PROCUREMENT MANAGER

Knife River Corporation

$70K — $95K *
Manufacturing & Automotive
Less than 5 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • Associate degree in business, supply chain, operations, or equivalent experience
  • Experience facilitating procurement processes in a fast-paced environment
  • Proficiency with Excel, ERP systems, or similar tracking tools
  • Strong communication, organization, and follow-through skills
  • Ability to work cross-functionally without direct authority

Responsibilities

  • Manage the end-to-end procurement process to align materials with production schedules
  • Ensure accuracy and timeliness of orders placed with vendors
  • Maintain visibility on active orders and mitigate risks
  • Coordinate procurement tasks with shared support resources
  • Enforce workflows for requisition tracking and required dates
  • Act as primary contact for key suppliers
  • Build supplier relationships for better responsiveness and issue resolution
  • Monitor vendor performance on delivery, lead times, and competitiveness
  • Work with Engineering and Operations teams to ensure requisition accuracy
  • Identify and manage supply chain risks and develop new supplier options
  • Drive cost reduction strategies and analyze purchasing patterns for savings
  • Lead pricing negotiations and promote continuous improvement in procurement processes

Benefits

  • Collaborative work culture
  • Opportunity for continuous improvement and development
  • Dynamic and fast-paced work environment
Full Job Description
This role is responsible for managing the procurement process in collaboration with our corporate shared services team to ensure materials are ordered, tracked, and delivered on time to support production schedules. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced manufacturing environment, takes ownership of execution, and builds strong relationships with both internal teams and external suppliers.

Key Responsibilities
  • Own and manage the end-to-end procurement process to ensure materials are ordered, confirmed, and delivered in alignment with production schedules
  • Ensure all orders are accurate, complete, placed on time, acknowledged by vendors, and tracked through delivery
  • Maintain visibility of all active orders and proactively address risks
  • Coordinate with shared support resources executing procurement tasks
  • Manage and enforce procurement workflows including requisition tracking and date-needed alignment
  • Serve as primary point of contact for key suppliers
  • Build and maintain strong supplier relationships to ensure responsiveness, reliability, and issue resolution
  • Monitor vendor performance including delivery reliability, lead times, cost competitiveness, and communication
  • Coordinate with Engineering, Project Managers, and Operations to ensure accurate requisitions and delivery timelines
  • Identify and manage supply chain risks including long-lead items and vendor constraints
  • Identify and develop new suppliers to improve cost, capacity, and reliability
  • Evaluate supplier capabilities and maintain a competitive supplier base
  • Develop and execute cost reduction strategies across materials and suppliers
  • Analyze purchasing patterns and supplier pricing to identify savings opportunities
  • Lead pricing discussions and negotiations with vendors where appropriate
  • Drive continuous improvement in procurement processes, systems, and tracking tools

Performance Expectations
  • Accurate and up-to-date procurement tracking
  • Proactive issue identification and resolution before impacting production
  • No preventable production delays due to missed or late orders
  • Demonstrated year-over-year cost improvement or cost avoidance through sourcing and supplier management

Required Qualifications
  • Associate degree in business, supply chain, operations, or equivalent experience
  • Experience facilitating procurement processes in a fast-paced environment
  • Experience with Excel, ERP systems, or similar tracking tools
  • Strong communication, organization, and follow-through skills
  • Ability to work cross-functionally without direct authority

Preferred Qualifications
  • Bachelor's degree in business, operations, or supply chain
  • Experience in manufacturing or construction materials
  • Understanding of production environments and supplier coordination

What We're Looking For
  • Highly organized and detail-oriented
  • Strong process disciplinarian who ensures consistency
  • Effective at working through others without direct reports
  • Proactive problem-solver who takes ownership
  • Comfortable operating in a fast-paced environment


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