Strategic Operations Buyer

Job description

A mutually rewarding experience.

Work. Realize your ambitions. And realize there's more to being in business than just making a profit. That's the Mars philosophy. And the opportunity we offer every one of our Associates. An opportunity to take what you do and make it mean more for you, for those around you and for the planet. What you get here is challenging, interesting work. You get the tools you need to do a great job and you get to have the best possible people on your side to help you do it. And at the same time as getting to find ways to do business better today than we did it yesterday and driving a great career, you also get to build a more enlightened business and drive sustainability.

Because it's never just about a single person, a single project or a single brand. It's about how you can grab everything that's within your reach here and use it to pursue mutual, long-term gain. It's about having ideas. And ideals. Being prepared to risk failure because the promise of success means we'll all be a little better off. It's that mix of integrity and ambition that makes Mars such a special place to work. And why working here is always about more than just a job.

About Mars, Incorporated

Mars is a family-owned business with more than a century of history making diverse products and offering services for people and the pets people love. With almost $35 billion in sales, the company is a global business that produces some of the world's best-loved brands: M&M's®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, MILKY WAY®, DOVE®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, WHISKAS®, EXTRA®, ORBIT®, 5™, SKITTLES®, UNCLE BEN'S®, MARS DRINKS and COCOAVIA®. Mars also provides veterinary health services that include BANFIELD® Pet Hospitals, Blue Pearl®, VCA® and Pet Partners™. Headquartered in McLean, VA, Mars operates in more than 80 countries. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire its more than 100,000 Associates to create value for all its partners and deliver growth they are proud of every day.

POSITION CAN BE LOCATED IN HACKETTSTOWN, NJ; CHICAGO, IL; FRANKLIN / NASHVILLE, TN

Job Purpose:

This role manages buying operations activities as well as local sourcing activities in a region in order to create a lean end-to-end support for a specific group of goods and services in the indirect sourcing area for several sites and/or countries across Mars segments (such as Mars Wrigley, Pet Nutrition, Food).

He/she works closely with the sourcing managers and is responsible for the efficient and effective execution of sourcing strategy activities in that region. This role is responsible for identifying and delivering value chain optimization opportunities and ensures that the team acts as the first line of escalation on issues between suppliers and the business, operating the supplier relationship management process with suppliers.

Key Responsibilities:

·  Purchase indirect goods & services by securing price, capacity & service levels in line with commitments to the business and as per the sourcing strategies by applying a wide range of sourcing tools (e.g. negotiation, e-procurement, strategic collaboration, etc.)
·  Implement supply base strategy. Assess and develop suppliers in order to meet business needs and opportunities.
·  Ensure effective risk management of the supply base, through robust contracts and monitoring of financial and other KPIs. Implement corrective actions as appropriate. Manage all related commercial, financial & ethical aspects of projects
·  Establish & maintain relationships with Finance, department managers (eg maintenance mgr, marketing mgr, supply chain mgr, …) , and their teams to ensure understanding of their needs and to facilitate the appropriate level of challenge
·  Work with internal clients
·  Comply with policies, systems & controls
·  Provide market and financial insights and inputs to the internal sourcing process
·  Participate in team knowledge transfer
·  Provide input to and execute Global & Regional MSSM. Implementing locally the global & local MSSM and other major work streams
·  Participate in external forums and associations
·  Participate & lead, when required, engagement programs.
·  Participate actively in the Regional team meetings
·  Acts as the liaison between the sites and the sourcing managers to communicate changing business needs (e.g. specification, volume changes, etc.)
·  Works with other functions to support new product launches, line extensions, and execution of continuous improvement programs for indirect goods and services in scope for the role.
·  Develops & implements a continuous improvement action plan. Monitors changes and adjusts the plan as needed to sustain performance results
·  Identifies and manages supplier collaboration initiatives (e.g. supplier owned inventory, forecast management, electronic invoicing, operational process streamlining, etc.)
·  Manage all related commercial, financial & ethical in autonomy & will seek for advice in new or complex situations
·  Work in collaboration with other operation managers
·  Influences clients to align with global & regional buying strategy

Relative Quantitative and Budget Information:

·  $30M - $50M, 80 suppliers, 30 internal clients
·  X- Segment : eg Pet Nutrition , Mars Wrigley, Food, legacy Wrigley, Royal Canin
·  Number of supported sites: 60+
·  Key stakeholders: Marketing directors, Sales directors, Chief Engineers, Industrial Engineers ,Technical managers & Maintenance Managers, plant managers
·  External contacts are Key Account Managers of medium to large companies and the owners of smaller companies.
·  Categories covered can include marketing & sales, logistics, factory services , sites services, capital and services

Key Functional Competencies:

1. Price Risk Management - Essential

2. Effective Sourcing - Advanced

3. Sourcing Category Expertise - Essential

4. Stakeholder Engagement - Advanced

5. Supplier Relationship Management – Advanced

Education and Professional Qualifications:

·  Bachelor / Master degree – Bachelor required
·  Fluent in English
·  Entry level – 3+ years of experience

Mars is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. If you need assistance or an accommodation during the application process because of a disability, it is available upon request. The company is pleased to provide such assistance, and no applicant will be penalized as a result of such a request.

Nearest Major Market: Allentown
Job Segment: Risk Management, Purchasing, Relationship Manager, Finance, Customer Service, Entry Level