External Manufacturing Solutions Lead

Colgate • Overland Park, KS

20h • Hybrid

About The Position

At Hill’s Pet Nutrition, we have a purpose to transform the lives of millions of pet families through pioneering innovation, science-led nutrition, and the best and brightest people. If you’re interested in work that matters, fueled by passion for pets, we invite you to apply. Founded more than 75 years ago with an unwavering commitment to pet nutrition, Hill’s mission is to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets. Our decades of science and research guide us in creating nutrition that’s a step ahead so pets and pet parents can enjoy every day together. As the US #1 Veterinarian recommended pet food brand, knowledge is our first ingredient with 220+ veterinarians, PhD nutritionists and food scientists working to develop breakthrough innovations in pet health.

As the External Manufacturing Solutions Lead, you will be responsible for the delivery of allocated production volumes at Hill’s Pet Nutrition’s external manufacturing partners and co-packers. You will be a key link between conventional supply chain management and ongoing digital transformation. You will manage the entire process, from negotiating manufacturing capacity and allocating volume to developing and deploying automated tools. You will manage the day-to-day relationship with external partners while ensuring all data flows are optimized for automation, accuracy and responsiveness for partners and internal stakeholders (R&D, Quality, Finance, IT, etc.).

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a technical discipline (Computer Science, Data Science, or Engineering) or a Business degree with a heavy focus on Business Analytics/Systems
• 5+ years of experience in Supply Chain or Logistics
• Proficiency with data visualization tools or AI tools (Snowflake, Notebook LM, Domo or similar)

Nice To Haves

• Strong SAP experience in the Supply Chain area
• Advanced proficiency in Google Suite (Sheets, Slides and Docs)
• Ability to work independently and manage multiple tasks simultaneously
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated strong verbal, written and presentation communication skills

Responsibilities

• Lead capacity negotiations, contract updates, periodic price adjustments, and delivery of quality goals with external partners.
• Serve as the primary point of contact with external partners by leading operational meetings, facilitating strategic product plans, and managing vendor expectations to ensure alignment with Hill’s corporate values.
• Build predictive models to support the automation of the production planning process with the Customer Service & Logistics team.
• Monitor and report operational KPIs by creating real-time dashboards and AI-driven reporting tools to autonomously monitor production volumes.
• Manage month-end close activities in cooperation with Finance and co-create data models to achieve cost targets and savings goals.
• Perform reviews of obsolescence risk and working capital optimization.
• Execute and automate SAP transactions to reflect the performance of the allocated portfolio in real-time.
• Proactively identify manual "ways of working" and Partner with the Data and Analytics team to design and deploy tools (such as AI agents, predictive analytics, or automated workflows ect.) to improve business responsiveness.

Benefits

• medical
• dental
• vision
• basic life insurance
• paid parental leave
• disability coverage
• participation in the 401(k) retirement plan with company matching contributions
• a minimum of 15 vacation/PTO days
• 13 paid holidays
• Paid sick leave

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior