Senior Procurement Specialist

Westland Milk Products; Christchurch; On-site; NZD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Westland Milk Products, based in Christchurch, is seeking a Senior Procurement Specialist to partner with stakeholders and drive best-practice procurement across capital projects and operational needs.

You will lead sourcing, supplier management, and cost management while promoting sustainability and CSR across the supply chain. Strong analytical and negotiation skills, plus experience in manufacturing or project-based environments, will be essential.

Qualifications

• Experience in procurement in an industrial/manufacturing or project-based environment.
• Strong sourcing, supplier management, and procurement process knowledge.
• Experience supporting capital projects and engineering services preferred.
• Excellent negotiation and stakeholder management skills.
• Data-driven decision making with strong analytical ability.
• CIPS qualification or willingness to pursue advantageous.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute procurement and category strategies across assigned portfolios.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities, including market analysis, tendering, supplier selection, and contract negotiation.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to identify procurement opportunities and deliver commercially sound solutions.
• Drive procurement best practice, governance, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage supplier performance and foster strong, value-driven supplier relationships.
• Support sustainable procurement and CSR objectives across the supply chain.
• Deliver spend analysis, reporting, and insights to support planning and budgeting.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supplier relationship

Negotiation

Stakeholder mgmt

Data analysis

Communication

Category management

ERP systems

Education

Bachelor's in Supply Chain

Tools

Tendering platforms

ERP systems

Job description

Based in Christchurch and reporting to the Group Procurement Manager - Capex & Indirect, we are seeking an experienced Senior Procurement Specialist to join our collaborative Procurement team.

In this strategic role, you will partner with stakeholders across the business to drive best-practice procurement outcomes, deliver value through effective sourcing and supplier management, and enhance visibility, planning, and cost management across key spend categories. You'll play a pivotal role in supporting capital projects, engineering services, and operational procurement activities while contributing to sustainable procurement initiatives.

Key responsbilities

• Develop and execute procurement and category strategies across assigned portfolios.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing activities, including market analysis, tendering, supplier selection, and contract negotiation.
• Partner with internal stakeholders to identify procurement opportunities and deliver commercially sound solutions.
• Drive procurement best practice, governance, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Manage supplier performance and foster strong, value-driven supplier relationships.
• Support sustainable procurement and corporate social responsibility objectives across the supply chain.
• Deliver spend analysis, reporting, and insights to support effective planning and budgeting.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will bring:

• Proven experience in a procurement, sourcing, or category management role, ideally within a complex industrial, manufacturing, engineering, or project-based environment.
• Strong understanding of strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, and procurement processes.
• Experience supporting capital projects, engineering services, maintenance, or site operations procurement would be highly regarded.
• Well-developed commercial, negotiation, and stakeholder management skills.
• Strong analytical capability with a keen eye for detail and a data-driven approach to decision making.
• Excellent communication skills and the ability to influence and build relationships at all levels of the business.
• Strong organisational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deliver outcomes.
• A commitment to continuous improvement, sustainability, and ethical procurement practices.
• CIPS qualification (or a willingness to work towards one) would be advantageous.

A bit about the organisation

Westland Milk Products is a well-known New Zealand end-to-end dairy manufacturer based in the beautiful South Island with offices and production facilities based in both Christchurch and Hokitika.

Owned by the Global Top 5 dairy company Yili Group, Westland Milk Products and its related companies in New Zealand, Oceania Dairy (Glenavy), Pure Nutrition (Rolleston), Canary Foods (Hamilton) and EasiYo (Auckland) form a group that we refer to as the Yili Oceania group. The combined business produces over 170,000mt of finished goods which are then exported to over 40 countries, driving annual revenue well in excess of $1.3B – and growing.

Applicants must have valid New Zealand work rights.

Location(s) Christchurch - Hornby

Expertise General Management/Executive, Office administration, Supply Chain & Logistics

Reference # 35612