How to hire a director of purchasing

How to hire a director of purchasing, step by step

Here's a step-by-step director of purchasing hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a director of purchasing job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new director of purchasing
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a director of purchasing do?

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   The director of purchasing hiring process starts by determining what type of worker you actually need. Certain roles might require a full-time employee, whereas part-time workers or contractors can do others.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

   Yes

   No

   You should also consider the ideal background you'd like them a director of purchasing to have before you start to hire. For example, what industry or field would you like them to have experience in, what level of seniority or education does the job require, and how much it'll cost to hire a director of purchasing that fits the bill.

   Here's a comparison of director of purchasing salaries for various roles:

   Type of Director Of Purchasing	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Purchasing	Purchasing managers plan, direct, and coordinate the buying of materials, products, or services for wholesalers, retailers, or organizations. They oversee the work of procurement-related occupations including buyers and purchasing agents.	$32-79
   Supply Manager	A supply manager or supply chain manager is a professional who supervises the import or creation of raw materials that are to be used by the company to form new products. Supply managers are required to coordinate all aspects of the supply chain to ensure that they are efficient and cost-effective... Show more	$32-65
   Buyer	A buyer's duties include product sourcing and comparing resources for the best product range that would suit the specific needs of the business. Buyers must have excellent communication and negotiation skills to evaluate items that most likely benefit the customer and improve the sales of daily operations with cost-efficient products... Show more	$17-36

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Supply Chain
   • Purchase Orders
   • Product Development
   • Vendor Relations
   • Logistics
   • Cost Savings
   • Strategic Sourcing
   • Cost Reduction
   • Inventory Control
   • R
   • ERP
   • Supplier Performance
   • Chain Management
   • Inventory Management

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Manage all aspects of the RFQ process, contracts, cost and rebate negotiations, and awarding of business.
   • Manage out-bound logistics services and third-party logistics providers to expand the range of commodities need to support automobile and aerospace manufacturing.
   • Develop standards and implement procedures for materials planning, product acquisition, inventory control, material distribution and logistics management.
   • Implement cost controls using commodity segmentation, vendor KPI's and cost justification base on key market indicators.
   • Monitor KPI indicators such as inventory turns, supplier on time delivery, inventory cycle count accuracy, and PPV.
   • Develop RFP (request for proposal) analysis, negotiation strategy, contract drafting and agreement execution plans on all contracts.

   More director of purchasing duties

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in the director of purchasing job description is a good way to get more applicants. A director of purchasing salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

   For example, the average salary for a director of purchasing in Missouri may be lower than in Washington, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level director of purchasing. Additionally, a director of purchasing with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

   Average director of purchasing salary

   $106,945yearly

   $51.42 hourly rate

   ---

   Entry-level director of purchasing salary

   $68,000 yearly salary

   Updated December 15, 2025

   Average director of purchasing salary by state

   Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
   1	California	$134,089	$64
   2	Washington	$132,911	$64
   3	New York	$128,678	$62
   4	Michigan	$125,730	$60
   5	Massachusetts	$124,461	$60
   6	Pennsylvania	$111,411	$54
   7	Nevada	$109,634	$53
   8	Virginia	$108,445	$52
   9	Illinois	$107,991	$52
   10	Connecticut	$99,457	$48
   11	Arizona	$98,457	$47
   12	Wisconsin	$97,231	$47
   13	Colorado	$93,433	$45
   14	Indiana	$91,289	$44
   15	Texas	$89,829	$43
   16	Nebraska	$85,630	$41
   17	Georgia	$85,320	$41
   18	Louisiana	$73,569	$35
   19	Florida	$69,955	$34

   Average director of purchasing salary by company

   Company

   Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
   1	Rivian	$163,021	$78.38	13
   2	Zscaler	$153,137	$73.62
   3	Meritage Homes	$152,446	$73.29	1
   4	Chewy	$150,745	$72.47
   5	Toll Brothers	$146,033	$70.21	3
   6	Centralia College	$144,808	$69.62
   7	Amadeus North America, Inc.	$144,684	$69.56	2
   8	Nikola Motor	$144,193	$69.32
   9	Hain Celestial	$143,738	$69.10
   10	KB Home	$143,239	$68.86	2
   11	SRG Global	$142,287	$68.41
   12	Benteler	$135,103	$64.95	1
   13	Pine Lake CC	$129,422	$62.22
   14	AMETEK	$123,098	$59.18	1
   15	Mt. San Antonio College	$120,597	$57.98
   16	Sysco	$119,806	$57.60	6
   17	Henkel	$119,642	$57.52
   18	Chicago State University	$114,055	$54.83
   19	Commonwealth	$112,304	$53.99
   20	UGN	$110,385	$53.07

4. Writing a director of purchasing job description

   A director of purchasing job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a director of purchasing job description:

   Director of purchasing job description example

   Job DescriptionDirector of Purchasing -food processing We are a large food processing facility with three factories in the southern United States, including our corporate headquarters in Tyler, TX. As we continue to grow we are in need of a leader for our purchasing group, who will lead contract negotiations and corporate level management of product Ingredients, packaging film, corrugate, cooking oil, CO2 & nitrogen gases, plant supplies and employee supplies, to include Inventory control and cash management What You Will Be DoingYou will lead a team of three plant purchasing managers, a purchasing manager for packaging and corrugate, plus any other purchasing people that may join us in the future.
   
   There will be some traveling required to our other plants, to the tune of about 1 week per month.What You Need for this Position- BS degree with a Business Major (Accounting, Management, IT or Economics)
   - 3 to 5 Years' experience as a purchasing manager for multi-plant food processing company(s)
   - Previously attended minimum of 2 Purchasing Training Courses
   - ERP & MRP Business Software knowledge and experience. Tableau and ExcelIf you have purchasing experience in the food processing space, and have been in a leadership role, this position will be very rewarding. Besides the base salary there is also a bonus package that is quite lucrative that could take you over $300K I will tell you about when we speak. - Applicants must be authorized to work in the U.S.
   
   CyberCoders, Inc is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer
   
   All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
   
   Your Right to Work – In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States and to complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire.

   Copy this example

   

5. Post your job

   There are a few common ways to find directors of purchasing for your business:

   • Promoting internally or recruiting from your existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals from friends, family members, and current employees.
   • Attend job fairs at local colleges to meet candidates with the right educational background.
   • Use social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter to recruit passive job-seekers.

   Post your job online:

   • Post your director of purchasing job on Zippia to find and recruit director of purchasing candidates who meet your exact specifications.
   • Use field-specific websites.
   • Post a job on free websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Your first interview with director of purchasing candidates should focus on their interest in the role and background experience. As the hiring process goes on, you can learn more about how they'd fit into the company culture in later rounds of interviews.

   It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents to see if they match your ideal candidate profile. If you think a candidate is good enough for the next step, you can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new director of purchasing

   Once you've selected the best director of purchasing candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.

   It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   To prepare for the new employee's start date, you can create an onboarding schedule and complete any necessary paperwork, such as employee action forms and onboarding documents like I-9 forms, benefits enrollment, and federal and state tax forms. Human Resources should also ensure that a new employee file is created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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How much does it cost to hire a director of purchasing?