Head - Purchasing (Engineering Domain)

Role & responsibilities

• To lead the sourcing and vendor development of critical metal-based commodities with the mission is to identify, qualify, and onboard high-calibre suppliers to build cost-optimized partnerships and develop a sustainable vendor ecosystem
• Identify, qualify, and onboard new vendors for critical commodities (e.g., stampings, copper, sheet metal, black bar, pig iron, EN8 rod).
• Develop and implement sourcing strategies using Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and ZeroBased Costing (ZBC). Apply spend analytics, benchmarking, and use cost modelling to structure competitive cost framework.
• Champion lean sourcing practicesIntegrate value engineering and VAVE activities to reduce material and process costs.
• Lead RFI/RFP processes, negotiate pricing, terms, tooling agreements

  (including amortization policies)

  , and payment terms.
• Interface closely with engineering, product development, quality, and production teams to align vendor capabilities with part specifications and NPI timelines.
• Develop the team and ensure continuous skill impartation to the team.

Preferred candidate profile

Ideal Candidate

• Bachelors degree in Mechanical Engineering (BE) from a reputable institute; MBA or Advanced Degree preferred.
• Should have proven experience to identify, qualify, and onboard new vendors for critical commodities -

  stampings, copper, sheet metal, black bar, pig iron, EN8 rod.

• Should have minimum

  20 years of strategic sourcing/vendor development experienceparticularly in automotive or allied manufacturing.

• Proven success with

  new vendor onboarding,tooling negotiations, and supplier development for complex metal components.

• Should have proven experience and expertise with ZeroBased Costing, VAVE programs, lean methodologies, cost analysis and TCO
• Strong negotiation aptitude with complex, capital-intensive vendor agreements.
• Excellent people management skills—developing high-performing teams, coaching, accountability, and fostering cross-functional collaboration.
• Outstanding communication and stakeholder management at senior/executive levels.
• Should have excellent communication skills in English, Tamil and regional languages
• Should be willing to work out of Coimbatore Location
• Max Budget – 36 LPA