Director Purchasing Jobs in Wisconsin (NOW HIRING)

Why join AVIRE?

Do you have an entrepreneurial mindset? Do you like being part of high growth, high impact environments? Are you looking for an opportunity to own and improve procurement processes--growing our business together? If you have answered yes to these questions, we should connect!

The Americas AVIRE team is looking for a highly driven, highly motivated leader to take us to new heights. In this role, you will be responsible for procurement processes, policies and tools in alignment with Global Procurement and Quality standards for our Wisconsin and New Jersey locations. You will plan, govern, and execute all purchasing and procurement activities and lead inventory, warehouse, and material flow management, ensuring optimal balance of service level, working capital, capacity, and supply risk. Further, you will own key purchasing decisions and manage supplier-related risks and escalations while identifying, executing, and rigorously tracking cost reduction, cost avoidance, and value‑engineering initiatives. Manage supplier selection, performance, risk mitigation and long-term development, building and maintaining strategic supplier partnerships while protecting AVIRE’s commercial, operational, and intellectual property interests.

You will be a part of a team that has a track record of delivering double digit compound growth while supporting each other. This position will be reporting to the Operations Manager and will oversee a team of Buyers.

What you will do

• Own and continuously evolve the end‑to‑end procurement and purchasing operating model for the Wisconsin and New Jersey plants, encompassing sourcing, contracting, planning, inventory, warehouse, and supplier management
• Define and implement procurement governance, processes, and tools aligned with Global Procurement, Global Quality, and cross‑site purchasing frameworks
• Own PPV, savings targets, cost reduction tracking, supplier accountability, inventory levels, driving reductions in total landed cost, freight, and COGS
• Ensure continuity of supply for critical and high-risk materials and provide escalation support when needed
• Lead the Purchasing Department, including Operational and Project Buyer/Planner roles, with clear priorities, decision rights, and accountability, lean daily management, Tier 1/2/3 participation and weekly, monthly KPI reporting
• Build and develop a best‑in‑class procurement organization, including coaching, capability development, performance management, and succession planning
• Define, implement, and track departmental, team, and individual KPIs, tightly linked to business objectives, S&OP, and operational performance
• Own inventory strategy in collaboration with Logistics Management, balancing material availability, capacity, and risk through forecast‑driven purchasing planning
• Lead supplier identification, selection, sourcing, and complex commercial negotiations, ensuring favorable commercial, operational, quality, and contractual outcomes for AVIRE
• Lead commercial evaluations and supplier negotiations to ensure optimal cost, quality and delivery while performance managing, mitigating risk and focusing on long-term development
• Act as the primary US procurement interface to Operations, R&D, Production Engineering, Quality, Finance, and Global Operations
• Provide procurement leadership for NPI, sustaining engineering, obsolescence, and end‑of‑life planning, enabling on‑time launches, risk buys and continuity of supply
• Own make-or-buy decisions and provide recommendations to leadership
• Monitor, analyze, and report procurement performance, risks, and opportunities to site and executive leadership on a recurring basis
• Drive continuous improvement and sustainability projects across procurement processes, systems, master data, and ways of working
• Support additional activities aligned with business priorities

We want someone who displays:

Action-Oriented Curiosity: You readily take on challenges, and you identify and seize new opportunities. You have an outstanding history of delivering on your projects. You work on the problems that truly need solving, and you effectively challenge the organization to be better. You can cut through the clutter and focus on the priorities that align with organizational objectives.

Collaboration: You embrace the unique experiences, viewpoints, and abilities of your teammates and proactively engage those differences to come to the best possible outcome. Creating an effective sales team is incredibly motivating to you, and you put your employees first recognizing that you succeed only when they succeed.

Empowerment: You thrive in an environment where you can make decisions. You do not shy away from taking a stand, and you recognize the importance of challenging the team to ensure that we strive for more. You also empower your employees to make decisions giving them the tools to do so successfully.

Accountability: You take responsibility for your actions, and you deliver on your commitments. You hold the members of your team to high standards while ensuring they have the support they need to reach those lofty goals.

Inclusion: In all aspects of your work, you treat everyone with respect.

Job Skills

• Strong presentation skills with the ability to effectively communicate to the wider business
• Experience with KPI metric management and deployment
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills to work effectively with diverse groups of people both within, and outside, of the organization
• Experience coaching, developing and mentoring procurement teams
• Experienced negotiation skills as evidenced by vendor management experience
• Proven ability to problem-solve
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal skills to work effectively with diverse groups of people both within, and outside, of the organization
• Extensive experience in supplier negotiations, cost reduction programs, Lean and inventory management
• Strong project management, communication, and analytical skills required
• Fluent in English, both written and spoken

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Operations/Manufacturing Management, or Engineering preferred, and/or a related field or equivalent experience
• 8-10 years of experience experience in procurement or other related environment demonstrating progressive responsibility
• 3-5 years leading procurement/supply chain teams
• Knowledge of and adherence to the policies and procedures as they relate to the requirements of electrical components and ISO 9001 (current revision)
• Experience in D365 is a plus
• Experience in electronics manufacturing or mechanical assemblies a plus
• ASCM or APICS certifications such as: CSCP - certified supply chain professional; CPIM - certified in planning and inventory management - CPSM - certified professional in supply management; ASQ - cert quality engineer CQE or CQA certified quality auditor preferred

Who is AVIRE?

Connecting and Protecting People. AVIRE combines 4 market-leading brands (Rath, Janus, Microkey, and Memco) within the elevator and emergency communications industries; currently offering light curtains, emergency telephones / GSMs, and life safety solutions. Each brand has a strong market presence, a unique identity, a distinct product range, and a long, successful history. The group has manufacturing locations in 3 countries, R&D in 3 countries and Sales & Marketing in 8 countries employing over 5000 people globally.

AVIRE is part of the Halma group (www.halma.com). Halma bets on talent! We are looking for bright, ambitious people to join our team and stay for the long term. With over 50 businesses under its ownership, Halma is a great place to start, advance, or accelerate your career.

Avire is an equal opportunity employer

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Organizational bonus plan
• Complete benefits package including health, dental & vision insurance, 401K, vacation, and generous parental leave
• Hybrid work available
• Paid time off
• Educational Assistance
• Professional Development training opportunities