Director of Procurement- Dairy Powders

Ornua Co-operative is an international dairy business headquartered in Ireland, world-renowned for its grass-fed dairy products and the proud owner of the Kerrygold brand. Ornua has a strong culture, dedicated to sustainable growth, fast paced innovation and development of its people. Ornua Ingredients North America (OINA) is a subdivision of Ornua and is a leading B2B supplier of cheese innovation.

Backup: VP Procurement

Role Overview:

The Director of Procurement oversees and manages the OINA raw materials for Dairy Powders, Flavors, Colors and Inclusions. This individual will be responsible for the ordering process, management of inventories for the assigned categories, and supplier relationships and strategies. The individual will be the business partner to the R&D team to identify materials used in development of products and ensure procurement preparedness for launch of new items and materials.

Reports to: VP Procurement

Direct Reports: N/A

Principal Duties as Director of Procurement:

1. Oversee and manage the raw material categories of Dairy Powders (Casein, NFDM, Whey), flavors, colors and inclusions

2. Manage releases of inventories between OINA and outside warehouses

3. Order and maintain inventories on assigned categories for the company, negotiating the lowest prices and best service profiles possible. Generates purchase orders for both WI and MN facilities.

4. Serve as a procurement back-up for the purchase of cheese, packaging, consumables and other ingredients

5. In support of the weekly production schedule: source out and procure assigned categories for OINA (both the Wisconsin and Minnesota facilities), both on a contracted basis and from the various spot markets, as cost effectively as possible

a. Source materials meeting safety and quality standards are part of buying discussions

b. Supplier relationships are developed and maintained with those suppliers that consistently deliver OINA expected and established dairy ingredient standards.

c. Develop relationships with multiple suppliers for ingredients to allow consistent supply

6. Adhere to the site’s Supplier Approval Program when purchasing ingredients and materials

7. Support to R&D and Quality Assurance in procuring the necessary documentation for OINA’s Supplier Approval Records

a. Submit the necessary documentation to Quality Assurance prior to purchasing from a potential new supplier

8. System administration for assigned categories and for cheese category

9. Collaboration with VP of Procurement on outlook for dairy markets and implications of market conditions

10. Business partner to R&D team to ensure procurement readiness for product trials, material changes, new materials and supplier options to me product development objectives

11. Role will be approximately 50% buying responsibility of assigned categories, 25% support to VP of Procurement on the Cheese category and 25% NPD business partner and back up support to the Procurement team

Other Duties:

1. Demonstrate adherence to the site’s Safety and GMP practices

2. Attend monthly facility Safety training as appropriate

3. Review Job Description annually

4. Assist with appropriate Risk Assessments upon request

5. Perform a Weekly Walk-Thru Audit on a rotating basis

6. Enter all P.O’s in the system for procurement

7. Travel – Estimated 20% travel with ability to travel international

Qualifications:

1. Bachelor’s Degree preferred; High school education required

2. 10+ years’ experience buying dairy commodities

3. Knowledge of HACCP and other food safety and quality program principles

4. Good understanding of dairy commodity markets

5. Developing and maintaining extensive dairy sourcing contacts within the industry

6. Excellent verbal, analytical, communication and mathematical skills

7. Ability to multi-task effectively

8. Excellent people relationship skills

9. Learning agility to develop skills and experiences towards increased responsibilities and manage a high growth business

Job Type: Full-time; Salary