What are the responsibilities and job description for the Purchasing Manager position at Comar?
Purchasing Manager
We are seeking an experienced Purchasing Manager to lead purchasing, supplier management, and supply chain activities at our Buena, NJ manufacturing facility. This is a fully onsite position, five days per week.
This role is responsible for ensuring the reliable and cost-effective availability of the materials, products, and services needed to keep plant operations running efficiently and meet production and customer requirements.
The Purchasing Manager will oversee sourcing and supplier relationships for a broad range of production and non-production needs, including resins, additives, colorants, packaging components, MRO supplies, spare parts, tooling-related services, outside processing, equipment, and other plant operating requirements. This position will play an important role in managing supplier performance, controlling costs, maintaining appropriate inventory levels, and reducing supply chain risk.
Working closely with Production, Scheduling, Engineering, Quality, Maintenance, Finance, Customer Service, and plant leadership, the Purchasing Manager will help ensure materials and services are available to support production schedules, new product launches, engineering changes, and changing business priorities.
A key focus of this position will be developing and maintaining a strong, dependable supplier network. The Purchasing Manager will lead vendor negotiations, manage pricing and agreements, evaluate supplier performance, resolve supply and delivery issues, and identify opportunities for cost reduction and cost avoidance without compromising quality, service, or operational continuity.
The role will also be responsible for strengthening supply chain resiliency by identifying risks and establishing alternate sources for critical materials, suppliers, and services. This includes developing contingency sourcing strategies and mitigating risks associated with supplier capacity, quality, logistics, pricing, lead times, and material availability.
The ideal candidate will bring at least five years of purchasing, procurement, materials management, or supply chain experience within a manufacturing environment, along with demonstrated experience managing suppliers, negotiating pricing, and supporting production operations. A bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, Engineering, or a related field is preferred; an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience will also be considered.
Experience within plastics injection molding, packaging, or high-volume manufacturing is strongly preferred. Knowledge of resin markets, colorants, packaging components, MRO purchasing, tooling support, inventory management, supplier qualification, and production planning practices is also highly valued. Professional certifications such as CPSM, CPIM, CSCP, CPM, or APP are a plus.
This position is primarily based in an office environment with regular interaction across plant functions and routine visits to the manufacturing floor, warehouse, receiving, maintenance, and tooling areas. The successful candidate will be a collaborative and proactive leader who demonstrates sound judgment, urgency, strong negotiation skills, and the ability to build productive relationships with internal teams and external supplier partners.
The entry point salary for this role is $80,000 annually. We reserve the right to offer compensation above the stated salary reflective of years of technical experience, skillset, relevant industry experience, complexity, etc. This position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package including medical, dental, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, and additional ancillary benefits available upon request.
Salary : $80,000