The Purchasing Specialist II serves as the primary sourcing and procurement resource for the OC Newark Plant, responsible for ensuring the timely availability of MRO materials, services, and supplies required to support plant operations. This role executes sourcing and procurement processes in alignment with business strategy, safety standards, internal controls, and corporate compliance requirements. The Purchasing Specialist II partners closely with Maintenance, Operations, Finance, and the broader Sourcing organization to manage inventory levels, optimize costs, mitigate supply risk, and support continuous improvement initiatives. The position plays a critical role in maintaining operational reliability, financial discipline, and compliance across all purchasing activities.
Reports to: Logistics Leader
Sourcing Strategy Execution
- Implementing purchasing needs in alignment with business strategy for internal stakeholders.
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Collaborate with the broader Sourcing community for learning processes and creating efficient solutions for purchasing required within Newark Plant.
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Provide solutions to improve Newark spending and driving value creation initiatives.
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Engage in cross-functional and divisional team projects, representing Owens Corning’s business and functional strategies effectively.
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Risk Management - Mitigate risks to ensure that critical MRO items are available when needed
Procurement & Inventory Management
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Develop and manage sourcing processes to ensure materials are available in the right quantity and on time.
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Inventory Management - Minimize carry costs, reduce stockouts, and optimize order frequency and quantities.
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Partner with Plant Maintenance to manage MRO inventory, including part criticality and cost monitoring.
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Coordinate spare-parts repair services.
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Create and maintain Material Information Records and Source Lists.
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Manage supplier contract compliance, mitigate risk, and develop contingency plans.
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Resolve payables kickouts, identify root causes, and prevent recurrence to ensure timely vendor payment.
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Clear all GRNIs (Goods Receipts with No Invoice), Kickouts, and order lead times (Late Orders) in a timely manner.
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Analyze costs, usage, and spending trends using standard reports.
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Maintain accurate vendor master data and information records.
Continuous Improvement & Compliance
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Ensure site compliance with Owens Corning’s requirements, processes, and internal control standards.
- Coordinate, monitor and track internal control compliance.
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Provide backup support for the Supply Chain and Sourcing team as needed.
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Assist with project implementation and change management initiatives as required.
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Execute and monitor sourcing processes to meet internal service level metrics and ensure compliance with competitive bidding, Spot Tool, IQM, Coupa, and purchase order protocols.
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Continuously work to manage inventory levels to improve plant cash flow and working capital position.
Communication & Training
- Partner with the other Purchasing Specialist to provide training for stakeholders on processes.
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Respond to internal and external stakeholder requests with consistent key messaging.
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Influence others; persuasively present thoughts and ideas; inspire commitment and ensure support for ideas.
JOB REQUIREMENTS
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Education
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Undergraduate degree required; preferably Supply Chain Management or Business.
Experience
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3 -5 years of experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, Manufacturing Operations with hands on exposure to coded/critical spare inventory.
Key Competencies:
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Strong interpersonal, communication, presentation and relationship skills.
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Must excel in a team environment.
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Must have strong computer skills and Microsoft experience, BI Reporting, SAP (ERP) system experience is very desirable
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Demonstrate business & financial acumen and analytics, curiosity, critical thinking, problem solving and decision making.
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Strong negotiation skills.
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Ability to learn quickly and work independently.
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Strong cross-functional collaboration with plant manufacturing teams, suppliers and stakeholders.
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Able to work with all levels of the organization to enable change.
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About Owens Corning
Owens Corning is a residential and commercial building products leader committed to building a sustainable future through material innovation. Our products provide durable, sustainable, energy-efficient solutions that leverage our unique capabilities and market-leading positions to help our customers win and grow. We are global in scope, human in scale with more than 25,000 employees in 31 countries dedicated to generating value for our customers and shareholders and making a difference in the communities where we work and live. Founded in 1938 and based in Toledo, Ohio, USA, Owens Corning posted 2024 sales of $11.0 billion. For more information, visit www.owenscorning.com.
Owens Corning is an equal opportunity employer. Except in limited circumstances such as formal apprenticeship programs, Owens Corning does not employ anyone under the age of 18.
