Senior Buyer

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Senior Color Buyer provides strategic sourcing and category leadership for color concentrates, masterbatch, pigments, dyes, and related additives used in plastic manufacturing. This role owns supplier strategy, leads complex negotiations and formula-based pricing, monitors pigment and feedstock markets, drives cost reduction and supply continuity, and serves as the primary procurement partner to Operations, Quality, Engineering, Finance, and key suppliers. The position is expected to independently manage priorities, influence cross-functional decisions, and support the development of less-experienced buyers.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Lead sourcing and category management for color concentrates, masterbatch, pigments, dyes, and related additives used in plastic manufacturing

• Develop and execute category strategies that improve cost, quality, service, innovation, capacity, and supply resilience

• Lead competitive RFQs, supplier selections, complex negotiations, contract development, and long-term commercial agreements

• Build, validate, negotiate, and administer pricing formulas tied to pigments, carriers, resins, additives, energy, freight, conversion costs, and applicable market indices

• Analyze pigment-industry conditions, global and regional feedstock trends, supplier capacity, regulatory changes, and geopolitical or logistics risks

• Lead should-cost analysis, annual budgeting, forecasting, price-change validation, cost-reduction projects, and purchase-price-variance reporting

• Partner with Engineering, Quality, Operations, and suppliers on color matching, plant trials, material approvals, reformulations, and production changes

• Establish supplier performance expectations, conduct business reviews, lead corrective actions, and implement continuity and risk-mitigation plans

• Maintain accurate contracts, purchase orders, source lists, material records, pricing conditions, and supplier data in ERP system

• Analyze spend, pricing, usage, inventory, forecasts, supplier performance, and sourcing opportunities

• Resolve escalated supply, quality, invoice, pricing, and delivery issues with suppliers and internal stakeholders

• Provide guidance to buyers and cross-functional teams on sourcing processes, market dynamics, supplier decisions, and commercial terms

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for following all Food Safety related policies and procedures;

• Responsible for following all Safety Rules, policies, procedures and work instructions;

• Backup: Buyer II, Sr. Buyer, Purchasing Manager