Plant Buyer - Middletown, DE

What you will do

The Plant Buyer serves as the primary Procurement partner for an assigned group of manufacturing plants, building strong relationships with Plant Leadership, Operations, Maintenance, Engineering, Finance, and other key stakeholders.

The role is responsible for understanding plant priorities and supplier needs and translating them into Procurement solutions that improve cost, supplier performance, operational efficiency, and continuity of supply. The Plant Buyer connects local plant requirements with broader Procurement strategies and cross-plant opportunities while becoming a trusted advisor and solutions-oriented partner to the plants.

How you will do it

• Build strong relationships with leadership and stakeholders across assigned plants.
• Maintain regular engagement and appropriate plant presence to understand operational priorities, challenges, and supplier pain points.
• Influence sourcing decisions by bringing market intelligence, supplier insights, category expertise, and total-cost-of-ownership analyses to plant stakeholders.
• Serve as a responsive, solutions-oriented Procurement partner focused on removing barriers and enabling plant operations.
• Build credibility through listening, responsiveness, follow-through, and delivery of results.
• Initiate RFQ / Bid events in support of plant(s) to reduce costs and identify appropriate solutions
• Analyze supplier spend to identify savings, cost avoidance, benchmarking, consolidation, and sourcing opportunities.
• Partner with Plant Finance to understand spend trends, price increases, and opportunities.
• Maintain a prioritized pipeline of Procurement initiatives across supported plants.
• Leverage corporate agreements and cross-plant synergies to optimize spend and reduce complexity.
• Identify quick wins while developing sustainable sourcing strategies.
• Monitor critical supplier performance and drive corrective actions as needed.
• Proactively identify supplier and supply risks and develop mitigation plans.
• Bring solutions and recommended actions, not simply identify problems.
• Support effective supplier selection, new supplier requests, purchase-order practices, and sourcing decisions.
• Increase spend under contract and improve Procurement and P2P compliance.
• Identify opportunities to consolidate suppliers and standardize requirements across plants.
• Simplify Procurement processes where possible while maintaining appropriate controls.
• Ensure Procurement enables plant operations rather than becoming a bottleneck.
• Negotiate and finalize legal agreements with suppliers in conjunction with Legal department 

What we look for

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Procurement, Business, Engineering, Finance, or related field required.
• Experience in Procurement, sourcing, manufacturing, supply chain, or plant operations required
• Lean techniques and facilitation (A3, VSM, Kaizen) 
• Strong negotiation, analytical, commercial, and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to manage competing priorities across multiple manufacturing locations.
• Strong communication and relationship-building skills.
• Ability to balance cost objectives with operational requirements and supply continuity.
• Curious and willing to learn plant operations, Procurement processes, sourcing, and supplier management.
• Comfortable engaging with different functions and levels of the organization.
• Collaborative, hands-on, and solutions-oriented mindset.
• Strong Excel skills, Power BI, RFQ Tools preferred

What you get:

• Medical, dental and vision care coverage and a 401(k) savings plan with company matching – all starting on date of hire

• Tuition reimbursement, perks, and discounts

• Parental and caregiver leave programs

• All the usual benefits such as paid time off, flexible spending, short-and long-term disability, basic life insurance, business travel insurance, and Employee Assistance Program

• Global market strength and worldwide market share leadership

• HQ location earns LEED certification for sustainability plus a full-service cafeteria and workout facility

• Clarios has been recognized as one of 2026's Most Ethical Companies by Ethisphere. This prestigious recognition marks the fourth consecutive year Clarios has received this distinction.

Who we are:
Clarios is the force behind the world’s most recognizable car battery brands, powering vehicles from leading automakers like Ford, General Motors, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan. With 18,000 employees worldwide, we develop, manufacture, and distribute energy storage solutions while recovering, recycling, and reusing up to 99% of battery materials—setting the standard for sustainability in our industry. At Clarios, we’re not just making batteries; we’re shaping the future of sustainable transportation. Join our mission to innovate, push boundaries, and make a real impact. Discover your potential at Clarios—where your power meets endless possibilities.

Veterans/Military Spouses:
We value the leadership, adaptability, and technical expertise developed through military service. At Clarios, those capabilities thrive in an environment built on grit, ingenuity, and passion—where you can grow your career while helping to power progress worldwide. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to protected characteristics.

Equal Employment Opportunity:

We recognize that people come with a wealth of experience and talent beyond just the technical requirements of a job. If your experience is close to what you see listed here, please apply. Diversity of experience and skills combined with passion is key to challenging the status quo. Therefore, we encourage people from all backgrounds to apply to our positions. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, age, status as a protected veteran or other protected characteristics protected by law. As a federal contractor, we are committed to not discriminating against any applicant or employee based on these protected statuses. We will also take affirmative action to ensure equal employment opportunities. Please let us know if you require accommodations during the interview process by emailing Special.Accommodations@Clarios.com. We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and value diversity in our teams in terms of work experience, area of expertise, and all characteristics protected by laws in the countries where we operate. For more information on our commitment to sustainability, diversity, and equal opportunity, please read our latest report. We want you to know your rights because EEO is the law.

A Note to Job Applicants: please be aware of scams being perpetrated through the Internet and social media platforms. Clarios will never require a job applicant to pay money as part of the application or hiring process.

To All Recruitment Agencies: Clarios does not accept unsolicited agency resumes/CVs. Please do not forward resumes/CVs to our careers email addresses, Clarios employees or any other company location. Clarios is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited resumes/CVs.