Senior Buyer - Co-Pack & Bulk Potatoes

Our client is a mid-sized, dynamic and award winning FMCG (food manufacturing) company and the proud owner of a portfolio of recognisable brands.  The company culture is fast moving and progressive and they are on a journey to build a global food business and ‘best in class’ procurement function.  Because of company growth, they have created a brand new opportunity for a Senior Buyer to lead a small team in the Potato Co-Pack category.

Working in the centralised Procurement team, you will report into a Procurement Controller and influence a spend of up to €80m across multiple brands.  It is a complex category with seasonal and availability challenges as well as managing price increases early on.

The business is going through a significant period of change and growth, through acquisition, and it will be important for you, and your team, to work closely with suppliers (15 including 5 key partners) in France, Belgium, Germany and Netherlands as well as General Managers at manufacturing sites in Austria, France, Germany and Belgium.

Working at a strategic and operational level, you will identify the buying strategy for co-pack and bulk potatoes for the Group, in line with business requirements, by assessing the supply base and implementing robust supplier relationship management.  You are buying a finished product, not a raw material, so there will be a significant focus on cost, availability and risk management; managing prices early on to protect margins and challenging suppliers on cost models.

What will you be doing:
• Managing a small team of European Buyers
• Work closely with senior management to build challenging and achievable cost reduction targets
• Identify savings opportunities, supported by analysis and stakeholder engagement
• Project manage all strategic sourcing initiatives across all key spend areas
• Manage cross functional teams including key internal stakeholders and suppliers
• Working effectively with suppliers to ensure a high level of service and quality and that suppliers are treated fairly

The ideal applicant:
• An experienced Procurement OR Retail buying professional with experience in buying potatoes, although frozen vegetables will also considered
• Detailed knowledge of procurement/buying principles (sourcing, tendering, contract and supplier management)  gained in the FMCG/ (preferably manufacturing) or Food Retail sectors
• Experience in cost modelling with the ability to dissect elements of costs
• Strong leadership skills
• Solid commercial capability and negotiation skills
• Multi-cultural empathy and preferably pan-European experience
• Clear communication skills
• Highly organised  with project/programme management skills, open to change and able to manage and deliver change
• Strong influencing and team building skills with the ability to build consensus with stakeholders
• Naturally inquisitive and able to drive forward innovation and build best practice
• Graduate calibre