Senior Buyer

About Westwin Elements Inc

Westwin is America's First Major Nickel Refinery solving America’s critical minerals
crisis – a crisis of foreign dependency, ESG violations, and forecasted market deficits.

Currently, no commercial nickel refining capacity exists in the U.S., which means the U.S. relies almost entirely on imports for its own nickel consumption. Therefore, developing refining capacities is critical to reduce import dependency, minimize geopolitical risk, and establish a domestic supply chain.

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Westwin solves this issue by localizing nickel refining capacity and mitigating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) violations within the global critical mineral supply chain. The company is dedicated to upholding ESG standards, ensuring ethical sourcing, traceability, and a more equitable profit distribution across all supply chain stakeholders. 

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As global and domestic demand for nickel and critical minerals continues to rise, Westwin is strategically positioned to supply Class 1 nickel products and address forecasted market deficits.

About the role

• The Senior Buyer plays a critical role in sourcing, evaluating, and securing materials and services to meet project requirements in a cost-effective and timely manner. This position is responsible for the full procurement lifecycle—from pre-contract bidding efforts to post-award purchasing, expediting, and closeout activities. The Senior Buyer will collaborate closely with engineering, operations, estimating, and executive teams, while fostering vendor relationships, ensuring compliance with company policies, and driving procurement efficiency.

• Location: Remote (Hybrid)

What you'll do

Procurement Execution & Vendor Management

• Identify and qualify sources of commodities and services; prepare and maintain comprehensive descriptions of available products and current pricing.
• Prepare contract documents and bidder lists; assemble and distribute Requests for Quotation (RFQs).
• Evaluate bids, award purchase orders and contracts, and negotiate favorable terms for complex or high-value packages.
• Manage regional and/or international procurement, ensuring purchases meet schedule and budget targets.
• Resolve major claims or disputes with vendors.
• Maintain strong, proactive vendor relationships and ensure compliance with contractual terms and company policies.

Project & Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Support estimating and proposal efforts by soliciting budgetary pricing for non-major projects.
• Serve as lead buyer for assigned projects, coordinating closely with operations, engineering, project management, and corporate functions.
• Represent the procurement department in internal meetings, ensuring alignment with project goals.

Leadership & Continuous Improvement

• Mentor and train junior procurement staff, fostering consistency in workflow processes.
• Actively recommend and support improvements to procurement tools, systems, and software to increase efficiency.
• Exemplify the company’s Leadership Competencies and proactively pursue professional development opportunities.

Compliance & HSE

• Promote and uphold the company’s Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) requirements and culture.
• Ensure adherence to all applicable procurement processes, documentation standards, and government contract requirements.

Qualifications

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, Business Administration, or related field; or 9–12 years of procurement experience in lieu of degree.
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in pre- and post-award procurement activities, including purchase order and contract management.
• Demonstrated ability to manage the full procurement lifecycle from bidding through project clo