Category Buyer

Bonduelle Americas; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Bonduelle Americas seeks a Category Buyer to lead sourcing strategies for ingredients, assess suppliers, negotiate contracts, and drive cost and risk improvements across the category portfolio.

You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to optimize supplier performance, leverage sustainability initiatives, and manage procurement outcomes aligned with CSR goals. Based in Philadelphia with hybrid work, this role oversees major supplier relationships and strategic sourcing initiatives.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in procurement, supply chain or related field.
• 5 years of experience with progression in procurement leadership.
• Proficiency in category management, strategic sourcing, risk management and data-driven decisions.
• Demonstrated analytics experience.
• Excellent negotiation, communication and supplier management skills.
• Ability to interface across functions and influence stakeholders.
• Experience designing and executing tenders using e-sourcing tools.

Responsibilities

• Define and implement sourcing strategies for ingredients categories.
• Assess and select strategic suppliers; manage cost, risk and performance.
• Lead RFQs and tenders with stakeholders; negotiate contracts.
• Oversee supplier relationship management and SRM programs.
• Monitor category performance and ensure compliance across safety, quality and CSR.

Skills

Procurement experience

Negotiation skills

Supplier management

Communication skills

Leadership

Strategic sourcing

Analytical skills

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s Degree in Procurement or Supply Chain

Tools

e-sourcing tools

Job description

• Reports to: Ingredients Procurement Director
• Location: Philadelphia, PA l Hybrid 4x days onsite

• Department: Procurement
• Reports to: Ingredients Procurement Director
• Location: Philadelphia, PA l Hybrid 4x days onsite

Make a greater impact at Bonduelle Americas!

Bonduelle Americas is a certified B Corp inviting people to embrace a flexitarian lifestyle with an expanding portfolio of plant-rich products available in and beyond the produce aisle. We operate four facilities and employ nearly 3,000 Associates in the US.

Bonduelle Americas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Groupe Bonduelle (BON.PA), an established global brand with more than 170 years of family heritage bringing the joy of plants to tables around the world. Globally, our ready-to-eat plant-rich food products are grown on 173,000 acres by our grower partners and marketed in nearly 100 countries. Our mission is to inspire the transition toward a plant-rich diet to contribute to people's well-being and planet health.

Join us at Bonduelle Americas for an opportunity to advance your career in a culture that places people first.

As a valued member of our company, you will work in a mission‑driven environment aimed at preserving the planet’s resources while providing healthy plant‑based products to millions of consumers around the world.

Position Summary:

The Category Buyer will be accountable for the creation, implementation, management, and performance of sourcing strategies for ingredients categories. He/she will assess, select and develop strategic suppliers to improve cost structure, risk management and performance goals while leveraging the business stakeholders and suppliers collaboration platforms. You will be directly responsible for the sourcing decisions, the cost analytics and negotiations, the contracting excellence and the supplier relationship management.

This role will support our environmental and social initiatives to drive progress against our corporate social responsibility and B Corp ambitions.

Key Responsibilities:

• Set ambitious vision and objectives in competitiveness, innovation and sustainability to reach and develop procurement categories Strategy for the company
• Understand needs, brands strategies and business priorities linked to his or her packaging categories.
• Build and share market analysis taking into account brands and business priorities.
• Select & validate suppliers /Optimize suppliers portfolio according to strategy and negotiate contracts and supply agreements & ensure implementation
• Guaranty category performance: risk management, suppliers capacity, quality, Total Cost, security of supply, sustainability program…
• Manage and enhance the overall performance of Procurement through effective relationships and communication with key stakeholders.
• Ensure effective relationships with suppliers (SRM): ensure fundamentals in place (Safety, Legal, Quality and Environmental compliance), drive growth and capture innovation through collaboration, managing suppliers risk to ensure business continuity and avoid potential crisis.
• Launch Request For Quotation (RFQ), manage tenders process in coordination with Stakeholders.
• Ensure contracts and pricing agreements are in place and implemented
• Spread Cost-Out-Value-In initiatives in the procurement teams and support innovation coming from outside to inside
• Represent Procurement outside the company (purchasing and suppliers associations, etc) building effective relationships.
• Manage P&L impact of prices and predictability through Market Risk Management.
• Map & identify sustainability stakes and risks and address them in the strategy
• Leverage key connections across the broader Bonduelle Group to improve Bonduelle Americas approach to ingredients Procurement
• Manage the spend across a set of categories of Ingredients ($60M)

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree in Procurement, Supply Chain or any related business/ technical backgroundin food.
• 5 years of experience with visible progression in capability and leadership in Procurement.
• Proficiency level in the specific areas of category management, strategic sourcing, risk management, fact-based decision making, decision analytics
• Demonstrated experience in analytics
• Procurement Competencies
• Excellent negotiation, communication and supplier management skills
• Good networking capabilities
• Be able to interface and exert influence across multiple functions in the organization
• Ability to design and implement tenders using e-sourcing tools
• Goal & Performance oriented
• Employment of CSR governance & policies
• Leadership Competencies
• Strategic agility
• Business acumen
• Autonomy
• Approachability
• Action-oriented
• Interpersonal Maturity
• Main interfaces
• CPO, Operations peers
• Finance, R&D, I&D, packaging engineering, quality, HR and Marketing teams,
• Suppliers and trade associations
• Key Performance indicators
• Security of Business: Contracts in place, Safety & Food Safety compliance, no supply shortage, time to market, effective SRM
• CSR: Bpact compliance
• Quality & Environment contribution to Quality performance and sustainable sourcing
• Service Level : quality of services & Service Level Agreement
• Cost & Cash : contribution to cost competitiveness of Bonduelle’s products
• Innovation & Development: value creation/innovation brought to Top Line

About The Company

We aim to inspire the transition toward a plant-rich diet to contribute to people’s well-being and planet health. Since 1853, the family business has already crossed seven generations, with a drive that has stood the test of time: to create solutions to offer the consumer the best of what nature gives us. Offering high-quality plants from sustainable agriculture, harvested at the height of their maturity and very little processing: our promise is possible thanks to the work of close proximity and mutual trust with our 2,000 farmers partners, all over the world.

Behind our three brands (Bonduelle, Cassegrain, Globus), 9,000 employees and a whole ecosystem of stakeholders are committed to contribute to a balanced diet, sustainable and affordable diet for as many people as possible.