Description Job Summary : Stampings, Springs (Potentially Other Depending on Workload) Responsible for managing all of the purchasing activities related to her/his category that are in line with the respective purchasing strategy in her/his region. Job Responsibilities: Negotiate annually or on spot with suppliers (prices, payment terms, tooling, commercial clauses, capacity issues, EOL…) Negotiate and formalize supplier contracts. Lead sourcing decisions based on the category strategy and Business Unit expectations and timing requirements. Prepare cost estimation (for BU during acquisition phase), including request of “should cost” to Cost Engineering team Ensure implementation of category strategy both regional and global Support BU for VEC initiatives and corresponding negotiations with suppliers Report KPI by part number and supplier Collect regional and global, category, supplier specific information Propose strategic path to Global Category Manager based on the information gathered Propose ideas for cost reduction/avoidance, Continuous Improvement Participate actively in annual budget preparation Work with the Global Category Team to understand / escalate issues (cost, supply, quality, etc…) Build / Manage relationships with local suppliers. Propose ideas for cost reduction/avoidance and ongoing opportunities for continuous improvement. Drive supplier performance and compliance. Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Automotive purchasing strongly preferred. Ability to read drawing /technical specification and automotive quality requirement knowledge is plus Proven negotiations skills. Results orientation with proven implementation skills. Excellent interpersonal and communication skills including the ability to influence and persuade. Demonstrated collaboration, teamwork, relationship building and networking skills. Experience coordinating and facilitating several small projects and/or one major project. Possess the ability to work independently with minimal direction is required as are strong/effective verbal and written communication skills. Advanced MS office ( Excel, PPT) proficiency Fluent in English/Japanese helpful. Education: Bachelor or Masters degree in Supply Chain, Business or equivalent. Experience: Minimum of 3 years experience in purchasing or related field. Job level determined by various factors such as organization size, responsibility, career stage, and capabilities. Working conditions: Physical Demands: Required to sit or stand for long periods of time. The employee may occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds. Have ability to work 40 – 60 hours per week. Travel: The candidate will need to travel to suppliers and/or Hitachi locations as required. International travel may also be required. Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE)-Females/Minorities/Protected Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities If you need a reasonable accommodation to apply for a job at Hitachi, please send the nature of request and contact information to jobs@hitachi-automotive.us . Queries other than accommodation requests will not be responded to. #J-18808-Ljbffr