Plant Buyer - Middletown, DE

What you will do The Plant Buyer serves as the primary Procurement partner for an assigned group of manufacturing plants, building strong relationships with Plant Leadership, Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Finance, and other key stakeholders. The role is responsible for understanding plant priorities and supplier needs and translating them into Procurement solutions that improve cost, supplier performance, operational efficiency, and continuity of supply. The Plant Buyer connects local plant requirements with broader Procurement strategies and cross-plant opportunities while becoming a trusted advisor and solutions-oriented partner to the plants. How you will do it Build strong relationships with leadership and stakeholders across assigned plants. Maintain regular engagement and appropriate plant presence to understand operational priorities, challenges, and supplier pain points. Influence sourcing decisions by bringing market intelligence, supplier insights, category expertise, and total-cost-of-ownership analyses to plant stakeholders. Serve as a responsive, solutions-oriented Procurement partner focused on removing barriers and enabling plant operations. Build credibility through listening, responsiveness, follow-through, and delivery of results. Initiate RFQ / Bid events in support of plant(s) to reduce costs and identify appropriate solutions Analyze supplier spend to identify savings, cost avoidance, benchmarking, consolidation, and sourcing opportunities. Partner with Plant Finance to understand spend trends, price increases, and opportunities. Maintain a prioritized pipeline of Procurement initiatives across supported plants. Leverage corporate agreements and cross-plant synergies to optimize spend and reduce complexity. Identify quick wins while developing sustainable sourcing strategies. Monitor critical supplier performance and drive corrective actions as needed. Proactively identify supplier and supply risks and develop mitigation plans. Bring solutions and recommended actions, not simply identify problems. Support effective supplier selection, new supplier requests, purchase-order practices, and sourcing decisions. Increase spend under contract and improve Procurement and P2P compliance. Identify opportunities to consolidate suppliers and standardize requirements across plants. Simplify Procurement processes where possible while maintaining appropriate controls. Ensure Procurement enables plant operations rather than becoming a bottleneck. Negotiate and finalize legal agreements with suppliers in conjunction with Legal department What we look for Required Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business, Engineering, Finance, or related field required. Experience in Procurement, sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain, or plant operations required Lean techniques and facilitation (A3, VSM, Kaizen) Strong negotiation, analytical, commercial, and problem-solving skills. Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple manufacturing locations. Strong communication and relationship-building skills. Ability to balance cost objectives with operational requirements and supply continuity. Curious and willing to learn plant operations, Procurement processes, sourcing, and supplier management. Comfortable engaging with different functions and levels of the organization. Collaborative, hands-on, and solutions-oriented mindset. Strong Excel skills, Power BI, RFQ Tools preferred What you get Medical, dental and vision care coverage and a 401(k) savings plan with company matching – all starting on date of hire Tuition reimbursement, perks, and discounts Parental and caregiver leave programs All the usual benefits such as paid time off, flexible spending, short-and long-term disability, basic life insurance, business travel insurance, and Employee Assistance Program Global market strength and worldwide market share leadership HQ location earns LEED certification for sustainability plus a full-service caf…

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