[Hiring] Purchasing & Logistics Manager @VirtuHire

Role Description

Our client is hiring a Purchasing & Logistics Manager to own purchase orders and shipments across a supply chain that spans China, Europe, and the US. Components come from suppliers in China, Europe, and the US and are assembled in Los Angeles; hair colour is formulated and filled in Spain and the US, and finished cartridges ship to salons in the UK and the US every month. They are now launching in the US.

You will be the person who makes sure every PO is confirmed, every shipment moves, and every import clears. This is a hands-on role in a small team: you place the orders, chase the confirmations, book the freight, and fix what goes wrong.

What you'll do

• Purchase orders:
  • Raise POs for components, machined parts, bulk hair colour, cartridges, packaging, and consumables in the MRP system.
  • Get written order confirmations from every supplier with price, quantity, and delivery date, and chase until you have them.
  • Track open POs against confirmed dates; escalate slippage early and agree recovery plans with suppliers.
  • Match supplier invoices to POs and receipts, and flag discrepancies to finance.
• Shipments (the bulk of the role):
  • Book and manage inbound and outbound freight: sea, air, and road, from China, Europe, and the US into the US and UK operations.
  • Prepare commercial invoices, packing lists, certificates of origin, and dangerous-goods paperwork; our cartridges are aerosols (UN 1950), so DG compliance is routine, not occasional.
  • Work with customs brokers and freight forwarders on US and UK import entries, HS classification, origin, and duties.
  • Run the monthly salon replenishment shipments with the 3PLs in the US and the UK.
  • Set up and manage reverse logistics for empty cartridges from salons.
  • Keep inventory and in-transit stock accurate across the warehouse, 3PLs, and contract fillers.
• Suppliers and systems:
  • Be the day-to-day contact for the contract manufacturer, machine shops, fillers, extruders, and packaging suppliers.
  • Maintain supplier records, lead times, MOQs, and pricing in the MRP system.
  • Report weekly on open POs, inbound shipments, and stock cover.

Qualifications

• 5+ years in purchasing, supply chain, or logistics for a physical product, with at least 2 years running international shipments.
• Hands-on US operations experience: US customs entries, US freight forwarders and carriers, domestic LTL/parcel.
• Import/export experience on both sides: you have cleared goods into the US and shipped goods out of it.
• Experience managing POs end to end: raising, confirming, expediting, and receiving.
• Comfortable with incoterms, HS codes, commercial documentation, and landed-cost thinking.
• Organised and persistent: you keep a clean tracker and you chase until you get an answer.
• Fluent English; able to work across US and UK time zones.

Nice to have

• Dangerous-goods (aerosol / hazmat) shipping experience, IATA/IMDG/49 CFR.
• Experience sourcing and importing from Chinese and European suppliers, including sea-freight consolidation.
• Experience with an MRP/ERP system for purchasing and inventory.
• Experience in a start-up or small manufacturing company where you built the process rather than inherited it.