Sr. Manager- Ingredients - Cheese & Dairy - KraftHeinz

Job Purpose

As the Senior Procurement Manager, you will be responsible for all planning and sourcing activities for cheese, dairy, and related subcategories (e.g., milk, cream, and dairy storables) across the Kraft Heinz North American Zone (U.S. and Canada). You will use your experience and knowledge to coachmentor and developam of category managers to build comprehensive strategies at the category level and implement the strategy through the sourcing process. The role drives value for Kraft Heinz by supporting program compliance through supplier and contract management. You will drive a sustainable strategy that actively seeks to reduce and control costs for ingredients while growing efficiencies for the business. You will also collaborate closely with partners in the various Business Units, Operations, Finance, and other corporate functions to provide innovative new solutions to meet business objectives. Success in this role requires a professional who can focus on balancing outstanding service to internal business clients while improving value for the company for the materials purchased.

Essential Functions & Responsibilities

• Lead and anticipate sourcing and category management for a wide ingredient portfolio of sophisticated and critical Kraft Heinz categories, incorporating cost, sustainability, innovation, and technology elements.

• As a leader in the cheese and dairy procurement team, you will play a pivotal role in delivering business priorities and objectives and guiding your team to success.      

• Actively understand category dynamics (current market, pricing, cost drivers, industry, and supplier variables) through trade groups, publications, etc., and communicate changes to applicable business partners.

• Lead mid to executive-level clients and supplier relationships on an ongoing basis to ensure customer satisfaction.

• Perform market and industry analysis, transportation research and review, supplier segmentation, sourcing events, analysis, negotiations, contracting, and implementation.

• Establish and deliver performance goals for a portfolio of categories representing a significant amount of spend.

• Lead strategic sourcing projects for supplier selection/optimization to implement Category Management vision and strategies.

• Handle Supplier Relationships and conducts Supplier Business Reviews, including being the primary point of contact for performance and risk issues.

• Develop and handle supplier base for specific categories.

• Lead discussions with critical suppliers around long-term objectives and strategies, ongoing market trends, innovation and technology advances, and potential investment decisions.

• Support major supplier issues and work with team members to identify and drive resolutions.

• Identify business needs at the sourcing and category project level in the following areas: Assurance of Supply, Quality, Service, Cost, and Innovation (AQSCI).

• Develop and lead multi-year category vision and strategy based on the data, insights, and business requirements.

• Build and maintain strong business relationships to increase influence over total category spend.

• Identify and evaluate potential value-generating projects based on complexity, resources, risk, implementation time, and estimated financial impact.

• Run a prioritized portfolio of projects for the category in the near and long term.

• Lead the supplier selection and RFx award process and subsequent negotiations in partnership with department leadership.  

• Perform highly sophisticated contracts following Kraft Heinz’s Procurement policies and processes.

• Handle Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) at the category level through collaboration with Data Analytics, accountable for measuring and reporting value delivery.

• Enable continuous process improvement and cost reduction.

• Ensure the strategic sourcing process is robustly applied to all sourcing projects.

• Drive productivity projects, including initial scoping and implementation throughout the network, while working with a cross-functional team through execution.

• Recruit, engage, develop, and retain hard-working individuals who can bring the organization to the next level.

Expected Experience & Required Skills

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, finance, business, or related field. Candidates with extensive relevant experience will be considered in lieu of a degree.

• Possess at least 5 to 7 years of experience in Procurement, preferably in cheese, dairy, and commodities Procurement, with relevant category expertise.  

• Strong written, verbal, and analytical skills and interpersonal and presentation skills.

• Effective negotiator and doer with demonstrated examples with internal customers and external suppliers/partners.

• Strong eye for business with the ability to understand and explain Procurement results and variances to non-procurement audiences.

• Proven project management skills, solid analytical and consultative skills, and the ability to make sound, data-driven business decisions are essential. Prior experience with business case development and multi-workstream project management is critical to success in this role.

• Experience in developing long-term business strategies and confidence when doing so.

• Possess extensive experience in the sourcing life cycle process and fully grasp the tools needed to complete the process.

• Ability to multi-task, attention to detail, organized, outstanding customer service skills.

• Judgment to handle confidential information and complicated business situations; ability to lead and influence others; project management, problem-solving, leadership, and team-building skills.

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook) and understanding of source-to-pay tools (SAP, Ariba, Workday, etc.)