Management
Purchasing Managers
Plan, direct, or coordinate the activities of buyers, purchasing officers, and related workers involved in purchasing materials, products, and services. Includes wholesale or retail trade merchandising managers and procurement managers.
Also called: Category Purchasing Manager, Commodity Manager, Materials Director, Materials Manager, Procurement Director, Procurement Manager
- Median pay in Greater Boston
- $174,640
- $83.96/hr
- Jobs in Greater Boston
- 1,940
- Massachusetts 2024–2034
- +3.0%
- 180 openings a year
- Typical U.S. entry requirement
- Bachelor's degree
- 5 years or more of related work experience
Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.
Pay range in Greater Boston
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $107,600 | $140,480 | $174,640 | $217,600 | $277,150 |
10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.
What you’d do
- Develop and implement purchasing and contract management instructions, policies, and procedures.
- Locate vendors of materials, equipment or supplies, and interview them to determine product availability and terms of sales.
- Prepare bid awards requiring board approval.
- Direct and coordinate activities of personnel engaged in buying, selling, and distributing materials, equipment, machinery, and supplies.
- Review purchase order claims and contracts for conformance to company policy.
- Review, evaluate, and approve specifications for issuing and awarding bids.
AI and this job
AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.
Higher exposure88 of 100
The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:
- AIOE 97
- Language-model AIOE 91
- GPTs-are-GPTs 75
Observed AI use today: Substantial (Anthropic Economic Index)
AI exposure is higher for this job, and observed AI use is already substantial. AI tools can help with reading contracts and purchase orders, comparing vendor terms, and drafting policies. Leading a buying team, negotiating with vendors, and getting bids approved still depend on people.
Likely to change
- Reviewing contracts and purchase orders for policy fit
- Finding vendors and comparing terms
Still relies on people
- Directing and coaching the buying team
- Negotiating deals and getting board approval
Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.
Next steps from here
Related jobs that build on what you already do.
Architectural and Engineering Managers
Directing teams, coordinating complex work, and approving changes carry over. This move needs technical project knowledge, pays more, and has lower AI exposure, but growth is slow.
- Pay difference
- +$30,490 median
- AI exposure
- Moderate
- MA growth
- +0.1%
- To get started
- Bachelor's degree
Training near Boston
College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).
0 programs near Boston (plus 1 graduate)
No programs below a master’s degree near Boston map to this job. Tick the box above to see graduate programs.
Related occupations
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