Strategic Sourcing Manager - Chocolate & Cocoa

Job Description
bpesearch is delighted to be supporting a highly successful food manufacturing organisation in relation to their search for a Group Procurement Category Manager – Chocolate & Cocoa.
Hybrid working model: 3 days in the London office with occasional travel.
As part of the new structure, and with the creation of a Group Procurement Division (to be based in London), the company is looking for a strong commodities strategic procurement professional to join the team.
Providing strategic support to the Group Chief Procurement Officer in a matrix structure whilst reporting into the Head of Ingredients Procurement, this is a role that requires a strong advocate for procurement and the impact procurement has on the wider business strategy.
In this pivotal role you will:
be responsible for defining the strategic direction for your managed categories,
leverage Group scale and expertise to generate savings projects and optimise cost structure,
need to be hands-on to drive implementation across the Group to ensure savings objectives are achieved,
tap into your leadership, collaborative, analytical and quantitative skills, commercial acumen, knowledge of best-in-class procurement processes, (ideally) understanding of CPRM, and agility in order to successfully deliver the objectives of the role, organisation and Group.
Key skills/experience required:
Graduate qualification as a minimum; master’s ideal
In-depth experience in strategic sourcing of chocolate/cocoa categories
Knowledge and experience of world-class category management and sourcing practices from one or several world-class companies
Experienced in managing sourcing categories across multiple geographies
Strong commercial and business acumen and negotiation skills
Strong ability to lead, influence, collaborate, and effectively engage multiple stakeholders
Strong analytical and quantitative skills
Ability to understand relevant technical aspects of given categories
Proactive and action-orientated. Will get into the required level of operational details to deliver business needs. Can make things happen regardless of obstacles
Presence to engage effectively with senior supplier stakeholders
Proven ability to build strong supplier relationships to achieve business goals
Experienced in autonomously managing all procurement aspects of a category
The successful individual will need to demonstrate clear strategic direct procurement experience (6-10 years) gained in a multinational blue-chip setting in order to successfully deliver the objectives of the role.
For the right person, this represents a great opportunity to make a significant contribution to a business with well-loved market-leading household brands, with very real prospects for long-term career advancement.