Sr Director of Category Development

​Who is Foodbuy?

We are the industry leader in procurement and supply chain solutions. We are the subsidiary to the 6th largest company in the world (Compass Group PLC), yet Foodbuy has the feel of a small entrepreneurial Company. We pride ourselves on our ability to source and provide a variety of products and services that help our customers more easily, and cost effectively, run their businesses. We work with clients in the Hospitality, Restaurant, Healthcare, Education, Entertainment, and Gaming industries, and of course we support Compass Group-- which is the world’s largest contract food and support services provider.

 

Why Foodbuy?

We care about our associates, our clients, and our community. We think big, encourage innovation and debate, and seek out game changers. Our benefits and PTO offerings are strong. Our compensation packages are competitive. And we are constantly growing, and we want our associates’ careers to grow along with us. We have an open and modern work environment, believe in flexibility, and promote a collaborative open door environment.

 

Additionally, we follow a value system called People FIRST, which stands for Flexibility, Inclusion, Results, Sustainability and Transparency.  People FIRST is the foundation for everything we do at Foodbuy. It is how we connect and interact with our clients, business partners and fellow associates.

Job Summary

The primary duty of this position is a leadership position to drive development and implementation of the day-to-day execution of assigned categories and business plans to provide flexibility, responsive, and innovative strategies for growth.  This role leads a team to develop category strategy or category member strategy in partnership with some of the largest suppliers in the industry to deliver financial results across a broad range of channels and clients by applying procurement expertise including negotiation, budgeting, and forecasting, aligning customer needs with program opportunities, fostering supplier relationships, and engaging in cross-functional resources to deliver strategies for growth.

Responsibilities:

• Achieving annual financial targets and take ownership for budget setting, ongoing management, and monthly re-forecasting of income at a detailed supplier level for team.
• Develop an end-to-end category strategy, mapping out the current landscape and defining an improvement plan for the near, mid, and long-term to stimulate interest from and engagement with stakeholders.
• Deliver procurement activities, including enabling the business to self-serve Post Contract Management (PCM), KPI & SLA development and tracking, stakeholder engagement, 
• communications, risk, and Supplier Relationship Management (SRM) including business reviews and scorecards.
• Develop and maintain senior stakeholder business relationships to build and win internal and external support for the benefit of the business. 
• Engage leaders to gain insights and perspective.
• Personally develops, leads, and manages larger sub-categories.
• Proactively execute cost reduction initiatives and create new value for customers with differing needs.
• Maintain a robust understanding of markets and commodity dynamics and present opportunities to derive new commercial advantages and mitigate risks.
• Collaborate with Distribution to maximize the availability of products and propose the most effective route to the market.
• Leverage market insights and data to ensure competitive market pricing/cost/value/innovation.
• Create, prioritize, and plan a pipeline of opportunities to deliver the saving objectives.
• Work effectively in a rapidly changing environment, spearheading new tools and processes to bring pragmatic solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement through contract optimization, joint business planning, business adoption, and technology enhancements.

 

Requirements: 

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience required; MBA preferred.
• Minimum of 7 years’ experience in procurement or category development & 5 years’ experience leading a team of direct reports. 
• Experience in Foodservice or Hospitality is a plus.
• Superior presentation and influencing skills with an ability to liaise at all levels with suppliers and customers.
• Exceptional customer service and client relationship management. 
• A leader in cross-functional collaboration; leveraging category management, sourcing, distribution, and consumer insights to build unrivalled client value.
• Highly motivated to drive change.