Director of Procurement

Who WE Are

We are a leader in the specialty cheese industry serving our consumers by crafting and importing the best cheeses in the world while caring for our employees and our communities.

Who YOU Are  

You strive for excellence in your area of expertise and are proud to work at a company producing premium products. You are passionate about continuous improvement, enjoy bringing creativity to your work, and are excited to blaze new trails to grow and improve our business. You foster a positive and rewarding workplace culture by valuing flexibility, work-life balance, and team development while inspiring team members to achieve their full potential.

If this sounds like you, we want you to consider joining Emmi Roth!

Job Summary

The Director of Procurement is responsible for overseeing and leadership of the purchasing staff, ensuring that team members have the opportunity to develop themselves and thereby the department is providing excellent quality of work and meeting all company standards. The Procurement Director is responsible for achieving the strategic goals of procurement in alignment with the overarching company strategy as well as its stakeholders. Therefor the Procurement Director manages and develops further the end-to-end processes plan-to-source; source-to-contract; contract-to-pay along clearly defined KPIs.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Lead the end-to-end procurement processes plan-to-source; source-to-contract; contract-to-pay along clearly defined KPIs derived from the strategy and annual targets.
• Develop and execute procurement strategies and operational objectives that are aligned with the company’s business strategy
• Understand areas of risk to product/material supply and create, and implement mitigating risk management strategies in alignment with local leadership team
• Provide leadership, guidance, coaching, motivation, development and support to the procurement team to accomplish procurement strategies and objectives
• Proactively engage with senior leaders and ensure alignment of procurement initiatives and strategies to meet or exceed business objectives
• Interface with Group Procurement to ensure compliance with procurement guidelines, execution of procurement initiatives and strategies across all locations
• Understand key financial metrics to drive accountability and deliver results using enablers like low cost sourcing, supplier rationalization, value engineering, and knowledge-based sourcing (etc.)
• Strive towards achieving superior performance by driving continuous improvement initiatives and active  collaboration with strategic suppliers
• Lead major supplier contract and price negotiations
• Ensure the definition and maintenance of category strategies (with International Lead Buyers where reasonable) and ensure responsible team members act as a go to resource for respective categories with complete understanding of products, their application, industry trends, competitive landscape, future technologies & innovations, etc.
• Analyze market and delivery conditions to determine present and future material availability
• Act as single point of contact for internal stakeholders and suppliers in case of claims and escalations of all kind.
• Enable data driven Make vs. Buy decisions for local leadership team
• Develop, review, and manage department operating budget
• Administer and insure adherence to all company policies and procedures
• Utilize EOE Teams to increase workplace safety, reduce waste and improve operational effectiveness
• Complete all required training in a timely manner
• Adhere to ERU food safety policies and all government food safety and sanitation regulations (ex. FDA, HACCP, GMP, OSHA)
• Performs all other duties as assigned

Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s Degree in is required; Master’s Degree preferred
• Minimum 10-15 years of experience in manufacturing, food and beverage preferred
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a comparable leadership role in a supply chain function
• Minimum 5 years of experience in a strategic sourcing role supporting multiple locations or regions
• Able to create and implement a procurement strategy and lead any required transformation
• Demonstrate the ability to develop and implement risk management strategies
• Ability to work collaboratively across functions and obtain necessary “buy in” from stakeholders, including senior leadership
• Excellent communication and negotiation skills
• Strong analytical, strategic, and problem solving skills.
• Highly skilled in building relationships, influencing others, leading change and developing talent (alt: Winning personality which effectively builds trust and drives motivation to overcome any challenge)
• Knowledge of continuous improvement methodology; experience identifying improvement opportunities and leading teams to complete projects
• Strong Financial Acumen
• Proven record of delivering results.
• Ability to manage in a fast-paced environment with multiple priorities
• Able to travel occasionally to other locations