Procurement Manager

Procurement Buyer – Meat

Brantford

$65000 - $83000/ Year

A growing food manufacturing organization is seeking an experienced Procurement Buyer to support its red meat purchasing operations. This position will organize and manage purchasing events with a major retail customer while acting as the primary contact between the customer, suppliers, procurement, commercial, demand planning, and raw material scheduling teams.

The successful candidate will oversee supplier forecasts, purchasing agreements, pricing, inventory requirements, and service-level performance. This is an excellent opportunity for an organized procurement professional who thrives in a fast-paced food manufacturing environment and enjoys using data, supplier relationships, and commercial insights to improve availability, cost, and service.

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Health and dental benefits
• Life and disability insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Paid vacation
• Training and professional development opportunities
• Supportive and collaborative working environment
• Long-term career growth within a growing food manufacturing organization

Responsibilities

• Organize and manage purchasing events in partnership with the customer's buying team
• Act as a key point of contact between customers, suppliers, procurement, commercial, demand planning, and scheduling teams
• Work alongside the Procurement Insights team to guide and influence purchasing decisions
• Create and manage purchasing events and supplier agreements through the Foods Connected platform
• Load agreed pricing into supplier price files and obtain supplier approval
• Manage long-term purchasing contracts and supplier purchasing models
• Ensure all active retail and primal product codes are accurately maintained within procurement documents
• Review retail order amendments and identify solutions to improve service levels
• Manage purchasing timelines and ensure buying events are completed as scheduled
• Attend Sales and Operations Planning meetings
• Coordinate imported meat schedules when applicable
• Manage frozen and fresh inventory held at external cold-storage facilities when applicable
• Work with the Demand Planner to understand long-term purchasing and raw material requirements
• Oversee short- and medium-term supplier forecasts
• Assess forecast increases, decreases, and shortages and determine the appropriate next steps
• Review daily order shortages with the Raw Material Scheduler and assess their potential impact on the business
• Develop solutions to mitigate material shortages and escalate concerns when required
• Monitor supplier usage related to new product development and continuous improvement initiatives
• Participate in new product development and feasibility meetings
• Provide procurement insights regarding product pricing, supplier availability, timelines, and potential risks
• Review and approve product costings before submission to the accounting team
• Develop supplier improvement plans in partnership with the customer's buying and commercial teams
• Monitor supplier performance, inbound service levels, raw material availability, pricing accuracy, and invoice discrepancies
• Support continuous improvement initiatives related to supplier performance, purchasing processes, and cost optimization
• Provide guidance, support, and feedback to one direct report

Qualifications

• Previous buying, purchasing, procurement, or supply chain experience
• Experience within a fast-moving fresh food or food manufacturing environment strongly preferred
• Meat or protein purchasing experience considered a strong asset but is not required
• Experience managing supplier relationships, purchasing agreements, pricing, contracts, and forecasts
• Strong understanding of demand planning, inventory management, purchasing timelines, and supplier performance
• Experience working with retail customers or major grocery accounts considered an asset
• Experience using Foods Connected or a similar procurement and supplier-management platform considered an asset
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify risks, and make informed purchasing decisions
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills
• Ability to work effectively with procurement, commercial, production, planning, finance, supplier, and customer teams
• Strong organizational and time-management skills
• Ability to manage competing priorities and prioritize work based on business risk and importance
• High attention to detail and a commitment to pricing, contract, and purchasing accuracy
• Proactive, self-motivated, and comfortable escalating potential service or supply issues
• Previous leadership, supervisory, or team-support experience considered an asset

Please apply directly or contact [email protected] for more information.