Associate Procurement (Buyer) Manager: Poultry & Protein

Site Address
4841 S California Ave, Chicago, IL 60632

What You’ll Do
As the ACM (Poultry & Protein) for our Charles Austin facility, you will develop and execute our national poultry strategy, manage vendor relationships, and monitor poultry performance. You will work closely with regional teams and collaborate with various departments to drive business growth.

• Manage the structure of chicken & beef purchasing by leveraging internal data, market insights, and feedback from the buyers and product specialist team to influence the selection and breadth of our categories.
• Oversee the product lifecycle including pre-season planning through execution and tracking management; in-season sales forecasting management; and the application of the obtained data for upcoming seasons.
• Ensure the team maintains an optimal inventory level and improve sales and profitability, as well as collaborate with the sales team to broaden external sales efforts.
• Develop, implement, and manage the performance of national category strategies and short and long-term category objectives aimed at driving the category to meet and/ or exceed business growth targets and objectives.
• Monitor and analyze chicken & beef performance on a national, regional, and division level.
• Establish, maintain, and grow relationships with suppliers and lead negotiation efforts.
• Manage vendor communications and consistently provide vendor performance feedback and resolve complex issues.
• Develop poultry category level pricing strategies, continually reviewing pricing structure and implementing changes to maximize performance.
• Negotiate national vendor price deviation funding and determine category promotion strategy. Determine and offer pricing and promotional materials.
• Manage overall chicken & beef product assortment, to include the execution of assortment reviews, determining core SKUs, reviewing new vendor items, driving national assortment harmonization, and reducing product duplication.
• Other duties assigned by the manager.

Qualifications

Must have (2) years previous experience in purchasing food in the chicken, beef, or pork sector for consideration.

• Bachelor’s degree in business or a related field.
• 4-7+ years of chicken & beef category management or equivalent working experience relating to commodities.
• Must possess, or be able to rapidly develop, a strong knowledge of products within assigned category and division sales.
• Proficient at analyzing data and developing strategies based on findings, and support change management with the organization.
• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills required with the ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams.
• Highly motivated, ability to prioritize and self-direct, strong business acumen and interpersonal skills.
• MS Office proficiency including Word, Outlook, Excel, and PowerPoint required.
• Fluency in Chinese/Mandarin will be helpful but not required.

Salary Range: $70,000 - $100,000

Benefits Offered:

• Medical Insurance – Comprehensive coverage to help you and your family stay healthy.
• Dental Insurance – Preventive care and treatments to keep your smile bright.
• Vision Insurance – Coverage for eye exams, glasses, and contacts.