory Compliance, Supply Chain Risk Management, Cross-Site Collaboration.

Reporting to this position:

Purchasing and Supply Chain Specialist

Travel Requirements:

Regular travel between the REC/KY (Riken Americas Corporation, Kentucky) and RIMTEC/NJ (Rimtec Corporation, New Jersey) sites is required. Domestic and international travel for supplier audits, supplier visits, and group-company coordination is also required. Travel requirement is expected to be approximately 15% of time.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Physical demands:

• Constantly required to sit, talk, or hear.
• Occasionally required to walk or stand.
• Occasionally required to balance or stoop.
• Occasionally required to use hands to finger, handle or feel objects, tools, or controls.
• Occasionally required to lift and/or move up to 50 pounds.

Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision including concentrated vision for long periods of time, distance vision, peripheral vision, color vision, and the ability to adjust focus.

Work environment:

• Minimum exposure to plant environment.
• Exposure to low noise levels in office environment.
• Some exposure to extreme indoor temperatures and outdoor weather conditions when visiting the production floor or supplier sites.
• Work may take place near moving mechanical parts or in high, precarious places when on the production floor.
• Travel to REC/KY, RIMTEC/NJ, and domestic/international supplier sites is required.