Chief Procurement & Commodity Strategy Lead

Flowers Bakeries; Thomasville (GA); On-site; USD 195,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Flowers Foods, Inc. in the United States seeks a senior procurement leader to own the Commodities tower, drive direct P2P and SAP governance, and manage sourcing of raw materials and ingredients.

You will shape category strategies, hedge price risk, and lead five category/SAP contracting managers to ensure supply, quality, and cost targets. You will partner with Finance for planning, mentor teams, and align strategies with company objectives, including growth and new plant initiatives.

Qualifications

• Ten to fifteen or more years of progressive procurement experience, with significant time in direct materials and commodity procurement.
• Proven people leadership - building, leading, and developing a team of category managers or sourcing professionals, and setting goals, metrics, and development plans.
• Deep expertise in commodity risk management and price hedging, including futures, options, and index-based or forward physical contracting to manage exposure across an annual coverage program.
• Track record developing and executing category strategies across agricultural and/or energy commodities - managing major supplier relationships, leading complex negotiations, and delivering measurable savings, total-cost-of-ownership reduction, and value creation.
• Experience owning commodity cost assumptions and inflation/deflation outlooks within an annual operating and financial planning cycle.
• Working knowledge of direct Procure-to-Pay operations and governance - SAP contracting, Master Data, and SOX-compliant controls.
• Consumer packaged goods experience; food and beverage or bakery sector strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

• Lead the strategic sourcing function across all commodity categories, ensuring strategies align with objectives and bakery operations.
• Direct the development and approval of category strategies across commodity and ingredient categories addressing growth, productivity, risk, and continuous improvement.
• Own the commodity risk management program - set coverage strategy and execute hedging within policy and limits.
• Oversee supplier contract negotiations - price, volume, service, and payment terms, ensuring risk-management terms.
• Drive productivity to improve total cost of ownership and efficiency across the supply base.
• Lead Direct P2P, SAP contracting, Master Data, and SOX controls across direct-materials.
• Hire, develop, and lead a team of five category and SAP contracting managers.

Skills

Leadership

Procurement

Commodity risk mgmt

SAP

P2P governance

Vendor negotiations

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Advanced degree preferred

Tools

SAP

Job description

Flowers Foods, Inc. in the United States seeks a senior procurement leader to own the Commodities tower, drive direct P2P and SAP governance, and manage sourcing of raw materials and ingredients.

You will shape category strategies, hedge price risk, and lead five category/SAP contracting managers to ensure supply, quality, and cost targets. You will partner with Finance for planning, mentor teams, and align strategies with company objectives, including growth and new plant initiatives.