Director of Procurement

The Director of Procurement will be responsible for developing and executing the procurement strategy for our company. They will lead our team of buyers to ensure their objectives meet the overall company goals through optimizing inventory levels across all commodities, securing best quality products at competitive prices, and developing consistency in vendor relationships. This role will require strong leadership, exceptional communication skills, and a deep understanding of the produce industry. This position will collaborate with the Director of Operations to maximize resources and the Director of Sales to achieve growth objectives.

Essential Functions:

• Develop and manage execution of purchasing strategies through the Buyer team
• Collaborate, strategize, and oversee implementation of purchasing plans.
• Be knowledgeable and analyze both industry trends and customer buying trends
• Review and analyze purchasing trends for logistical effectiveness and adjust strategies as needed to align with company goals.
• Increase market share by identifying new opportunities with new vendors and new items.
• Analyze current vendor base and develop strategies for growth potential.
• Strategize, execute, and analyze inventory based on customer needs and seasonality, while ensuring optimal inventory levels are met considering tight or over-supplied markets.
• Effectively communicate purchasing and pricing strategies to a team of buyers to ensure success.
• Work with the Buyer team to ensure they are fostering, developing, and maintaining relationships with vendors and suppliers.
• Create, review and adjust pricing strategies as needed
• Collaborate with other departments and peers in order to accomplish company goals.
• Develop, establish, and manage company growth strategy in collaboration with Director of Sales.
• Network and build relationships within the industry to support business goals.
• Perform other related duties as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• Manage the team of Buyers
• Recruit, interview, hire, and new staff
• Train and develop current buyer team, through coaching and feedback
• Oversee the daily workflow of the department
• Review, correct, and approve time and attendance weekly for payroll processing
• Review and approve or decline time off requests.
• Handle disciplinary action in accordance with company policy
• Document all disciplinary action in the Performance Management tool
• Maintain and manage compliance with the team by enforcing company policies and procedures
• Provides constructive and timely performance evaluations.

Education and Experience:

• 10 years’ experience managing a procurement team
• 10 years’ experience in the Produce Industry

Required Skills/Abilities/Competencies:

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Excellent interpersonal and customer service skills.
• Excellent sales and customer service skills.
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Excellent time management skills with a proven ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.
• Strong supervisory and leadership skills with an emphasis on growing and developing others
• Ability to prioritize tasks and to delegate them when appropriate.
• Ability to execute goals in a growing, high-paced and at times stressful environment.
• Ability to adapt and make decisions quickly and efficiently
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite: Outlook, Teams, Excel, Word, etc.
• Proficient in Produce Pro (or any sales and inventory systems implemented by the company)

Work Environment

This company operates from Sunday morning through Friday evening (24 hours/6 days per week). This position must be flexible to accommodate management of teams on all shifts. This will ensure the ability to foster relationships and manage all teams. This position would also adjust their schedule according to seasonality and business needs.

Physical Requirements:

Prolonged periods of sitting and working at a computer.

Walking for up to 2 hours, when needed, to analyze inventory and work with operations.

Non-essential functions:

This position may be required to shadow various shifts or cover for their team when necessary.