Purchasing project manager vs senior purchasing agent

The differences between purchasing project managers and senior purchasing agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a purchasing project manager and a senior purchasing agent. Additionally, a purchasing project manager has an average salary of $97,838, which is higher than the $73,386 average annual salary of a senior purchasing agent.

The top three skills for a purchasing project manager include purchase orders, project management and BOM. The most important skills for a senior purchasing agent are purchase orders, project management, and supplier relationships.

Purchasing project manager vs senior purchasing agent overview

	Purchasing Project Manager	Senior Purchasing Agent
Yearly salary	$97,838	$73,386
Hourly rate	$47.04	$35.28
Growth rate	-6%	-6%
Number of jobs	115,356	43,833
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	47	48
Years of experience	6	6

Purchasing project manager vs senior purchasing agent salary

Purchasing project managers and senior purchasing agents have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Purchasing Project Manager	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average salary	$97,838	$73,386
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $130,000	Between $52,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	New York
Best paying company	Graco	Levi Strauss & Co.
Best paying industry	Technology	Energy

Differences between purchasing project manager and senior purchasing agent education

There are a few differences between a purchasing project manager and a senior purchasing agent in terms of educational background:

	Purchasing Project Manager	Senior Purchasing Agent
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	University of Pennsylvania

Purchasing project manager vs senior purchasing agent demographics

Here are the differences between purchasing project managers' and senior purchasing agents' demographics:

	Purchasing Project Manager	Senior Purchasing Agent
Average age	47	48
Gender ratio	Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6%	Male, 57.7% Female, 42.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.1% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 12.4% Asian, 7.5% White, 66.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%	Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 7.7% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	11%	7%

Differences between purchasing project manager and senior purchasing agent duties and responsibilities

Purchasing project manager example responsibilities.

Manage all procurement activities to support manufacturing operations including raw materials, tooling, components and MRO services.
SAP MRP purchase order and purchase requisition development.
Issue RFQ packages to suppliers to maximize savings opportunities.
Evaluate RFQ packages and select suppliers base on establish Siemens policies.
Promote to develop standard business process, design and implement a global ERP solution across the procurement cycle.
Paper and book manufacturing purchase activity under the new ERP seamlessly from the old system to the new.

Senior purchasing agent example responsibilities.

Manage patterns for older, obsolete OEM part outsource production to locally foundries.
Interact within an ERP system environment and manage various reporting tools to support operations and control the flow of information.
Manage subcontracts activity including RFQ analysis, major negotiations and construction of complex subcontracting orders and milestones.
Provide management for warehousing, transportation, documentation requirements, cost analysis, third-party logistics, and reverse logistics.
Help create new purchasing procurement program base on customer forecasting and JIT programs (KANBAN).
Update & maintain ERP system part master data including new item creation, discontinuations and site planning changes.

Purchasing project manager vs senior purchasing agent skills

Common purchasing project manager skills

Purchase Orders, 22%
Project Management, 7%
BOM, 6%
Logistics, 5%
Cost Savings, 4%
Production Schedules, 4%

Common senior purchasing agent skills

Purchase Orders, 8%
Project Management, 6%
Supplier Relationships, 6%
Strategic Sourcing, 5%
Customer Service, 5%
Continuous Improvement, 5%

Purchasing Project Manager vs. similar jobs

Purchasing Project Manager related careers

Purchasing Project Manager related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Purchasing Project Manager
Purchasing Project Manager vs Senior Purchasing Agent

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs