Manager, Procurement

At Saputo, our best comes from our people. We’re a talented and caring team with a longstanding history of excellence. Since our first days delivering cheese on a bicycle, we’ve grown into a leading global dairy processor by staying true to the culture that defines us.

Each of our employees is committed to uphold our tradition of care, quality, and passion through food, and together, we foster an environment where we can all make contributions that matter from our manufacturing plants to our office locations and everywhere in-between.

Overview of the Role :

The Procurement Manager will serve as a key member of the USA Procurement Team by supporting and leading the Direct Procurement strategy for Packaging and Ingredients.

This role will proactively develop, plan, and execute category strategies by utilizing strong analytics and monitor / maintain compliance to Procurement contracts and objectives.

The ideal candidate must be able to provide data-driven solutions to support and manage category optimization, have a passionate focus on success, commitment to continuous improvement, and a relentless drive to succeed.

How you will make contributions that matter :

Develop a deep understanding of current category spend and supplier landscape. Work with key stakeholders to understand category objectives while reducing cost, risk and enhancing category benefits.

Communicate broadly to all levels within organization the category plans, benefits, and work to ensure successful adoption of the category plans.

Program compliance and KPI performance will need to be monitored and communicated to the broader organization. Action plans will need to be recommended if programs are not meeting requirements.

Support and lead Request for Proposal (RFP) process and develop a consolidated overview of the supplier proposals, scoring supplier responses, and perform calculations on supplier cost and other category considerations.

Develop a culture of long-term project savings to focus on Procurement cost reduction without compromising supply assurance, quality, or other areas as identified by key stakeholders.

Projects may include category rationalization plan(s) to optimize existing suppliers / SKUs to deliver cost reduction, supply assurance, quality improvement, and innovation.

Review existing contracts with suppliers & work closely with legal as new contracts need to be created or extended.

Perform risk assessments across the Packaging and Ingredient category while developing contingency plans as working with cross functional team members.

You are best suited for the role if you have the following qualifications :

Education Bachelor’s degree in related field

Experience 5+ years of Procurement experience or related combination with preference of Direct Packaging Procurement or Indirect Procurement

Exceptional negotiating skills, along with a strong presence and ability to influence others, including senior leadership

Candidate must have critical problem solving, fact based, and quantitative analysis experience

Advanced proficiency in PC and business software applications (Excel, PowerPoint)

Strong communication and project management to demonstrate project status, key actions, risks and opportunities

Superior interpersonal and presentation skills with proven track record of success in prior roles

Strong research and data-driven analytical skills, with the ability to collect, organize, and analyze large sets of data efficiently and effectively

Knowledge of Ariba and SAP, a plus

We support employment equity. Saputo strives to embed diversity and inclusion in its operations and invites candidates from all horizons to join its family.

Saputo is among the top three cheese producers in the USA and one of the largest producers of extended shelf-life and cultured dairy products.

We have a diversified product portfolio with well-known retail brands, such as Friendship Dairies, Frigo Cheese, Montchevre, Stella and Treasure Cave, and a strong foodservice presence, partnering with chain restaurants and broadline distributors.

Thanks to our countrywide footprint and national and international distribution networks, we're proud to bring our best to our customers and, consumers and have plenty of opportunities for our employees to grow in their own way.

And we do it while also striving to build a healthier future for our people and the communities where we operate, guided by our values and the Saputo Promise.