Buyer - Exterior Grilles

At Ford Motor Company, we made history and now we work to transform the future – for our customers, our communities and our families. You'll see your work on the road every day, helping people move freely and pursue their dreams.

The Ford Supply Chain team is at the heart of our global transformation. As the Buyer for Exterior Grilles and Plastic Liftgates, you will own the commercial strategy and supplier relationships for these key components within the vehicle. You will join a collaborative team of experienced exterior buyers, taking full ownership of your unique assemblies and supplier relationships sourcing the highest quality parts from around the globe while ensuring the best total cost and on-time delivery.

Responsibilities

• Design & Execute Sourcing Strategies: Develop, implement, and champion the North American sourcing strategy for all Exterior Grille and Plastic Liftgate components.
• Manage the Commodity Business Plan: Ensure continuous alignment, review, and adherence to the North American Grille and Plastic Liftgate Commodity Business Plans to support long-term sourcing stability.
• Launch Management: Develop and manage detailed commercial timing plans for upcoming vehicle programs, ensuring supplier onboarding and cost targets align with critical program milestones.
• Drive High-Value Negotiations: Lead end-to-end commercial negotiations with suppliers, covering production parts and lifecycle services.
• Deliver Cost Optimizations: Proactively identify and execute commercial cost-saving initiatives. Evaluate supplier cost-increase requests, utilizing fact-based negotiation and market data to mitigate avoidances.
• Data-Driven Decision Making: Conduct comprehensive business case studies, including landed cost studies, total cost of ownership (TCO) analyses, directed sourcing analysis, and quality cost evaluations to guide executive sourcing decisions.
• Partner with Key Stakeholders: Act as the commercial bridge between Product Development (PD), Design Studio, Quality (STA), Finance, and Vehicle Operations to deliver optimal quality, cost, and delivery (QCD) objectives.
• Cultivate Supplier Partnerships: Build, maintain, and leverage strong, professional relationships with key global suppliers to foster innovation and secure supply priority.
• Resolve Supply Bottlenecks: Actively work with cross-functional teams in resolving complex commercial, quality, or delivery issues that impact production.
• Executive Presentation: Prepare and confidently present sourcing strategies, business cases, and risk-mitigation plans to senior executive leadership.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Engineering, or a related field.
• 2+ years of experience in purchasing, procurement, strategic sourcing, or commercial contract negotiation.
• Strong analytical skills with a proven ability to evaluate large datasets, synthesize complex financial data, and present clear, actionable recommendations.
• Excellent communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills, with a track record of collaborating across diverse, cross-functional teams.
• Availability to work in our hybrid model (4 days on-site in Dearborn, MI, with 1 day optional remote).

Benefits

• Immediate medical, dental, vision, and prescription drug coverage
• Paid parental leave, new parent ramp-up programs, subsidized back-up child care and more
• Family building benefits including adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, fertility treatments and more
• Vehicle discount program for employees and family members and management leases
• Tuition assistance
• Established and active employee resource groups
• Paid time off for individual and team community service
• Generous vacation time, sick/personal time, and paid holidays, including between Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day