Director of Purchasing Residential Construction

Are you a residential construction purchasing leader with a strong network of trade partners and subcontractors across the Houston and Texas markets?

About the Role

We are seeking a Director of Purchasing to lead purchasing, strategic sourcing, trade partner development, contract negotiations, budgeting, and cost management for a growing Texas-based residential real estate development organization.

This role will oversee the purchasing function supporting the company's residential development and construction operations, with responsibility for building and maintaining a strong network of subcontractors, trade partners, vendors, and suppliers.

The ideal candidate brings significant residential construction purchasing experience, strong relationships within the Houston-area trade partner community, and a proven ability to drive competitive pricing, cost savings, quality, and contractor performance in a high-volume residential environment.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead the purchasing function supporting residential development and construction operations.

• Develop and maintain a strong network of residential trade partners, subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers throughout the Houston and broader Texas markets.

• Proactively identify, qualify, and develop new trade partners to support current operations and future growth.

• Lead subcontractor and vendor sourcing, competitive bidding, bid analysis, negotiations, contract awards, and purchasing agreements.

• Manage relationships across key residential construction trades, including sitework, concrete, framing, roofing, electrical, plumbing, HVAC, drywall, flooring, cabinets, countertops, landscaping, and other interior and exterior trades.

• Leverage market intelligence and industry relationships to understand contractor capacity, labor availability, material pricing, and market conditions.

• Negotiate competitive pricing and favorable terms while balancing cost, quality, schedule, capacity, and reliability.

• Partner closely with construction, development, design, finance, and operations leadership to align purchasing strategies with project schedules and business objectives.

• Lead purchasing budgets and cost objectives, analyzing expenditures and identifying cost-saving and value-engineering opportunities.

• Monitor purchasing performance and proactively address cost variances, trade capacity, material availability, vendor performance, and other potential risks.

• Evaluate and continuously improve purchasing processes, controls, reporting, vendor management, and performance metrics.

• Utilize purchasing data and market intelligence to forecast trade and material requirements and anticipate potential cost or capacity constraints.

• Lead, coach, and develop the purchasing team, establishing clear expectations, accountability, and performance goals.

• Foster strong cross-functional collaboration and a solutions-oriented culture across purchasing and the broader organization.

Minimum Requirements

• Significant experience in residential construction purchasing, procurement, estimating, or a closely related function.

• Strong knowledge of the Houston residential construction market and local trade partner/subcontractor landscape.

• Demonstrated network of established residential trade partners, subcontractors, vendors, and suppliers.

• Experience supporting high-volume residential construction, including single-family, build-to-rent, multifamily, or similar residential development.

• Demonstrated experience sourcing and qualifying subcontractors and negotiating trade contracts, materials, and services.

• Strong understanding of residential construction costs, budgeting, competitive bidding, contract negotiation, and purchasing practices.

• Proven ability to identify cost savings and value-engineering opportunities without sacrificing quality or schedule.

• Minimum of 2 years of leadership or team management experience.

• Strong negotiation, communication, relationship-building, analytical, and cross-functional leadership skills.

• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and relevant purchasing, estimating, ERP, or construction management systems.

• High school diploma or GED required; bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, construction management, engineering, or a related discipline preferred.

Preferred Qualifications

• Purchasing leadership experience with a homebuilder, build-to-rent developer, multifamily developer, or residential general contractor.

• Established relationships with residential subcontractors and suppliers throughout the Greater Houston market.

• Experience managing purchasing across multiple residential communities or developments simultaneously.

• Experience supporting a growing residential platform and developing trade capacity for expansion into new communities or markets.

• Experience with purchasing analytics, cost benchmarking, bid management, vendor scorecards, and trade partner performance management.

• Bilingual English/Spanish preferred.

Work Environment

• Houston, Texas-based position.

• Regular interaction with construction teams, trade partners, vendors, and project leadership.

• Local and regional travel to communities, project sites, and trade partners may be required.

At Talent Wave Associates, we connect outstanding talent with exceptional opportunities. We're proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer and are committed to fostering an inclusive, people-first recruiting experience. Ready to ride the wave of opportunity? Apply today!

As part of our commitment to a fair, consistent, and efficient recruitment process, we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the initial screening of applications submitted through our applicant tracking system. These tools help identify qualifications and experience that align with the role requirements. Please note that AI is used solely to support our recruiters. Final decisions are always made by the hiring manager and the hiring team. Importantly, no applicant data is shared externally through these AI tools. All information remains securely within our systems and is handled in accordance with our privacy and data protection policies.

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