Senior Purchasing Associate

Responsibilities

• Process and support procurement requisitions, ensuring purchase activity aligns with preferred suppliers and category strategies.
• Resolve issues related to purchase orders, supplier selection, catalog usage, and requisition workflow.
• Serve as a liaison between business requestors, Category Managers, Accounts Payable, Suppliers, and Procurement Operations.
• Resolve escalations and operational breakdowns by partnering with internal teams and external suppliers.
• Support supplier onboarding and ensure accurate and complete supplier information flows through systems.
• Act as an SME for procurement system functionality; assist in documenting requirements and testing system enhancements.
• Participate in initiatives to improve the SourcetoPay architecture, including automation, UI improvements, and data integrity.
• Conduct analysis of procurement and supplier performance metrics, category spend, and operational data.
• Generate reports to support internal business decisions, Procurement Operations, and Category Management.
• Identify process gaps or inconsistencies revealed through data trends and propose solutions.
• Identify and escalate opportunities for policy, workflow, or system enhancements to improve buying experience and cycle times.
• Ensure procurement activity adheres to internal controls, sourcing policies, and compliance requirements.
• Support change management, communications, and training related to updates in systems or processes.

Requirements

• Degree in Business, Supply Chain, Finance, or related field preferred.
• 3–5 years of business experience in procurement, sourcing, operations, financial operations, or a related area.
• Fluency in Japanese preferred.
• Understanding of sourcing and procurement concepts, contract/supplier management, and P2P workflows.
• Ability to quickly learn new technology and navigate multiple enterprise systems.
• Experience working in or with BPO/sharedservice environments preferred.
• Analytical
• Strong analytical skills for reviewing data, identifying trends, and diagnosing rootcause issues.
• Ability to independently resolve issues and recommend process improvements.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills to interact with suppliers, associates, and business partners.
• Ability to manage crossfunctional interactions and build strong working relationships.
• High degree of initiative, ownership, and ability to prioritize independently.
• Strong customerservice orientation with a continuousimprovement mindset.
• Teamfocused and adaptable to evolving priorities in a dynamic enterprise environment.