Innovation Procurement Lead

The Kraft Heinz Company; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 104,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare coverage

401k

Life insurance

Disability

Flexible work

Paid time off

Company holidays

Training

Wellbeing programs

Family support

Job summary

The Kraft Heinz Company in Chicago is seeking a procurement leader focused on innovation. You will lead end-to-end sourcing for external manufacturing and internal plant innovation, partnering with brand teams to align on priorities and timelines.

This role requires strong negotiation, cross-functional collaboration, and experience with SAP/Ariba/Workday and BI tools. The position offers a hybrid work arrangement and a competitive base salary.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field; MBA or advanced procurement qualifications preferred.
• Procurement experience in innovation sourcing and external manufacturing.
• Experience supporting new product development, commercialization, or launches.
• Strong negotiation and influence skills with cross-functional alignment.
• Ability to work across matrixed teams and supplier networks.
• Digital savviness with BI tools like Tableau/Power BI.
• Curiosity about AI solutions and how they improve insights.
• Solid sourcing, supplier management, and contracting foundation.
• Project management and execution skills across multiple initiatives.
• Strong communication and stakeholder management.
• Analytical and problem-solving mindset; growth mindset.

Responsibilities

• Lead project-level procurement support for innovation initiatives across the BU portfolio.
• Partner with brand and cross-functional teams on pipeline priorities and requirements.
• Serve as primary procurement contact ensuring coordination and timely delivery.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing for externally manufactured innovation projects.
• Identify partners and manage RFPs, negotiations, and onboarding.
• Act as interfaces between BU, cross-functions and external manufacturers.
• Conduct supplier and market landscape analysis for opportunities.
• Support sourcing strategy to enable broader category strategy.
• Establish governance, readiness plans, and lifecycle management.

Skills

Bachelor's degree required

Procurement in innovation

Cross-functional collaboration

Negotiation & influence

Matrixed teams

Digital savviness (Tableau, Power BI)

AI literacy curiosity

Sourcing & contracting

Project management

Communication & stakeholder mgmt

Analytical & problem-solving

Education

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, finance, operations, eng

MBA or advanced procurement qualifications preferred

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Workday

Tableau

Power BI

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

The Kraft Heinz Company in Chicago is seeking a procurement leader focused on innovation. You will lead end-to-end sourcing for external manufacturing and internal plant innovation, partnering with brand teams to align on priorities and timelines.

This role requires strong negotiation, cross-functional collaboration, and experience with SAP/Ariba/Workday and BI tools. The position offers a hybrid work arrangement and a competitive base salary.