PURPOSE OF POSITION Provide the lead responsibility for the procurement of manufacturing materials and/or services involving high dollar volume and/or complex technical characteristics requiring continuous and close contact with Engineering, Production Planning, and other key personnel to ensure that requirements to support our division operations are properly presented to and executed by supplier. Services and Capital projects contracts may also fall under this position. MAJOR RESPONSIBILITIES Perform the functions of Buyer and in addition perform the following: Successfully develop and manage supplier relationships to best serve the needs of Corporate or Division objectives. Negotiate procurement of major commodities and/or services by properly balancing considerations of price, quality, service, delivery, payment terms, and commercial situations. Be able to complete a comprehensive contract covering all as facts of a purchase agreement, insuring legal and ethical requirements are met while still meeting Corporate or Division objectives. Analyze and interpret industry conditions and state of the art advancements which may have an affect on design, lead time, cost. Acquire a broad knowledge of supplier qualifications encompassing such items as sales and distribution policies, procedures, research and development support in order to ensure desired quality and delivery of assigned commodities. Analyze and evaluate all elements of cost and all procurement transactions of assigned commodities for maximum cost improvement. Maintain a general knowledge of technical requirements involved with assigned commodity responsibility so that our Division requirements are fully understood by suppliers. Provide management with forecasts of market conditions, price trends, and potential problem areas. Communicate detailed and sometimes technical information to internal customers to advance best practices and decision making. Assist purchasing management in training lower classified personnel. Knowledge of Energy and Facilities contracts. POSITION SPECIFICATIONS I. KNOWLEDGE Have a sound working knowledge of purchasing principles within a manufacturing environment including the ability to research, analyze, negotiate, and close various types of purchase efforts within the guidelines of good business and ethical practices. B.S. Degree and five (5) years experience in Purchasing or related fields including Strategic Sourcing, Logistics, Inventory Management, Supplier Relationship Management, or Materials Management. C.P.M. or C.P.S.M. certification a plus II. PROBLEM SOLVING Assuring a timely delivery of quality raw materials and components requires the proper choice of supplier. Maintaining consistent pricing and cost improvement requires the creativity of product review, new supplier search, departmental interface for redesign and the ability to negotiate the needed price. Responding to all levels of managerial requests requires the flexibility of dealing with new situations and demands while maintaining normal activities. III. RESOURCE RESPONSIBILITY Responsible for selecting suppliers, placing orders based on scheduled requirements, monitoring quality and delivery, and assuring accuracy of payment. The primary impact is that it allows manufacturing to produce and marketing to sell towards their individual and collective objectives. IV. COMMUNICATION SKILLS Contact with current and potential suppliers, from sales and technical representatives to ownership; and corporate interface from inter-departmental conferences through business unit personnel to corporate managerial levels require multi-level skills of communication. In different situations it can be necessary to teach, explain, negotiate, sell, correct, and convey attitudes or information and clarify positions to further organizational goals. Sumitomo Electric Lightwave offers a competitive salary and generous benefits package including the following: Group health coverage (medical, denta…