Procurement Buyer III - Little Rock, AR

S&D Coffee; Little Rock (AR); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Westrock seeks a Procurement Buyer III in Little Rock, AR, to lead sourcing, negotiation, and supplier management across commodities. The role emphasizes cost control and risk management, collaborating with Manufacturing, QA, R&D, and Finance.

You will develop multi-year procurement plans, manage vendor contracts, and drive continuous improvement in the supply chain while mentoring junior buyers and coordinating with Global Sourcing.

Qualifications

• Negotiation and relationship-building with suppliers and stakeholders.
• Ability to assess supplier capability and performance.
• Experience in contract negotiations and procurement processes.

Responsibilities

• Develop sourcing plans to drive multi-year procurement and manage costs.
• Identify, source and assess trustworthy partners.
• Evaluate suppliers for quality, price, delivery and service.
• Negotiate and execute contracts, RFI/RFPs and vendor agreements.
• Coordinate with Global Sourcing to drive continuous improvement in the supply chain.
• Interface with QA, R&D, Manufacturing and Finance as needed.
• Manage plant purchasing card and document expenses.

Skills

Negotiation

Supplier management

Contract management

Risk management

Cross-functional collaboration

Communication skills

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