About the position
At Nestlé USA, we're all working towards the same goal - to delight and deliver for our consumers. With a rich portfolio of beloved brands, including DiGiorno, Toll House, and Coffee mate, in 97% of U.S. households, we have a unique opportunity - and responsibility - to be there for every moment in our consumers' lives. Joining Nestlé means becoming part of an inclusive workplace that inspires innovation, encourages strategic thinking and creativity, and celebrates your achievements. No matter where you work within the organization, you are empowered to challenge the status quo, embrace risk-taking, and pioneer new ideas. Our supportive and collaborative environment encourages bold ambitions and continuous learning so that everyone can grow and thrive. In this role, you will be responsible for developing and executing category strategies that align with business objectives. Key responsibilities include ensuring Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) for indirect services, identifying cost-saving opportunities, and building strategic relationships with suppliers and business partners. You will also be involved in facilitating innovation initiatives, making contracting decisions, negotiating agreements, and optimizing Nestlé's total cost of ownership while ensuring high-quality standards. Additionally, you will demonstrate strong financial acumen by engaging with Business Partners and Procurement Leaders in monthly meetings and driving improvements in key performance indicators (KPIs).
Responsibilities
- Develop comprehensive Category Strategies for each assigned category, in context of business objectives and utilizing the 7 steps to strategic sourcing process to understand and integrate category expertise, to set the direction of sourcing for the categories.
- Annually present strategies to Procurement and cross functional teams.
- Build and maintain strategic relationships with suppliers, fostering collaboration and innovation.
- Identify opportunities for cost reduction and cost avoidance projects including Simplex, and present analysis & category expertise driven insights to the Business.
- Drive execution of projects and maintain accurate records in Oscar.
- Ensure Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) are in place for spending within the assigned categories.
- Identify and present innovation opportunities from suppliers to the business.
- Conduct Requests for Proposals (RFPs) and negotiations with suppliers to achieve the most favorable price, incoterm and payment terms to reduce Nestlé Total Cost of Ownership (TCO).
- Make contracting decisions accordingly.
- Collaborate with stakeholders to ensure quality of supplier partnerships.
- Stay updated on market trends, industry best practices, and regulatory requirements related to the assigned categories to reduce and communicate risk and understand price changes.
- Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Finance, Legal, Marketing and Sales, to ensure compliance and alignment with company policies and standards.
Requirements
- Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Economics, Marketing, Organizational Development or a related field.
- Minimum 5 years of experience in Strategic Sourcing, Procurement, or Marketing related fields preferred.
- Experience in SAP, Power BI and other advanced data analytics tools preferred.
- Proven ability to think strategically and develop long term plans to optimize a category required.
- Understanding of procurement processes, category management, and supplier relationship management.
- Proven experience in negotiation and cross functional influencing skills.
- Ability to navigate complex problems independently and make decisions to change processes to drive improvements with cross functional teams and improve end to end execution.
- Strong communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to build and maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and external suppliers.
- Proficiency in using SAP, Microsoft; Excel, Prism, PowerPoint, Word, and Power BI.
- Ability to analyze data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions.
- Demonstrate ability to adapt and remain flexible in approach to tasks.
- Effective communication skills to present to senior leadership.
