VinFast | Automotive & Electric Vehicle Manufacturing

Position: Director of Purchasing

Industry: Automotive / Electric Vehicles

Location : Hanoi, Vietnam (Mandatory)

About the Role

VinFast is seeking an experienced and highly strategic Director of Purchasing to lead the company’s purchasing organization and develop a world-class procurement strategy across its automotive and electric vehicle manufacturing operations.

This is a senior leadership position with direct responsibility for purchasing strategy, supplier sourcing, commercial performance, cost competitiveness, supplier performance, supply continuity, and procurement organization development .

The successful candidate will work closely with Executive Management, Engineering, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance, Logistics, and other functions to build a competitive, resilient, and high-performing automotive supplier ecosystem supporting current and future vehicle programs.

Key Responsibilities

- Develop and execute the overall purchasing strategy in alignment with corporate objectives, vehicle programs, manufacturing requirements, product development plans, localization targets, and long-term business growth.
- Lead strategic sourcing and commercial negotiations across automotive components, systems, materials, and services, including supplier selection, RFQ/RFQ evaluation, commercial negotiations, pricing strategy, contracts, and long-term supplier agreements.
- Drive purchasing competitiveness and cost reduction through cost-breakdown analysis, should-cost modeling, benchmarking, VA/VE, localization, supplier productivity, volume leverage, and continuous cost-improvement initiatives.
- Build and manage a world-class automotive supplier base , including supplier identification, sourcing, qualification, nomination, onboarding, development, performance management, and strategic supplier relationship management.
- Establish and manage purchasing performance KPIs , covering cost savings, purchase price variance, supplier performance, localization, payment terms, quality, delivery, capacity, and supply risk.
- Ensure supply continuity for vehicle production , working closely with suppliers, Manufacturing, Production Planning, Logistics, Quality, and Engineering to identify and resolve potential supply constraints and production risks.
- Lead supplier risk management and business continuity , including capacity constraints, financial instability, quality issues, geopolitical risks, raw-material volatility, logistics disruptions, and single-source dependencies.
- Partner with Engineering and Product Development from early vehicle-program stages to ensure sourcing decisions support target cost, design-to-cost, manufacturability, localization, quality, timing, and production readiness.
- Drive localization and supplier development strategies ,



expanding the competitive local supplier ecosystem while maintaining required standards for cost, quality, technology, capacity, and delivery.
- Establish strong purchasing governance and processes , ensuring compliance with corporate policies, delegation of authority, audit requirements, sourcing procedures, contract governance, and ERP-based purchasing workflows.
- Lead procurement transformation and digitalization , leveraging ERP systems, spend analytics, procurement dashboards, automation, market intelligence, and data-driven decision-making to improve transparency and operational effectiveness.
- Develop and lead a high-performing purchasing organization , including organization design, talent development, succession planning, performance management, and creation of a culture of accountability, commercial excellence, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
- Represent Purchasing at senior management and executive levels , providing clear visibility on sourcing strategies, cost performance, supplier risks, major commercial decisions, and critical supply issues.

Mandatory Qualifications & Experience

- Bachelor’s degree or higher in Supply Chain Management, Procurement, Industrial Engineering, Business Administration, Finance , or a related discipline.
- Minimum 12–15 years of progressive purchasing/procurement experience, with significant leadership responsibility.
- MANDATORY: Proven experience working directly for an Automotive OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer). Candidates whose experience is exclusively with Tier 1/Tier 2 suppliers, trading companies, distributors, or general manufacturing companies will not be considered .
- Mandatory hands-on experience in OEM automotive purchasing , covering production parts/components, automotive systems, materials, or other categories directly supporting vehicle manufacturing.
- Proven track record of leading strategic sourcing, supplier nomination, commercial negotiations, cost reduction, supplier development, and purchasing performance management within an automotive OEM environment.
- Strong understanding of the automotive OEM purchasing lifecycle , including sourcing strategy, RFQ, supplier nomination, tooling, engineering changes, localization, launch readiness, mass production, and supplier performance management.
- Demonstrated experience supporting new vehicle programs / product launches , from sourcing and supplier nomination through SOP and mass production.
- Strong knowledge of automotive cost structures, cost breakdowns,



should-cost analysis, VA/VE, commodity pricing, localization, and supplier productivity improvement .
- Proven experience managing local and international automotive suppliers and complex multi-tier supply chains.
- Strong understanding of Incoterms, international purchasing, import/export processes, supplier contracts, commercial terms, and supply chain risk management .
- Demonstrated ability to negotiate and manage high-value, long-term commercial agreements with strategic suppliers.
- Experience working cross-functionally with Engineering, R&D;, Manufacturing, Quality, Finance, Logistics, Production Planning, and senior executive management .
- Strong proficiency in ERP systems such as SAP, Oracle, or equivalent , with the ability to leverage procurement and spend data for strategic decision-making.
- Strong analytical capability using Power BI, Tableau, advanced Excel , or equivalent data-analysis tools.
- Proven ability to lead large and multicultural teams , develop senior procurement talent, and influence stakeholders at executive level.
- Strong commercial acumen, strategic thinking, negotiation skills, financial understanding, and problem-solving capability.
- Fluent in English, both written and spoken.

Preferred Experience

- Experience in EV / electric vehicle manufacturing or other advanced automotive technologies.
- Experience with greenfield automotive manufacturing projects, new plant ramp-up, or large-scale localization programs .
- Experience managing purchasing organizations across multiple countries or manufacturing sites .
- Experience in a rapidly growing automotive company undergoing procurement transformation and supplier-base expansion .

What VinFast Offers

- Competitive compensation package with performance-based bonus.
- Opportunity to take on a high-impact executive leadership role within a rapidly growing integral automotive and electric vehicle company.
- Opportunity to influence purchasing strategy, supplier ecosystem development, localization, and cost competitiveness at scale .
- Dynamic, entrepreneurial, and high-performance working environment.
- Significant opportunities for career growth, organizational leadership, and international exposure .
- The opportunity to help build and transform a world-class automotive OEM purchasing organization .

Join VinFast

If you are a senior automotive OEM purchasing leader with a proven track record in strategic sourcing, supplier management, cost optimization, commercial negotiations, and vehicle-program purchasing, we invite you to join VinFast and help build a globally competitive and resilient supply base for the future of automotive and electric vehicle manufacturing.

Location: Hanoi, Vietnam

Position: Director of Purchasing

Industry: Automotive / Electric Vehicles

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