Group Manager - Purchasing Excellence
Job Description
What you’ll do
Job Overview:
The Purchasing Excellence Leader is responsible for driving operational excellence, process standardization, capability building, governance, and continuous improvement across the purchasing organization. This role will lead strategic initiatives to enhance purchasing efficiency, compliance, automation, analytics, and overall business impact while enabling scalable and best-in-class procurement operations.
The ideal candidate will bring strong expertise in purchasing processes, transformation leadership, stakeholder management, data-driven decision-making, and cross-functional collaboration to elevate organizational performance.
Key Responsibilities
1. Drive Purchasing Excellence Strategy
• Develop and execute the Purchasing Excellence roadmap aligned with business and supply chain objectives.
• Lead initiatives focused on process optimization, policy adherence, system enablement, and productivity improvement.
• Identify opportunities to improve purchasing agility, efficiency, and service levels across global or regional operations.
2. Process Standardization & Governance
• Establish and institutionalize standardized purchasing processes, operating procedures, and control mechanisms.
• Ensure compliance with internal policies, procurement guidelines, and business governance requirements.
• Drive process harmonization across teams, regions, and commodities.
3. Continuous Improvement
• Lead Lean, Six Sigma, and automation-driven improvement initiatives across purchasing operations.
• Identify process inefficiencies, root causes, and improvement opportunities using data and stakeholder feedback.
• Partner with digital/IT teams to improve system workflows, automation opportunities, and user experience.
• Support deployment of bots, analytics tools, and process automation solutions to reduce manual effort and improve control.
4. Performance Management & Analytics
• Develop dashboards, review mechanisms, and reporting cadence to track performance and drive accountability.
• Provide actionable insights to leadership through data analysis and trend identification.
5. Stakeholder & Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Act as the central point of contact for purchasing excellence initiatives and cross-functional alignment.
• Support leadership reviews, business updates, and executive presentations on improvement outcomes.
6. Capability Building & Team Development
• Build organizational capability through training, coaching, and knowledge-sharing on purchasing best practices, tools, and processes.
• Foster a culture of operational discipline, problem-solving, innovation, and continuous improvement.
• Mentor teams to improve process ownership, execution rigor, and analytical capability.
Who we’re looking for
Key Qualifications
• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Engineering, Business, Operations, or related field.
• Master’s degree / MBA preferred.
• 15+ years of experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain operations, or process excellence roles.
• Proven experience in leading transformation, operational excellence, or process improvement initiatives.
• Strong understanding of purchasing operations, procurement workflows, and ERP systems (e.g., SAP).
• Experience in Lean, Six Sigma, automation, or digital transformation initiatives preferred.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and stakeholder management skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with ability to engage senior leadership.
• Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence in a matrixed organization.
Core Competencies
• Strategic thinking
• Operational excellence
• Process standardization
• Continuous improvement mindset
• Data analytics & insight generation
• Stakeholder management
• Change management
• Leadership & coaching
• Governance and compliance focus
• Cross-functional collaboration
Leadership Expectations
• Act as a role model for execution excellence and accountability
• Create a culture of continuous improvement and disciplined operations
• Influence without authority and align diverse stakeholders toward common goals
• Bring structure, rigor, and scalability to purchasing operations
• Drive innovation while ensuring governance and process control
Why join us?
• Opportunity to play a pivotal role in driving purchasing to excellence
• Collaborative work culture that values innovation and sustenance
• Opportunities for professional development
• Great Place to learn and implement best practices across industries
Our commitment
We believe it is important for every person to feel valued, included, and empowered to achieve their full potential. By bringing unique individuals and viewpoints together, we achieve extraordinary results.
Lam Research ("Lam" or the "Company") is an equal opportunity employer. Lam is committed to and reaffirms support of equal opportunity in employment and non-discrimination in employment policies, practices and procedures on the basis of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, sexual orientation, or military and veteran status or any other category protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws. It is the Company's intention to comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Company policy prohibits unlawful discrimination against applicants or employees.
Lam offers a variety of work location models based on the needs of each role. Our hybrid roles combine the benefits of on-site collaboration with colleagues and the flexibility to work remotely and fall into two categories – On-site Flex and Virtual Flex. ‘On-site Flex’ you’ll work 3+ days per week on-site at a Lam or customer/supplier location, with the opportunity to work remotely for the balance of the week. ‘Virtual Flex’ you’ll work 1-2 days per week on-site at a Lam or customer/supplier location, and remotely the rest of the time.