Senior Buyer - direct materials

Job ID: 15934 

Alternate Locations:  

Newell Brands is a leading $8.3B consumer products company with a portfolio of iconic brands such as Graco®, Coleman®, Oster®, Rubbermaid® and Sharpie®, and 25,000 talented employees around the world. Our high-performance culture, unparalleled curiosity about the world around us, and talented people fuel our success. Our culture is enabled through our core values which guide all we do and how we win as One Newell. They are Integrity, Teamwork, Passion for Winning, Ownership & Leadership.

Primary purpose of the role

Secure the timely and cost-effective supply of the direct materials — raw materials, components and work-in-progress — required for the Brescia production lines to run without interruption. The Senior Buyer owns day-to-day direct-procurement execution for the site and acts as the local procurement interface for production, while strategic sourcing and high-value commitments are led by the EMEA Sourcing Manager, to whom the role reports.

This implies:

– Translating MRP signals and purchase requisitions into accurate, consolidated purchase orders

– Running tactical negotiations with recurring suppliers and supporting strategic negotiations led by the Sourcing Manager

– Ensuring the on-time delivery of purchased materials and managing the physical flow of raw and work-in-progress materials to and from subcontractors

– Implementing prompt actions whenever a material-supply problem arises

– Sustaining supplier performance and resolving non-conformities at first level

Spend perimeter

The role operates within the CGIT direct-materials procurement scope, whose global spend — covering both China and Europe — represents approximately $7 million per year.

The Senior Buyer, based in Italy, pilots the direct-materials procurement for this scope.

Main responsibilities

– Analyse MRP exceptions and purchase requisitions on a daily basis; select and consolidate order quantities by SKU.

– Issue, confirm and follow up purchase orders; review order confirmations, update delivery schedules and reschedule when the production plan changes.

– Coordinate inbound and outbound flows of raw and WIP materials with subcontractors and verify subcontractor inventory.

– Conduct tactical RFQs and price negotiations with recurring vendors; feed market intelligence to the Sourcing Manager to support strategic sourcing and supplier selection.

– Coordinate food-contact-material (FCM) compliance checks with the external laboratory for the relevant SKUs.

– Manage first-level supplier non-conformities and escalate major issues to the Sourcing Manager.

– Support Accounts Payable in resolving three-way-match discrepancies.

– Sign purchase orders within the limits of authority, in line with the Group’s delegation-of-authority policy; orders beyond those limits are approved by the appropriate level of management through an electronic approval workflow (e.g., DocuSign).

Scope boundaries

Strategic sourcing, high-value supplier negotiations and supplier-panel decisions are led by the EMEA Sourcing Manager, to whom this role reports. People management of the purchasing office is not part of this role. Indirect purchasing categories (consumables, canteen, utilities, transport contracts) are led by the Indirect Procurement function; on-site order placement remains an operational task of the local buying team. Regulatory filings (customs documentation, CBAM declarations) and site facilities and services are handled by the relevant local administrative and compliance functions.

Education and experience

– Degree in economics, engineering or supply chain; or a technical high-school diploma with equivalent procurement experience.

– Minimum 5 years’ experience in an operational buyer role within an engineering / metalworking (metalmeccanico) industry.

– Native or fluent Italian; English at minimum B2 level.

– Proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Excel); experience with SAP and Ariba is an asset.

– Proactive attitude with strong problem-solving and coordination skills, comfortable interfacing directly with production

#LI-CC1 

Newell Brands (NASDAQ: NWL) is a leading global consumer goods company with a strong portfolio of well-known brands, including Rubbermaid, Sharpie, Graco, Coleman, Rubbermaid Commercial Products, Yankee Candle, Paper Mate, FoodSaver, Dymo, EXPO, Elmer’s, Oster, NUK, Spontex and Campingaz. We are focused on delighting consumers by lighting up everyday moments.