Procurement Buyer III

westrockcoffeeexternaljobs; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 75,000 - 105,000; Full time

Job summary

WestRock seeks a Procurement Buyer III in Little Rock, AR to lead sourcing, negotiate contracts, and manage supplier relationships across packaging materials. You will align with Manufacturing, QA, R&D and Finance to drive cost savings and risk management.

Requires 5+ years in packaging procurement, strong analytics, ERP experience, and proven ability to coach junior buyers while advancing continuous improvement in the supply chain.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain or related field.
• 5+ years in packaging procurement, preferably in food/beverage manufacturing.
• Experience managing diverse external vendors, including sourcing, contracts, risk, forecasting.
• Strong skills in Word, Excel, Outlook and ERP systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop sourcing plans to analyze procurement costs and drive multi-year plans.
• Identify, source and assess potential suppliers.
• Negotiate and execute contracts, RFI/RFP, and vendor agreements.
• Interface with Global Sourcing QA to ensure specs and standards are met.
• Support commercialization of NPD projects with the sales team.

Skills

Negotiation

Vendor management

Cost analysis

ERP systems

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business or Supply Chain

Tools

NetSuite

Microsoft Excel

ERP systems

Job description

Westrock's Procurement Buyer III is a dynamic, self-motivated and results oriented leader with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, and demonstrating exceptional communication skills. Primary responsibilities include the negotiation, purchase and risk management of various commodities; the development and management of supplier relationships in conjunction with internal stakeholders (Manufacturing, Quality Assurance, Research & Development, and Finance); and the management of strategic contracts that include an emphasis on quality, continuous improvement and service. In addition, develop other buyers throughout the organization. Adaptable and transformational manager with an ability to develop opportunities that further establish organizational goals.

Responsibilities:

• Develop sourcing plans that analyze and calculate costs of procurement and use those to drive multi-year procurement plans and events to maintain flat to down raw material costs in inflationary environments
• Identify, source and assess potential trustworthy partners
• Develop a system to evaluate partners to ensure quality, price, delivery, and service. Review periodically to ensure compliance to agreed upon terms and conditions.
• Create and utilize multi-step sourcing processes that drive Best Value relationships with vendors, teaching those sourcing processes to direct reports and the Global Sourcing team to ensure Continuous Improvement in the supply chain
• Perform supply chain management activities, including the expediting and tracking of urgent deliveries and checking of received items.
• Work with packaging vendors to minimize waste and introduce higher quality/lower cost packaging options
• Work with product development on the future of rigid packaging and is partner on innovation and the introduction of new technologies
• Negotiate and execute contracts, RFI/RFP, proposals and vendor agreements for legal correctness, price and acceptability of items to specifications
• Interface and align with Global Sourcing Quality Assurance team to ensure specifications and standards are consistently met
• Support commercialization of NPD (New Product Development) projects with sales team
• Liaise between Procurement and Manufacturing to ensure effective communication
• Manage the plant purchasing card, document and report on all expenses accordingly
• Performs other duties as assigned

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain or other related field
• 5+ years' experience in packaging, preferably in a food and/or beverage manufacturing environment; or equivalent combination of education and experience
• Experience managing a diverse set of external vendors, including sourcing, managing contracts, risk management, forecasting, developing category strategies, and manufacturing relationships
• Strong computer skills (Word, Excel, Outlook, NetSuite, or other similar ERP systems)
• Ability to work in fast paced high-pressure environment where change is constant and needs to be managed with internal and external customers
• Experience in Capital Procurement
• Financial understanding of P&L and ability to drive results for bottom line profit
• Demonstrates superior interpersonal, coaching, and communication skills to multiple levels of the organization
• Motivated, self-directed, and detail oriented
• Aptitude in decision-making and working with financial KPI's
• Ability to develop and contribute to strategic vision for a Global Procurement organization
• Effectively manage multiple projects simultaneously & to develop priorities for self and members of staff
• Collaborates cross-functionally
• Professional certification is a plus (CPSM/CPIM) preferred
• Knowledge of a Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) process preferred
• Familiar with Materials Requirements Planning (MRP) preferred
• Management experience is a plus

Equal Opportunity Employer / Vets / Disabled