Procurement Strategist

About a dynamic organisation

The organization is a leading player in the food industry.

We currently have an exciting opportunity for a Procurement Manager. This permanent role is based at our manufacturing facility.

As a Procurement Manager, you will lead purchasing strategy across multiple sites. You'll own category strategy, supplier performance, and the day-to-day leadership of a high-performing team, balancing cost, quality, service and supply continuity in a fast-moving environment.

Responsibilities:

• Set and execute national procurement strategy across direct and indirect categories (materials, packaging, logistics, services).
• Lead, coach, and develop the procurement team; drive a positive, outcome-focused culture.
• Run end-to-end sourcing: market scans, RFI/RFP/RFQ, commercial evaluation, negotiation and contracting.
• Build robust Supplier Relationship Management and vendor performance frameworks (OTIF, quality, service, risk, sustainability).
• Partner with Operations, Planning/S&OP, Finance, QA, People and Culture and Health, Safety and Environment to align demand, manage risk and optimise working capital.
• Embed best-practice policies, SOP's, controls, and data discipline; improve systems and processes (incl. MRP/ERP touchpoints).
• Monitor supply risk and continuity (including cold-chain and logistics dependencies); implement contingency plans.
• Track and report value delivery (savings/avoidance, cost-to-serve, inventory/DOI), and present clear insights to executives.
• Manage monthly and weekly financial reports.
• Ensure suppliers are compliant to environmental, social, food safety, people and culture, and health and safety policies.

Essential Skills and Qualifications:

• 8+ years' experience in a senior procurement role.
• Proven management of purchasing teams within a manufacturing environment.
• Solid grasp of Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) fundamentals and ERP integration.
• Strategic procurement mindset with a track record of best-practice process implementation.
• Strong Request For Information (RFI), Request For Proposal (RFP) and vendor management capability.
• Exceptional negotiation skills.
• Comfortable operating in an agile, fast-paced environment with changing priorities.
• Highly commercial, data-driven, and financially literate.
• A strong ethos for positive team culture and outcome-driven delivery.

Benefits:

• Competitive salary + super and STI bonus.
• Autonomy and executive exposure in a growth-focused business.
• Support for professional development.
• Located in state-of-the-art facilities.
• This is a great opportunity to join a dynamic company with excellent benefits and opportunities for career growth.