Senior Procurement Manager, Dairy

Fairlife
Chicago, IL

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers.

With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk ; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™ , a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health.

A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation.

To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com .

job purpose :

The Procurement Category Manager, Dairy is a key member of the Supply Chain Team. This role will play an integral part in developing long-term milk sourcing strategies across all current and future sites. The Procurement Category Manager will be tasked with supporting the Director, Dairy Procurement to ensuring a stable, long-term supply of milk with a focus on supplier selection, relationship management and price negotiation. Along with this, the Procurement Category Manager will lead fairlife’s efforts in finding dairy bi-product customers and executing bi-product agreements. In this position you will partner with internal stakeholders to support their needs and drive category performance while delivering procurement’s cost of goods savings and bi-product revenue targets. This individual will support the development and implementation of critical supplier performance management programs to ensure the supply base is exceling against established key performance indicators.

responsibilities:


  • Identify Opportunities and Execute Bi-Product Sales agreements for Cream and Lactose

  • Manage Spot and Contract Cream and Lactose opportunities.

  • Along with the Director of Milk Procurement- Plan and Organize Milk Procurement activities across fairlife

  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders to share forecasts and expectations with external partners to ensure effective milk planning.

  • Identify risks and vulnerabilities within milk supply base and develop risk mitigation strategies to build a more resilient milk supply chain.

  • Support Request for Proposal (RFP) process to ensure consistent lowest total cost of ownership.

  • Collaborate with internal stakeholders to develop and maintain tools for enhancing transparency and traceability to farm-level trends in milk supply, component levels, quality performance and environmental considerations.

  • Analyze current and projected dairy market conditions and identify key trends and opportunities for the business.

  • Create milk market forecasts and reports to support the Commodity Risk Management team.

  • Develop presentation tools to be used in monthly and quarterly commodity price risk management meetings with CEO, CFO, and other key Executive Leadership team members

  • Analyze and forecast market inflation trends and work to address any price variances to budget.

  • Collaborate cross-functionally to refine and optimize supplier framework for internal requirements to ensure the highest-quality-milk from farms committed to continuous improvement towards animal care.

  • Develop and execute vendor agreements in close collaboration with Legal Team.

  • Manage vendor relationships, track performance, and communicate performance feedback.

  • Identify, support, and implement raw material cost reduction opportunities.

  • Assist in the development and management of annual material cost budgets.

  • Monitor, track and report on savings and key performance indicators for category.

  • Assist in resolving any unforeseen problems with suppliers relating to operations, purchasing or quality/performance.

skills/qualifications required:


  • Bachelor’s Degree required (Preferably in Agricultural Economics, Supply Chain, or Engineering). Master’s Degree a plus.

  • Strong knowledge base of dairy markets, milk pricing and dairy policies

  • 5+ years of Procurement Category Management experience or equivalent.


  • Master in negotiation, value generation


  • Ability to influence senior leadership teams at Plant level and Corporate Function level.

  • Experience working cross-functionally with Quality, Planning and Animal Welfare Teams

  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with a wide range of constituencies in a diverse community.

  • Strong communication skillset, both orally and in writing.

  • Ability to handle ambiguity and work in a fast paced, entrepreneurial environment.

position location: Chicago, IL, Goodyear, AZ, Coopersville, MI, Webster, NY.

reports to : Director, Dairy Procurement

travel requirements: 30%

exempt/nonexempt: exempt

*Base pay offered may vary depending on geography, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, dependent on the position, is offered.

Base pay range:

$125,000 - $150,000 USD

fairlife, LLC is an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. All qualified applicants and employees will be given equal opportunity. Selection decisions are based on job-related factors.

In addition to its nondiscrimination commitment, the Company will also provide reasonable accommodation of qualified individuals with known disabilities unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the Company. If you have a disability and would like to request accommodation in order to apply for a position with us, please email [email protected] .


For Recruitment Agencies

At fairlife, we manage the majority of our hiring internally through our dedicated Talent Acquisition team, which is actively engaged in direct candidate sourcing. Most of our roles are filled through applications submitted via our careers site or through direct outreach by our team.


As our recruitment is primarily handled in-house, we work only occasionally with external agencies, and only those on our existing, pre-approved vendor list. At this time, we are not reviewing or expanding that list.


Unsolicited resumes or submissions from external agencies not authorized by our Talent Acquisition team will be considered direct candidate applications. As such, fairlife will not assume responsibility for any placement fees associated with these submissions.

Posted 2025-10-07

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