Associate Director, Strategic Sourcing

Lactalis USA is currently seeking candidates to join our Procurement team. This role is hybrid-onsite and will need to be stationed at a Lactalis US HQ office: Bedford, NH, Buffalo, NY, or Chicago, IL.

Lactalis, the world leader in dairy, is a family-owned business with more than 85,000 pragmatic and ambitious professionals worldwide, committed to nurturing the future by providing healthy and delicious dairy products that bring people together every day. We offer an enviable range of dairy brands including Galbani, President, Kraft Natural Cheese, Cracker Barrel, Black Diamond, Parmalat, Siggi's, and Stonyfield Organic in addition to several brands imported from our affiliates in Europe.

At Lactalis, our core values of AMBITION, ENGAGEMENT, and SIMPLICITY are at the heart of everything we do. We are dedicated to building a safe, diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace and we know that our candidates come from many different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. If you're excited about this role but your past experience doesn't align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we still encourage you to apply and share with us your STORY, your PASSION, and your EXPERTISE! You may be just the perfect candidate for this or other roles within our company.

From your PASSION to ours

Reporting to the Senior Director for Ingredients in North American, the Associate Director of Strategic Sourcing is a key member of the North American Strategic Procurement team and is responsible for developing and implementing short-, medium-, and long-term purchasing strategies that deliver best-in-class results in the areas of people, processes, costs, and supply, as well as ensuring the implementation and ongoing integrity of purchasing policies, practices, and systems. He/she works in strong collaboration and must develop relationships and networks with the global procurement team. This position advises direct reports on short-, medium-, and long-term sourcing strategies and ensures progress against project timelines and deliverables.

The ideal candidate will have experience working in a global and matrix organization. Additionally, they will ensure that the team's overall focus is consistent with the organization's goals and that the services provided are responsive to the company's needs in the USA and Canada.

They will manage a team of more than two people, including a manager, who may be located at different sites in the USA and Canada, distinct from the location of the Senior Director.

From your EXPERTISE to ours

Key responsibilities for this position include:

• Owner of the full budget with input on the budget assumptions from the Senior Director of Procurement and the Global Strategic Procurement team.
• Manage and support all strategic procurement activities for all zone plants (30) and for the seven different divisions.
• Develop, lead, and animate the zone strategy for all category responsibilities; present and support strategies to the Executive team.
• Establish strategic partnerships with key suppliers at the senior management level.
• Identify and execute cost-saving negotiation initiatives at the senior supplier management level.
• Provide cross-functional support on global strategy and negotiation initiatives led by the global procurement team by supplying information such as pricing specifications, vendor listings, and market intelligence, while negotiating at the local level for finalization.
• Work and collaborate cross-functionally with the Operations team to ensure that purchased materials, suppliers, and services comply with the company's requirements.
• Support and manage company acquisition and work cross functional with the global procurement team and others company functions.
• Manage the price matrix and supply risks for key material supplies by maintaining up-to-date knowledge of market changes. Recommend qualifying alternate vendors or materials.
• Leverage in-depth knowledge and analysis of key cost drivers to create local sourcing strategies, qualify vendors, conduct tenders, negotiate terms, and implement and manage all contracts for the category at the zone level across all divisions.
• Partner with and provide purchasing leadership and insight to other functions within all Lactalis North American divisions as required.
• Develop and lead a high-performing team of purchasing professionals by hiring the right talent, providing training and development, delivering performance feedback, and establishing ambitious objectives.
• Engage in special projects as assigned by the Senior Director of Corporate Procurement.
• Develop, maintain, and implement a sustainable category purchasing strategy at the zone level with the support of the global team.
• Identify and execute value analysis and vendor transfer savings opportunities as a cross-functional effort to deliver cost reduction targets and optimize performance measures such as on-time delivery and lead time for purchased goods and services, without jeopardizing quality, flexibility, and supply continuity.
• Participate actively as a cross-functional team member by providing insights to Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Quality, R&D, Sales, and Marketing for effective project execution, including new launches, line extensions, and process optimization, encompassing pricing and process improvement ideas from vendors.
• Lead and manage direct reports by establishing goals and priorities, providing work direction, reviewing performance, offering support with suppliers, and determining training and development needs in conjunction with the Director; manage the team across all zone countries and engage in remote management.
• Develop supplier relationships to optimize supplier quality and performance, including continuous improvement, innovation, and reduction in total cost of ownership, while managing supplier quality and addressing non-conformance.
• Perform administrative duties such as tracking cost-saving initiatives, providing monthly status reports, reviewing, and approving price lists for upload to SAP, and validating PPV and LPS data.
• Own category standards input by reviewing weighted average costs and new contract pricing, ensuring the application of approved assumptions, and providing insights on the market for the latest estimates and monthly budget forecast reports.
• Participate as an active member of the Strategic Sourcing team by sharing purchasing strategies, supporting teamwork, and participating in joint learning and development initiatives. Present to executive members of various divisions at the zone level.
• Demonstrate commitment to a safe working environment that promotes the health and well-being of all employees and that will further contribute to the Company's overall performance and success.
• This description reflects management's assignment of essential functions, it does not proscribe or restrict the tasks that may be assigned.
• To fulfill these responsibilities, tools such as a computer, phone, and/or allowance(s) may be provided.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform these Essential Duties and Responsibilities.

From your STORY to ours

Qualified applicants will contribute the following:

Education/Experience

• University degree or College diploma in a related discipline. MBA in Food Science or Chemical Engineering will be an asset.
• Minimum of five (5) years of experience in a food manufacturing company.
• Experience in negotiating complex multi-year agreements through RFP/ RFQ bidding processes.
• Prior management experience will be an asset.

Specialized Knowledge

• Industrial and/or Supply Chain Purchasing experience preferred.
• Experience in purchasing ingredients and commodities preferred preferably Fruits, Flavours, etc.
• Experience in purchasing ingredients and commodities preferred.
• Experience in a global company purchasing environment is preferred.
• High level of initiative, and strong interpersonal skills.

Skills/Abilities

• Strong negotiation & presentation skills.
• Strong planning, project management, leadership skills and execution skills.
• Rigorous data-driven/analytical capability and ability to present data to a leadership level.
• In-depth knowledge and analysis of key cost drivers.
• High level of initiative and strong interpersonal skills.
• Good leadership and ability to interact with a wide variety of management levels and business situations.
• Good level of organizational skills (handling workload and complexity).
• Foundational knowledge of contract law and legal terms & conditions.
• Foundational knowledge of financial statements, i.e., the role's impact on the business.
• Proficient in standard office computer technology, including Lotus Notes, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office products, and the Internet.
• Intermediate and above skill level with spreadsheets.
• Ability to prioritize and meet deadlines within specified time constraints.
• Ability to operate in a team environment with the ability to motivate others.
• Ability to adapt in a changing work environment.
• Bilingual (French/English) is an asset.
• Ability to work in an open and collaborative environment.
• Ability to travel within Canada, with occasional travels to the United States and internationally, approximately 20% of the time.

Lactalis is an equal employment opportunity employer. We will not discriminate against applicants with regard to any legally-recognized basis including, but not limited to: veteran status, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, sexual orientation, and physical or mental disabilities.