Head of Purchasing

Aliaxis exists to bring solutions to the world's water challenges and accelerate the transition to clean energy. We are a global leader in high-quality piping & fitting solutions for use in building, infrastructure, industrial and agricultural applications across the globe. Over 16,000 people work for us in more than 40 countries with 80 manufacturing sites.

As an integral part of Aliaxis, we supply the New Zealand and Pacific markets with high-quality plastic pipes, fittings and building materials. We are proud to deliver renowned brands Marley, RX Plastics and Dynex to the New Zealand market.
 

We are proud of our initiatives to reduce our carbon footprint, continuing to deliver the best solutions for our customers with minimal impact on the environment and a positive impact on our community, and we're looking for passionate people who want to be part of our journey and embrace the behaviours that we stand for:

• We Care for the environment, our customers and each other.
• We Dare to challenge the status quo, to innovate and to learn fast.
• We Deliver by taking accountability for our decisions and actions.

About the role

We have an exciting opportunity for a Head of Purchasing NZ to join our supportive team in Manurewa. This newly created leadership role will play a pivotal part in elevating and transforming the purchasing function across Aliaxis New Zealand.
 

Reporting to the GM Supply Chain, you'll lead a small team and take ownership of purchasing activities across five sites nationwide. This role is ideal for a hands-on leader who thrives on balancing day-to-day operational purchasing, supports the APAC procurement team and drives strategic improvement initiatives.
 

We're looking for someone who loves rolling up their sleeves while also identifying smarter ways of working. You'll challenge the status quo, modernise processes, drive best practice, improve reporting and automation, and bring stakeholders and your team on the journey as we continue to strengthen our purchasing capability.

What you will do

• Lead and develop the NZ Purchasing Team, fostering a high-performing and engaged culture.
• Drive purchasing activities across direct and indirect categories to support operational requirements.
• Review, streamline and standardise purchasing processes to improve efficiency, compliance and service levels.
• Identify and implement continuous improvement initiatives, automation opportunities and best-practice ways of working.
• Develop meaningful purchasing and supplier performance reporting to support business decision-making.
• Build strong supplier partnerships and manage supplier performance through regular reviews.
• Support procurement and sourcing initiatives, including RFP activities and supplier engagement.
• Lead procurement compliance activities, including trade compliance and modern slavery obligations.
• Drive data quality, reporting capability and process readiness to support future system enhancements and business improvements.
• Partner with stakeholders across Supply Chain, Manufacturing, Planning, Finance, Sales and Marketing to deliver positive outcomes.

About you

You are a commercially minded purchasing leader who enjoys creating structure, driving change and delivering practical results.
 

You know how to balance competing priorities while maintaining strong service levels, but most importantly, you're a natural influencer who can bring people together, challenge existing processes constructively and embed lasting improvements.
 

You're equally comfortable leading strategic initiatives as you are jumping into transactional purchasing activities.
 

You will bring

• Leadership experience managing and developing purchasing, buying or supply chain teams.
• Experience working within manufacturing, FMCG, plastic, building materials or similar operational environments.
• Strong purchasing and supplier management experience across high-volume, complex product ranges.
• Proven success driving process improvement, standardisation and operational excellence initiatives.
• Strong change management capability with the ability to influence stakeholders at all levels.
• Advanced analytical skills with the ability to leverage data to drive better business outcomes.
• Experience working with ERP systems and reporting tools.
• Excellent communication, stakeholder engagement and relationship-building skills.
• A continuous improvement mindset and passion for implementing best-practice processes.
• Tertiary qualifications in Supply Chain, Business or a related discipline will be highly regarded.

Why Join Us? We Care...

• Hybrid role after initial training, onsite parking and supportive team.
• You will enjoy working for a business that is conscious about what we do, how it operates and our impact on the environment.
• Annual bonus based on performance for eligible employees.
• Employee Assistance Program access for you and your immediate family.
• We take it further with our Employee Recognition Programs and Service Awards.
• Career development opportunities available at home and abroad.
• Opportunity to join our mentoring programs.
• Diversity, equity and inclusion is close to our heart, with opportunities to join our DEI Council.
• A safe work environment with a strong focus on Go for Zero.

If you're ready to lead change, drive continuous improvement and help shape the future of purchasing across Aliaxis New Zealand, we'd love to hear from you.
 

For more information on this role please contact Carla Treuer on +61 497 323 252 or reach out via LinkedIn.