Purchasing Manager Aerospace

What you’ll do:

The Purchase Manager leads the Budapest Aerospace Center of Excellence (COE) purchasing team supporting the Aerospace FED business. The role is accountable for people leadership, purchase order execution, supplier performance, material availability, escalation management and continuous improvement across the assigned FED supply base. Working in a global matrix with FED procurement, operations, supply chain, quality, engineering and category teams, the manager converts business priorities into disciplined execution, develops team capability, mitigates supply and sales risk, and provides clear performance visibility to senior stakeholders.

• Lead, coach and develop the Budapest COE purchasing team supporting the Aerospace FED business; set priorities, allocate workload and maintain appropriate backup coverage.
• Own daily purchasing execution for the assigned FED scope, including purchase order placement and maintenance, confirmations, expedites, reschedules, past-due recovery and exception management.
• Translate FED business priorities, customer requirements and production needs into clear objectives and standard work for the COE team.
• Act as the primary leadership escalation point for material shortages, supplier constraints and purchase order execution issues; ensure timely containment, root-cause analysis and recovery plans.
• Drive supplier on-time delivery, schedule adherence, lead-time, inventory, quality and responsiveness performance through structured reviews and documented corrective actions.
• Protect revenue and customer commitments by identifying supply risks early, prioritizing critical parts and coordinating mitigation with planning, operations, quality, engineering, logistics and suppliers.
• Establish and maintain tiered daily and weekly management, visual controls, standard work, service-level measures and robust handoffs between the COE and FED stakeholders.
• Track and report key performance indicators, including on-time delivery, past dues, confirmations, expedites, shortages, purchase order accuracy, productivity and recovery actions.
• Partner with commodity and category managers, buyers and supplier development teams on sourcing transitions, supplier capacity, commercial actions and business continuity plans.
• Support supplier relationship management through regular operating reviews, executive escalations and supplier visits when required.
• Ensure compliance with Eaton policies, delegated authority, ethical sourcing expectations, export controls, contractual requirements and Aerospace quality standards.
• Lead continuous improvement and digitalization initiatives that simplify purchasing processes, improve data quality and increase COE productivity.
• Build organizational capability through performance management, succession planning, cross-training, coaching and individual development plans.
• Manage stakeholders across regions and time zones, providing concise updates on risks, decisions, actions, owners and due dates.
• Support Aerospace FED strategic initiatives, including operating-for-growth and supply-chain resilience priorities.
• Coach buyers in preparing for and conducting Tier 1 performance reviews, ensuring actions, ownership and escalations are clearly documented.
• Lead and support Tier 2 reviews for the Aerospace FED business, connecting buyer-level performance, constraints and recovery actions to leadership priorities.
• Lead and participate in FED fulfilment calls and Monthly Operating Reviews (MORs), providing clear updates on material availability, supplier performance, revenue risk and corrective actions.
• Build, implement and sustain leader standard work for the buyer community, including review cadences, escalation paths, performance routines and follow-through expectations.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in engineering, supply chain, operations, business administration or a related discipline. A postgraduate qualification or recognized procurement/supply chain certification is preferred.
• Typically 15+ years of progressive experience in purchasing, procurement, supply chain, supplier performance or manufacturing operations, including at least 5 years leading teams.
• Aerospace or another highly regulated, complex manufacturing environment is strongly preferred.

Skills:

• Strong knowledge of purchasing operations, purchase order management, materials planning, MRP and ERP systems.
• Demonstrated ability to manage supplier delivery performance, shortages, recovery plans, capacity constraints and business continuity risks.
• Working knowledge of aerospace quality and regulatory expectations, including AS9100/AS9120 and applicable export-control requirements.
• Commercial capability in supplier negotiations, contracts, total cost, cost-out and cost-avoidance initiatives.
• Ability to interpret demand, inventory, past-due, lead-time, capacity and supplier performance data and convert analysis into action.
• Experience with SAP or comparable ERP platforms and advanced proficiency in Excel and Power BI or similar analytics tools.
• Knowledge of Lean, structured problem solving, root-cause analysis and continuous improvement methods.
• Understanding of engineering drawings, bills of material, change management and cross-functional product support is preferred."

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• People leadership: builds a high-performing, accountable and inclusive team; coaches employees and develops successors.

• Strategic execution: connects FED business priorities to practical COE objectives, resources and operating rhythms.
• Customer focus: acts with urgency to protect production, revenue and end-customer commitments.
• Decision making: uses facts, risk and business impact to make timely decisions and escalate appropriately.
• Stakeholder management: influences effectively across global, cross-functional and matrix organizations.
• Communication: provides concise, transparent and audience-appropriate updates to employees, suppliers and senior leaders.
• Problem solving: remains composed during supply disruptions and drives issues to sustainable closure.
• Change leadership: standardizes work, improves adoption and leads digital and process transformation.
• Collaboration and integrity: creates trust, respects cultural differences and demonstrates Eaton ethics and values.
• Results orientation: balances service, cost, inventory, quality, compliance and team wellbeing.