Senior Buyer - Protein

Purpose of Role

• To source protein to meet the company's production plan at the optimum cost.

• To manage protein supplier base to ensure continuity of service and quality.

• To purchase protein in line with budgeted costs (or better) ensuring that all market moves are properly communicated.

• To liaise with relevant departments including; Marketing (profit responsible colleagues), Technical, Operations, NPD and Ethical Trading to ensure that all supplies and materials are sourced in line with requirements and the agreed specifications within the appropriate legislation and due diligence procedures.

The position reports to the Ingredients Buying Controller and demands a high degree of accountability and knowledge. The position also requires a high degree of maturity and ethical behaviour, to ensure control and compliant expenditure of company funds.

The person must keep constantly up-to-date about economic conditions and/or business/market conditions as they affect the products we purchase. This knowledge is necessary to make informed decisions to adequately meet changing conditions, especially in an environment focused on commodity ingredients.

The Senior Buyer must fully understand the SAP purchasing system and its relationship to the various 'interfacing' systems as well as a full working knowledge of the buying department's systems and procedures.

The position requires the job holder to be able to communicate at all levels, both internally and externally, and work with a wide range of departments and take a pro-active role in the business.

The job holder will be responsible for developing and managing purchasing strategies for protein, and the man management of a direct report.

Principle Accountabilities:

1. Negotiation of material prices, supplier stockholding arrangements and credit terms, optimising total cost to the business after consideration of working capital costs, factory utilisation lead times, etc.

2. Determination of budget costs and monitoring / reporting on price variances. Subsequent communication of cost movements to the business to ensure control of margin

3. Being an expert of areas of responsibility to support the sales team to recover cost inflation as appropriate

4. Monitoring data on market movements and determination of consequences on the appropriate SBA, communication of corrective action requirements.

5. Responsible for supplier performance in terms of monitoring performance measures and applying corrective action where appropriate.

6. Liaison with Technical, NPD and Operations on approval of materials and rationalisation of supplier base.

7. Ensuring conformance of department to ISO 9002 standards.

8. Pursuing claims against suppliers for non-conformance.

9. Responsibility for the supply of data to the finance department to ensure accuracy of information to derive product costs.

10. Achieving cost reductions in conjunction with the Ingredients Buying Controller

11. Management and motivation of direct report

Experience Required

This is a key Senior Management role in the company, requiring experience in a wide range of activities that interface with the purchasing function.

Normal requirement is a degree - or working towards a degree, preferably in Business Studies with a bias to the purchasing function, member.

desirable but not essential is to be an associate of the CIPS.

The ability to communicate at the highest level both internally and with the supplier base is an essential pre-requisite to ensuring that the Companies credentials are best portrayed and that supplier relationships are developed to benefit the Company