ASSISTANT MANAGER - PURCHASE

A data centre purchase and procurement job profile involves managing the sourcing, buying, and supply chain of mission-critical IT hardware, electrical and mechanical (MEP) infrastructure, and facility services

Qualifications (typical)

• Bachelor's in supply chain, business, engineering, or IT
• 3-5 years procurement experience, ideally in IT hardware or infrastructure

Skills Required

• Negotiation and contract law fundamentals
• Understanding of data centre hardware specs (Storage tiers, networking, power redundancy, cooling systems)
• Supply chain/logistics knowledge, especially import/export and customs for hardware
• ERP/procurement software (SAP Ariba, Coupa, Oracle Procurement)
• Financial modeling: TCO analysis, lease vs. buy, depreciation schedules
• Vendor risk assessment

Core responsibilities

• Source and negotiate contracts with OEMs and infra vendors (UPS, cooling, generators, racks)
• Manage RFQ/RFP cycles for large hardware refreshes and new-build fit-outs
• Track lead times and allocation risk (GPU/chip shortages are the current pressure point)
• Own vendor relationship management: SLAs, warranty terms, spare parts pipelines
• Coordinate with capacity planning/engineering on technical specs before sourcing
• Manage purchase orders, budget tracking, cost forecasting, and CapEx approvals
• Negotiate volume discounts, financing/leasing options (especially for Projcts)