Senior Procurement Specialist - CoManufacturing

Conagra Brands; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 82,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare plans

Bonus incentive opportunity

Matching 401(k)

Stock purchase plan

Career development opportunities

Tuition reimbursement

Paid time off

Job summary

Conagra Brands in Chicago seeks a Procurement Contract Manufacturing professional to identify and select contract manufacturing partners, support negotiations, and align cross-functional teams to drive innovation, capacity, and productivity across the supply chain.

You will collaborate with Brand, Operations, Quality, Engineering, R&D, Transportation, Warehousing, and Procurement to develop long-term partnerships, manage risk, and support manufacturing strategy while traveling domestically up to

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years of experience in Purchasing, Supply Chain, or Sales.
• Project management experience.
• Experience with negotiation and contract development.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including complex functions.
• Operations and marketplace knowledge with experience in the relevant category.
• Food manufacturing experience is helpful.
• Willingness to travel 25-35%, primarily domestically.

Responsibilities

• Support the sourcing and selection of finished-goods contract manufacturing partners to meet business needs.
• Review total delivered cost analyses, including raw material procurement, operational, and Transportation & Warehousing costs, while balancing service and quality performance measures.
• Support new plant setup within Conagra Brands systems.
• Support contract development and negotiations with existing and new contract manufacturers, including evaluation of alternative solutions, financial analysis, alignment with the Legal department and other stakeholders, and partnership with the Procurement Vice President of Contract Manufacturing.
• Benchmark practices across the food industry related to new technology, innovation, available capacity, and productivity strategies. Analyze market segments using market data and should-cost modeling.
• Support the Director and Manager in developing risk management plans and supplemental production options to mitigate service issues resulting from internal or external manufacturing disruptions.
• Support finished-goods projects through commercialization, including Commissioning, Qualification & Verification. Help ensure specifications are established before production and required parameters are achieved during product trials.
• Partner with Operations to support internal manufacturing and align with Conagra Brands manufacturing strategies, maximizing collaboration across Contract Manufacturing, Engineering, Marketing, Research & Development, Quality, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Logistics.
• Work within Procurement to help develop manufacturing and capacity strategies aligned with current and future marketing strategies.

Skills

Negotiation

Contract development

Project management

Advanced Excel

Operations knowledge

Food manufacturing experience

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Job description

Reporting to the Manager, Procurement Contract Manufacturing, you will support the identification and selection of contract manufacturing partners and contract negotiations to meet business needs, including innovation, capacity, and network optimization. You will partner with the Director and Manager using standardized negotiation processes and templates and help align Brand, Operations, Quality, Engineering, Research & Development, Transportation & Warehousing, and Procurement teams. You will help develop long-term relationships with contract manufacturing partners to identify growth opportunities and support business growth, innovation, and productivity improvement programs. You will also coordinate priorities across Marketing, Research & Development, Manufacturing, and Product Supply.

A Taste of Your Responsibilities

• Support the sourcing and selection of finished-goods contract manufacturing partners to meet business needs.
• Review total delivered cost analyses, including raw material procurement, operational, and Transportation & Warehousing costs, while balancing service and quality performance measures.
• Support new plant setup within Conagra Brands systems.
• Support contract development and negotiations with existing and new contract manufacturers, including evaluation of alternative solutions, financial analysis, alignment with the Legal department and other stakeholders, and partnership with the Procurement Vice President of Contract Manufacturing.
• Benchmark practices across the food industry related to new technology, innovation, available capacity, and productivity strategies. Analyze market segments using market data and should-cost modeling.
• Support the Director and Manager in developing risk management plans and supplemental production options to mitigate service issues resulting from internal or external manufacturing disruptions.
• Support finished-goods projects through commercialization, including Commissioning, Qualification & Verification. Help ensure specifications are established before production and required parameters are achieved during product trials.
• Partner with Operations to support internal manufacturing and align with Conagra Brands manufacturing strategies, maximizing collaboration across Contract Manufacturing, Engineering, Marketing, Research & Development, Quality, Manufacturing, Procurement, and Logistics.
• Work within Procurement to help develop manufacturing and capacity strategies aligned with current and future marketing strategies.

Ingredients Required for Your Success

• Bachelor's degree.
• 5+ years of experience in Purchasing, Supply Chain, or Sales.
• Project management experience.
• Experience with negotiation and contract development.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills, including complex functions.
• Operations and marketplace knowledge with experience in the relevant category.
• Food manufacturing experience is helpful.
• Willingness to travel 25-35%, primarily domestically.

Number of Days in Office: 3

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Compensation

Pay Range:$82,000-$120,000

The annual salary listed above is the expected offering for this position. An employee’s actual annual salary will be based on but not limited to: location, relevant experience/level and skillset, while balancing internal Conagra employees’ equity. Conagra Brands will comply with applicable law regarding minimum salaries for exempt employees.

Our Benefits

We care about your total well-being and will support you with the following, subject to your location and role:

• Health: Comprehensive healthcare plans, wellness incentive program, mental wellbeing support and fitness reimbursement
• Wealth: Great pay, bonus incentive opportunity, matching 401(k) and stock purchase plan
• Growth: Career development opportunities, employee resource groups, on-demand learning and tuition reimbursement
• Balance: Paid-time off, parental leave, flexible work-schedules (subject to your location and role) and volunteer opportunities

Our Company

At Conagra Brands, we have a rich heritage of making great food. We aspire to have the most impactful, energized and inclusive culture in food. As a member of our 18,000+ person team across 40+ locations, you are empowered to reach your potential, make an impact and own your career. We're in the business of building champions - within our people and our iconic brands like Birds Eye®, Slim Jim® and Reddi-Wip®.

Our focus on innovation extends beyond making great food, it also reflects our commitment to embracing new solutions that positively impact our team, the communities we serve and the health of our planet. Foodies Welcome.

Conagra Brands is an equal opportunity employer and considers qualified applicants for employment without regard to sex, race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, pregnancy, leave status, disability, veteran status, genetic information and/or any other characteristic or status protected by national, federal, state or local law. Reasonable accommodation may be made upon request.