Sr. Director of Procurement

Summary

The Senior Director of Procurement is responsible for approximately $200M spend associated with food ingredients. This position will work closely with plant leadership, Transportation, Finance, Quality, and Regulatory to reduce costs and source quality products.

This position will be experienced in procurement strategy and bring a level of business acumen within the organization. Responsibilities will also include the strategy, process and execution of gross margin expansion initiatives by way of Direct Material negotiated purchase price variance price/cost savings, negotiated payment terms and overall contract negotiation while meeting service objectives to ensure high performance on lead times, supplier quality and on-time delivery.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Strategically develop and implement category / supply chain strategies to deliver maximum value, leverage, and standardization.
• Build and Drive Supplier Relationship Management including QBR cadence, scale up opportunities, cost modeling
• Strong understanding of commodities and their impact on overall product margins
• Within the scope of the strategic sourcing process, drive cost out of the supply chain by managing the following: Category and negotiation strategies including Terms and Conditions, Supplier selection/de-selection, evaluation and rationalization of Supply chain solutions, including vendor managed inventory (VMI), supplier consignment, safety stock levels, etc.
• Employ total cost of ownership (TCO), “should be” costing, commodity benchmarking, and low-cost country sourcing methodologies to drive materials’ savings initiatives in line with gross margin plans and overall business objectives.
• Create 3 year pipeline of Strategic Savings projects
• Deliver year-over-year cost savings and productivity.
• Lead product development category strategies in line with corporate initiatives to improve supply chain efficiencies and reduce the total cost of supply chain management.
• Provide category support to New Product Teams as required to meet target costs and establish program cost models.
• Understand and pay attention to changing macro-economic, geo-political, supply/demand, and technology trends as potential influencers to commodity supply and cost.
• Develop ongoing planning to reflect changes in the supplier and industry landscape, matching the needs of the organization, and communicate this information on an ongoing basis.
• Negotiate and execute purchase orders or supplier contracts as needed to support critical business needs.
• Establish and maintain measurable key performance metrics for all levels of procurement activities to include but not limited to supplier performance, supplier quality, internal order placement performance, buyer activity levels, financial (AP) performance, and material shortage elimination.
• Manage material flow to ensure inventory is maintained at the optimum level to support on-time customer deliveries while keeping inventory levels at the appropriate levels.
• Manage all activities that develop relationships with suppliers.
• Develop an overall supplier base that creates and sustains a competitive advantage, via market exploitation, leveraging spend, and leveraging of technologies.
• Strategically develop and implement procurement strategy to reduce costs, create better payment terms, and create vendor reduction and standardization.
• Qualify new and existing vendors (which could be through RFPs) to assure competitive pricing, credit terms, and quality.
• Provide strategic and tactical leadership of direct material procurement through project coordination, effective negotiations, and procurement best practices.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in Purchasing, Production/Operations Management, or Engineering or equivalent business experience.
• 7-10 years of progressive experience in Purchasing & Sourcing with extensive experience in fresh products and ingredients, preferably in a strategic setting in a mid-to-large size organization.
• SAP Knowledge and understanding of Operational reporting
• Solid track record meeting substantial material cost reduction targets
• ISM (A.P.P. C.P.M.) or APICS (CPIM, CIRM) certification preferred
• Proficiency in the MS Office Suite with advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills required
• Ability to coordinate multiple group efforts within the company to achieve objectives.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent organizational and problem-solving skills.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks, with an awareness of deadlines.
• Ability to identify processes needing improvement, and to recommend improvements.
• Excellent contract development and management skills.
• Excellent in negotiation, financial analysis, and project management.
• Functional understanding of both national and international law is it relates to country-of-origin, trade compliance, as well as sourcing with both corporate and social responsibility in mind.