Manager Operational Buying & Cost Engineering

Job Title Manager Operational Buying & Cost Engineering Job Description Job Description

Are you looking to develop your career in leading Operational Buying and Cost Engineering team within a global supply chain & procurement organization and satisfy your ambitions at a company where you can aspire to new heights, enjoy personal growth, and thrive on achievement?

Toyota Advanced Logistics (TAL), started per April 1st 2026 as a newly formed company, combining the Warehousing activities of Vanderlande (Netherlands), Viastore (Germany), Bastian Solutions (USA) and Toyota L&F (Japan). The focus of the new company is on Warehouse Automation, utilizing the strengths of all former companies to offer a wide variety of automation solutions to our customers.

At TAL, we are seeking a passionate and ambitious leader, capable of driving operational excellence, stakeholder satisfaction, process standardization, and continuous improvement across our global procurement operations. We are still setting up organization structures, processes and standards for TAL as new company, and hence transformation will be an import task in shaping the future, which requires strong leadership.

As Manager Operational Buying & Cost Engineering, you will be responsible for leading a team of Operational Buyers, Cost Engineers and Master Data Managers, who are supporting global procurement operations, ensuring seamless execution of operational buying activities. You will work closely with stakeholders within TAL, category managers, supply chain teams, project teams, and business partners to deliver excellent procurement support services.

Your responsibilities

Lead and manage the Operational Buying, Cost Engineering, and Master Data Management team, ensuring achievement of operational and strategic objectives while fostering a high-performance culture.

Own and govern end-to-end Operational Buying processes, ensuring timely and accurate execution of Purchase Requisitions, Purchase Orders, supplier follow-ups, and procurement support activities across global operations.

Drive standardization, harmonization, governance, and continuous improvement of procurement processes, policies, work instructions, operating procedures, and best practices across regions and business units.

Act as the primary escalation point for procurement and supply chain operational issues, ensuring timely resolution of stakeholder concerns and continuous improvement of service delivery.

Collaborate closely with Category Management, Suppliers, Supply Chain Planning, Finance, Engineering, Project Management, and other key stakeholders to optimize procurement and supply chain performance.

Own governance of Cost Engineering capabilities, tools, and methodologies (including CAP and Facton EPC), ensuring high-quality should-cost modelling, cost analysis, value engineering, design-to-cost initiatives, and support for sourcing and negotiation strategies.

Lead and govern Master Data Management by ensuring the accuracy, completeness, standardization, and continuous improvement of critical supply chain and procurement master data, while driving analytics, process excellence, knowledge management, capability development, workforce planning, succession management, and talent development initiatives.

Your qualifications and skills You are a strong people leader with the ability to inspire, coach, and develop high-performing teams while balancing operational excellence and strategic priorities in a dynamic global environment.

You possess excellent stakeholder management, communication, and influencing skills, enabling you to build trusted relationships and drive collaboration across multiple organizational levels and regions.

You are highly analytical and data-driven, capable of translating complex business challenges into actionable insights, recommendations, and measurable outcomes.

You demonstrate strong problem-solving capabilities, sound decision-making, and the ability to effectively navigate organizational complexity and change.

You have a continuous improvement and customer-centric mindset, with a passion for operational excellence, process optimization, and delivering superior service to internal and external stakeholders.

If you’re a team playing, driven, stress resistant, reliable manager, you fulfill the following profile: Bachelor’s or master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or related discipline.

Minimum 10 years of relevant experience in Procurement, Supply Chain, Shared Services, or Operational Buying environments.

Minimum 4 years of experience leading teams in a global or matrix organization.

Experience in managing Procurement Shared Services is highly desirable.

Experience in process transition, offshoring, service delivery management, and stakeholder engagement.

Strong understanding of Source-to-Pay (S2P), Operational Buying, and/or Cost Engineering.

Experience with ERP platforms such as JD Edwards, SAP and procurement tools.

Strong analytical, reporting, and data visualization capabilities.

Proven track record of driving process improvement and automation initiatives.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills in English.

Strong organizational, prioritization, and time-management skills.

Ability to lead change, manage ambiguity, and drive results in a fast-paced environment.

Demonstrated ability to develop high-performing teams and build a culture of continuous improvement.

Strong customer focus, business acumen, and collaborative leadership style.