Specialty Purchasing Manager - Allegheny Millwork : Job Details

Position Summary:

The Specialty Purchasing Manager plays a strategic leadership role in managing the procurement of specialized materials, hardware, finishes, and services critical to Architectural Millwork. This role is responsible for leading a team of specialty purchasers, ensuring the timely sourcing of custom, high-quality, and cost-effective products that meet design and production requirements. The Director will partner closely with drafting, production, and project management teams to support customer-specific and bespoke manufacturing demands while driving supplier performance and continuous improvement across the procurement function.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Development

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of specialty purchasers responsible for sourcing high-end materials and custom components.
• Establish and maintain clear performance goals, accountability measures, and development plans for specialty purchasing staff.
• Establish and maintain best practices for supplier evaluation, negotiation, and performance management across the specialty purchasing group.

Strategic Procurement & Supplier Management

• Oversee sourcing strategies for specialized and often limited-availability materials, ensuring compliance with design specs and sustainability standards.
• Negotiate pricing, lead times, terms, and contracts with suppliers of custom and high-end products.
• Build and maintain strong supplier relationships with an emphasis on quality, reliability, and long-term partnership, ensuring alignment with company goals.
• Identify, evaluate, conduct on-site visits, and onboard new vendors capable of supporting custom millwork, architectural woodworking, and high-end project requirements.
• Leverage ERP/MRP tools and supplier data to enhance visibility, traceability, and procurement efficiency.
• Monitor supplier performance metrics (on-time delivery, quality, responsiveness, etc.).

Operational Alignment

• Collaborate closely with project managers, estimators, and design teams to align procurement with project timelines, custom client specifications, and budgets.
• Ensure materials are ordered to meet production schedules while minimizing delays, cost overruns, or material waste.
• Review scope of work and project documents to identify specialty items within a project.
• Review estimated budgets and existing quotes from estimating and compare new vendor quotes against the budgets
• Support new product development and custom project builds with early supplier engagement and material planning.

Risk & Compliance Oversight

• Manage risk related to material shortages, long lead times, and quality inconsistencies, particularly with materials like metal, stone, solid surface, glass, etc.

• Maintain a live project status tracking sheet accessible to internal stakeholders.

• Ensure compliance with environmental, safety, and sustainability regulations (e.g., FSC certification, LEED requirements, VOC compliance).
• Track and ensure adherence to internal quality standards and client specifications.
• Establish and maintain labeling, packaging, and checklist protocols with vendors.
• Resolve escalated supplier issues, including delivery delays, quality non-conformances, and contractual disputes.

Qualifications:

• Education: Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Operations, Construction Management, or related field preferred.
• Experience: 7 –10+ years of experience in purchasing or supply chain roles, including 3+ years managing teams in a woodwork, millwork, or custom manufacturing environment.
• Skills:
• In-depth knowledge of specialty products within architectural millwork fabrication.
• Strong negotiation, vendor management, and contract management skills.
• Excellent organizational and leadership capabilities.
• Familiarity with shop drawings, architectural specs, and project-based procurement.
• Proficiency in ERP/MRP systems (e.g., Innergy, NetSuite, or similar).

Preferred Attributes:

• Experience in high-end residential, commercial, or architectural woodworking projects.
• Knowledge of LEED, FSC, or other sustainable sourcing standards.
• Certification in purchasing or supply chain (e.g., CPSM, CSCP) is a plus.

Physical Requirements

• Vision: The employee must have the ability to see at close range, distance, and with adequate color vision for work tasks.
• Hearing: The employee must have the ability to hear sufficiently to communicate effectively and respond to safety signals and warnings in a work environment.
• Work Environment: The employee may be exposed to moderate noise levels, hazardous materials, and varying weather conditions depending on the job site.
• Travel: Travel up to 20% of the time for training opportunities, vendor visits, or job sites.

Employer Disclaimer: The summary of the role provided is a general description of the typical functions of the job and may not be inclusive of all assigned duties, tasks, responsibilities, or aspects of the job described, and may be amended at any time at the sole discretion of the employer.