Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager Co-Manufacturing

Smithfield Foods • Smithfield, VA

15d

About The Position

As the Senior Strategic Sourcing Manager – Co-Manufacturing, you will lead all third-party co-manufacturing sourcing efforts for Smithfield’s branded goods. You’ll act as the face of the company to the co-manufacturing industry and serve as the primary liaison across internal teams including Quality Assurance, Innovation, R&D, Supply Planning, and Marketing. In this role, you will drive new product commercialization, ensure effective cross-functional collaboration, and lead initiatives to improve existing co-manufactured products through cost optimization, reformulations, and strategic repatriation efforts.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree from a regionally accredited four-year college or university and 8+ years of relevant purchasing experience is required.
• Minimum of 5+ years of experience in a position of leadership to include team development and management, required.
• Effective Communicator: Strong written and verbal communication skills required to engage with internal teams and external partners.
• Analytical and Organizational Strength: Ability to analyze complex data and summarize findings into actionable reports to assess co-packer competency.
• Willingness to Travel: Must be able to travel up to 50% to co-packer facilities and attend corporate meetings.
• Strategic Bid Evaluation: Skilled in generating supplier bid summaries, conducting thorough analysis, and recommending awards.
• Team Collaboration: Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and collaborate effectively across functions.
• Positive and Professional Demeanor: Respectful, approachable, and team-oriented, with a commitment to building strong working relationships and maintaining a positive work environment.

Responsibilities

• Negotiate Co-Manufacturer Contracts: Lead contract and pricing negotiations for all co-manufacturing partners, ensuring competitive terms and alignment with business goals.
• Manage Partner Documentation: Oversee documentation and records for all co-manufacturer relationships, maintaining compliance and audit readiness.
• Conduct Site Audits: Evaluate co-manufacturing facilities by auditing processes, capabilities, and food safety and quality systems.
• Assess Co-Manufacturer Risk: Perform risk-based assessments to determine required levels of Smithfield management oversight for each co-packer.
• Transfer GMP Knowledge: Ensure co-manufacturers understand and implement Smithfield’s Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), including food safety and quality standards.
• Drive Commercialization Projects: Collaborate with cross-functional teams to bring new product concepts to life through project management at co-manufacturing sites.
• Support Facility Transitions: Partner with Operations on repatriation efforts, managing transitions between co-manufacturing facilities as needed.
• Provide Pricing Updates: Deliver timely weekly pricing updates to business teams to support decision-making and cost tracking.
• Leadership: Drives a positive employee experience through leadership by way of employee development and coaching.

Benefits

• Smithfield is proud to offer robust, flexible and affordable benefit plans and programs to support our team members and their loved ones, and with out-of-pocket costs, on average, 20 percent less than plans offered by other employers.
• Beyond our medical plans, our Be Well programs offer tools and resources to enhance your quality of life, at no additional cost. These programs are uniquely tailored to our Smithfield team and provide support for elective surgeries, weight loss, mental health, cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, smoking cessation, asthma, maternity management and more.
• Our company invests in your future. We offer comprehensive training and professional development programs designed to help you reach your full potential. Our partnership with GUILD supports your continuing education with tuition assistance covering English language learning and various certificate programs, while our leadership development initiatives nurture high-potential talent.
• For those looking to build specialized skills, we offer apprenticeship programs that combine hands-on experience with focused learning. We also offer unique benefits like our Smithfield Scholarship Program for employees’ children.
• Smithfield’s Education Reimbursement Program provides financial reimbursement to team members who want to further their formal education by obtaining a GED/High School Equivalency (HSE) Diploma or by pursuing an academic degree at an accredited college or university that is not a Guild learning partner.

What This Job Offers

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