Director, Strategic Sourcing

Lactalis LAG•Buffalo, NY

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

Lactalis USA is seeking a Director, Strategic Sourcing to join their North American Purchasing Team. This role is responsible for developing and implementing long-term, short-term, and medium-term purchasing strategies, policies, practices, and systems. The Director will collaborate with the global procurement team and local stakeholders, leading a team to achieve organizational goals related to total cost and supply objectives. The company emphasizes a purpose-driven career, offering tools and support for learning and growth, and values innovation, diverse perspectives, and unique backgrounds.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, Procurement, or another appropriate discipline.
Minimum of fifteen (15) years’ working experience.
Seven (7) to ten (10) years’ experience in a Procurement function, preferably at a food company.
Minimum 5 years management experience within plastic packaging categories.
Experience in negotiating complex multi-year agreements through RFP/ RFQ bidding processes.
High level of initiative, and strong interpersonal skills.
Good leadership and ability to interact with a wide variety of management levels and business situations.
Strong planning, project management, leadership skills and execution skills.
Rigorous data driven/analytical capability.
Strong negotiation skills.
Able to positively influence others.
Ability to lead and motivate staff.
Strong presentation skills and ability to present to groups of various size and levels of leadership.
Foundational knowledge of contract law and legal terms & conditions.
Foundational knowledge of financial statements (impact of the role on the business).
Strong problem solving and analytical skills.
Proficient with Microsoft Office including advanced proficiency in MS Excel and MS PowerPoint.

Responsibilities

Oversee the development and execution of sourcing strategies across multiple categories, including targets, timelines, and resource plans.
Manage global strategy and negotiation initiatives by providing local market intelligence and negotiating at the local level.
Ensure North American strategies and initiatives are implemented by the team.
Develop long-term strategies and ensure local short- and medium-term sourcing strategies are implemented by team members.
Manage the budget portfolio for multiple categories.
Accountable for the management of all contracts for various category portfolios at the zone level, including qualifying vendors, tendering, negotiating, and implementing contracts.
Lead cost and supply risk management for key material supplies within categories.
Act as an intermediary for escalated issues with senior local leadership to ensure proper purchasing procedures are followed.
Identify and execute value analysis and vendor transfer savings opportunities to deliver cost reduction targets and optimize performance measures.
Participate as a cross-functional liaison, providing insights to senior leadership in Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, Quality, R&D, Sales, and Marketing.
Lead and manage the Canadian/US zone team by establishing goals, priorities, providing work direction, reviewing performance, and offering support and feedback.
Determine training and development needs for the team.
Establish a high level of capability, knowledge, productivity, accountability, and decision-making within the Purchasing group.
Champion the transfer of purchasing knowledge between all functional groups.
Develop essential external supplier relationships to optimize supplier quality and performance.
Manage supplier quality and supplier non-conformance concerns.
Support and manage company acquisitions with the support of the global procurement team.
May be assigned to special projects by the Senior Director, Corporate Procurement.
Responsible for the overall direction, coordination, and evaluation of Packaging Procurement team members.
Responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.