Job Description

Reporting to the Director of Supply Chain Management, the Purchasing Manager will be a hands-on leader who can see the big picture and develop long-term strategies. This individual will have uncompromising standards and high expectations for themselves, their team, and peers.

With strong negotiation and communication skills, this person will have a proven track record of meeting and exceeding cost reduction targets, leading a highly dynamic global supply base to deliver on time, and supporting the successful design, validation and manufacture of cutting edge innovative products on a global scale.

The successful candidate will be an exceptional leader as well as team player and will manage activities within this group targeted to deliver the lowest total cost solutions for a fast-growing organization and industry.

Key Responsibilities:

• Actively lead the purchasing team and manage functional activities including goal setting and achievement, and performance evaluations. Ensure the team's skill sets meet current and future needs through regular feedback, coaching, development, and competency assessment.
• Plan and execute on procurement department's Annual Operating Budget, ensuring adequate labour, capital investment and functional financial budget resources are secured to meet the organizational requirements.
• Ensure that capital, production material and product development service and material requirements are fulfilled on-time, and in full at the lowest total cost to the organization.
• Lead the purchasing team to quickly and efficiently troubleshoot and resolve procure to pay related and quality related issues and work with cross functional peers to improve processes to reduce issues for the future.
• Develop and cross functionally approve multi-year volume forecasts to use with strategic suppliers for RFI/RFP/RFQ purposes aimed at developing cost reduction roadmaps to meet and exceed organizational targets and to ensure the best possible pricing and terms for negotiated supply agreements.
• Work cross functionally with product development, quality, and manufacturing to identify, evaluate, validate, and nominate approved suppliers that are aligned with the Ballard the strategic product roadmap.
• Provide direct leadership for the management of global supply partners. This includes negotiating and agreeing pricing and supply agreement terms, alignment of technology and product roadmaps as well as capability and capacity alignment with Ballard's growth plans.
• Work cross functionally with supply chain, quality, manufacturing, and finance teams to ensure you minimize inventory and reduce obsolescence while supporting and improving Just In Time delivery from our key suppliers
• Create, actively manage, and report out on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aimed at ensuring procurement is adequately supporting organizational objectives and providing strategic direction to facilitate continual improvement.
• Collaborate with Technology Services and Product Development to find and provide early access to new suppliers and existing supplier technology roadmaps to support innovation, engineering services and product development and launch to series production.
• Engage with Product Development Teams to provide input on supply base and ensure that new products are designed according to best principles for:
• Design for Manufacturability
• Design for Test
• Design for Serviceability
• Provide leadership to support large scale commercialization as it relates to supply chain and materials management activities aligned to our 10-year business plan.
• Ensure Ballard has best in class purchasing policies and procedures, as well as practices.
• Act as a role model for the Ballard cultural values.

Qualifications:

• A degree in engineering, business, or commerce
• A minimum of 10 years of procurement experience within a technical volume manufacturing environment, including leading and supporting multiple Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) phases from cradle to grave
• 5+ years' experience in a leadership role within Operations or Supply Chain
• Experience in automotive or aerospace industries preferred
• Professional qualification in Supply Chain and Logistics (e.g. SCMP, APICS, CIPS, ISM) preferred
• History of managing a complex and dynamic global supply base with a track record of delivering on time, in full at the lowest total cost for the organization
• Deep understanding of ERP systems, including knowledge of implementing and growing integrated ERP systems and linking to other systems, such as MES
• Experienced in creation and execution of global procurement strategies to support global multi-site manufacturing requirements
• Proven track record of manage complex challenges while continuing to meet deadlines and achieve goals
• Exceptional negotiation skills and proven ability to draft and deliver best in class strategic supply agreements
• Exceptional leadership and highly effective communication skills
• Able to think creatively and identify innovative solutions to difficult issues
• Capacity to act calmly in the face of difficulties, challenges, and adversity while still meeting deadlines and goals.

Ballard values diversity in the workplace and is committed to Employment Equity. We encourage applications from all qualified candidates.