Innovation Procurement Leader

Kraft Heinz, Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 140,000 - 200,000; Full time

Job summary

Kraft Heinz, Inc. seeks a senior leader to guide a team of Innovation Managers responsible for sourcing and commercialization support across the business-unit portfolio over mid- and long-term horizons.

Translate priorities into clear team focus, resource alignment, and execution direction. You will champion supplier-enabled innovation, build the operating rhythm for innovation procurement, and coach teams to strengthen decision making, problem solving, and execution quality amid complex

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher in a related field; MBA and/or advanced procurement qualifications preferred.
• Significant procurement experience, ideally including innovation sourcing, external manufacturing, commercialization, ingredients, packaging, CAPEX, or related categories.
• Demonstrated people leadership experience, including coaching and developing high-performing teams.
• Strong experience supporting innovation, commercialization, supplier capability development, and launch execution in a fast-moving environment.
• Strong systems thinking to connect innovation strategy, supplier capability, commercialization requirements, and cross-functional dependencies across the portfolio.
• Strong sourcing and supplier management foundation, with credibility to coach others on negotiation, contracting, commercialization readiness, and supplier execution.
• Curiosity about AI and digital tools, with interest in how they can improve visibility, decision making, efficiency, and team effectiveness.
• Strong solution-oriented mindset to remove barriers, simplify complexity, and help teams move from issue identification to practical action.
• Strong communication, influencing, and stakeholder management skills across matrixed teams and functions.
• Strong problem-solving, prioritization, and execution capabilities across multiple concurrent initiatives.
• Ability to lead through ambiguity, support team decision making, and elevate issues with sound judgment.
• Continuous improvement mindset with ability to strengthen innovation routines, governance, and ways of working over time.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office and familiarity with source-to-pay tools such as SAP, Ariba, Workday, and related systems.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a team of Innovation Managers across the portfolio.
• Translate priorities into team focus, resource alignment and execution direction.
• Champion supplier-enabled innovation and connect supplier capabilities to 3-year needs.
• Build operating rhythm for innovation procurement including prioritization, governance, issue escalation, and visibility.
• Coach Innovation Managers through complex sourcing, commercialization, and supplier challenges.
• Remove barriers by driving cross-functional alignment across procurement, R&D, operations, finance, quality, legal, and business teams.
• Instill sourcing excellence with standards in supplier selection, contracting, commercialization readiness, and launch support.
• Drive consistency in management of innovation sourcing activities, supplier engagement, transitions, and cross-functional coordination.
• Lead continuous improvement in innovation procurement ways of working to simplify processes and speed.
• Support portfolio-level prioritization by surfacing risks, dependencies, capacity constraints, and execution challenges.
• Strengthen team capability in structured problem solving, risk sensing, scenario planning, and proactive stakeholder management.
• Partner with Associate Director and core category procurement leaders to align activity with strategies.
• Identify efficiencies post-launch and set base procurement teams up for future success.
• Ensure effective transition of launched innovation at external manufacturers from innovation procurement to base business ownership after stabilization.
• Monitor portfolio health through key indicators related to sourcing progress, commercialization readiness, supplier readiness, timing, and execution risk.
• Foster a team culture of accountability, collaboration, learning, and continuous improvement.

Skills

Leadership

Stakeholder management

Coaching

Problem solving

Strategic thinking

AI & digital tools curiosity

Change management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, finance, operations, engineering

MBA or advanced procurement qualifications preferred

Tools

SAP

Ariba

Workday

Job description

Kraft Heinz, Inc. seeks a senior leader to guide a team of Innovation Managers responsible for sourcing and commercialization support across the business-unit portfolio over mid- and long-term horizons.

Translate priorities into clear team focus, resource alignment, and execution direction. You will champion supplier-enabled innovation, build the operating rhythm for innovation procurement, and coach teams to strengthen decision making, problem solving, and execution quality amid complex