Job Description

Job Title:  Buyer Planner

Location:  Salem, NH

Business Unit:  Team Wendy Ceradyne

About Avon Technologies:

We are a world leader in protective equipment, with a reputation for innovative design, high-performance quality and specialist materials expertise. Our two brands, Avon Protection and Team Wendy, supply our respiratory and head protection portfolio to customers across the globe from our manufacturing sites in the UK and North America.  With over 900 talented people our shared purpose and core beliefs are to be #FIERCE about Protecting Lives. It's why we come to work - and it's what motivates us, every day, to do the best work we can.

Purpose of Position:

Team Wendy Ceradyne, a subsidiary of Avon Technologies, is looking for an experienced Buyer/Planner. The ideal candidate for the position of Buyer/Planner will be primarily responsible for the ongoing procurement and negotiations of materials, components, equipment, supplies and services that meet the quality standards of the organization. This position also will work closely with the operations team for planning, releasing, tracking and confirming manufacturing work orders. They will be integral member of the manufacturing team and will ensure the timely (scheduled) deliveries of goods and services within budget and/or standard costs while managing inventory levels to prevent shortages and maximize turns.

Essential duties and/or Functions:

• Procure materials, components, equipment and services necessary for the operation of the company.
• Manage suppliers to reduce costs, improve quality, control inventories and ensure timely flow of material. 
• Plan, schedule and monitor inventory levels employing techniques but not limited to JIT, Kanban, Blanket PO's, and reschedules.
• Coordinate with supply chain to maintain and manage work order releases to production, confirm and transact as appropriate.
• Develop a thorough working knowledge of required MRP/ERP system (SAP S4 Hana).
• Analyze changes or issues in materials or supply to reduce costs and improve quality
• Handle production planning and detailed schedule coordination with manufacturing and vendor suppliers.
• Analyze, understand, and translate MRP messages to raw material purchase orders and plans to meet production / forecast demand.
• Maintain and audit to ensure accurate item master data lead times, batch size, safety stock target to enable 100% system data accuracy.
• Monitor and report key performance metrics, including Purchase Price Variance, inventories, shortages, and supplier performance. 
• Knowledge and responsibility for adherence to government regulations under Federal Acquisitions Regulations (FAR) and Defense Acquisition Regulations (DAR) and associated flow-down requirements. 
• Responsible for all government reporting responsibilities including small business and/or minority sourcing.
• Assist and support weekly cycle counts and/or annual inventory physical count.
• Support and assist with audits as required.
• Oversight of DOD regulations and reporting.
• Other inventory/supply chain duties as needed.
• This position may require working evening, weekends or holidays hours as needed.

Required Minimum Qualifications: 

Basic Qualifications: 

• Minimum of an Bachelors degree or higher in a business, supply chain management or related field.
• 3-5+ years of experience in purchasing, supply chain, inventory management or planning
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to communicate effectively at all levels of the organization , including external vendors
• Experience and proficient knowledge in the Microsoft Office suite of applications, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook 
• Must be “hands on” with strong problem solving acumen. 
• Strong analytical skills with attention to details.
• Background and experience with inventory management.
• Bring ideas to management and be able to implement necessary process improvements. 
• Able and willing to work necessary hours to meet all project deadlines, travel when necessary
• Able to work independently and collaboratively with a team
• Strong organizational and time management skills

Preferred/Desired Skills or Experiences: (Characteristics/Skills/Experiences that are not required but are preferred)

• Advanced skills in Microsoft Office/Excel
• Previous experience and advance knowledge utilizing SAP/ERP/APO
• Project Management experience
• Lean Six Sigma Experience
• ASCM Certification (Associations for Supply Chain Management

What We Offer:

• Flexible Schedule
• Competitive Compensation Package 
• Learning and Development Opportunities 
• Bonus Plan 
• 401k Matching 
• Tuition Reimbursement Program 
• Mentorship Program  

Internal Relationships:

Quality Department
Production Department

This job description is not intended, and should not be construed, to be an all-inclusive list of all responsibilities, skills, efforts or working conditions associated with this job.  While this job description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the job requirements, management reserved the right to modify, add or remove duties from particular jobs and to assign other duties as necessary.

Responsibilities of this position may include direct and/or indirect physical or logical access to information, systems, technologies subjected to the regulations/compliance with U.S. Export Control Laws.
 
U.S. Export Control laws and U.S. Government Department of Defense contracts and sub-contracts impose certain restrictions on companies and their ability to share export-controlled and other technology and services with certain "non-U.S. persons" (persons who are not U.S. citizens or nationals, lawful permanent residents of the U.S., refugees, "Temporary Residents" (granted Amnesty or Special Agricultural Worker provisions), or persons granted asylum (but excluding persons in nonimmigrant status such as H-1B, L-1, F-1, etc.) or non-U.S. citizens.
 
To comply with these laws, and in conjunction with the review of candidates for those positions within Avon that may present access to export controlled technical data, Avon must assess employees' U.S. person status, as well as citizenship(s).
 
The questions asked in this application are intended to assess this and will be used for evaluation purposes only.  Failure to provide the necessary information in this regard will result in our inability to consider you further for this particular position.  The decision whether or not to file or pursue an export license application is at Avon's sole election.

Must be legally authorized to work in country of employment without a sponsorship for employment visa status (e.e. H1B status).

The anticipated salary range for candidates who will work in Salem, NH is $82,000 to $88,000 annually.  The final salary offered to a successful candidate will be dependent on several factors that may include but are not limited to the type and years of experience within the job, type and years of experience within the industry, education, etc.

EOE AA M/F/Vet/Disability