Procurement Manager – Animal & Pet Nutrition - NA - Chicagoland

Job Description

Manager, Procurement – Animal & Pet Nutrition (North America)
Location: Chicago, IL, Oakbrook, IL Harvard, IL; Quincy, IL; Effingham, IL or Kansas City, MO

Role Summary
We are seeking an experienced Manager, Procurement – Animal & Pet Nutrition to lead strategic sourcing and category management activities across the United States and Canada. This role requires a procurement professional with deep expertise in the Animal Nutrition and Pet Food industries, including a strong understanding of ingredients, supply markets, manufacturing requirements, regulatory considerations, and supplier networks.
The successful candidate will serve as a strategic business partner, developing sourcing strategies that ensure supply continuity, support growth, manage risk, and deliver value across a complex portfolio of ingredients and raw materials. The role will also provide leadership and development for a team of 2–3 direct reports while partnering closely with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, R&D, Commercial, and Supply Chain leaders throughout North America.

Key Responsibilities

Category Strategy & Supply Assurance

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for Animal and Pet Nutrition ingredients across the United States and Canada.
• Build and maintain deep knowledge of ingredient markets, industry trends, supply dynamics, and emerging risks.
• Create and implement business continuity and risk mitigation plans for critical materials.
• Lead category planning activities aligned with business growth, profitability, and operational objectives.
• Identify opportunities for supplier diversification, second sourcing, and supply chain resilience.

• Leverage extensive industry relationships and market knowledge to identify strategic sourcing opportunities.
• Develop executive-level supplier relationships and lead supplier performance management programs.
• Conduct strategic negotiations and manage commercial agreements that optimize cost, service, quality, and innovation.
• Monitor commodity, ingredient, transportation, and regulatory developments impacting Animal and Pet Nutrition markets.
• Represent the company in industry forums, supplier meetings, and market intelligence activities.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 2–3 procurement professionals supporting the Animal and Pet Nutrition business.
• Establish clear objectives, development plans, and performance expectations for direct reports.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer focus.
• Build procurement capabilities that support both current business needs and future growth.

• Superior collaborate skills with cross-functional stakeholders and partners including Operations, Commercial, R&D, Quality, Regulatory, and Supply Chain teams to support business objectives.
• Provide market intelligence, pricing forecasts, and risk assessments to leadership.
• Support new product development initiatives through supplier engagement and ingredient sourcing expertise.
• Influence business decisions through data-driven recommendations and procurement leadership.

• Drive procurement process improvements and best practices across sourcing and supplier management activities.
• Utilize spend analytics, supplier scorecards, contract management systems, and procurement tools to improve performance.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and sustainability objectives.

• Establish and monitor category performance metrics.
• Deliver measurable value through cost optimization, working capital improvements, risk reduction, and supply assurance.
• Report category performance, market conditions, and strategic initiatives to regional and global leadership.
• Support long-term business growth through proactive category management and strategic supplier partnerships.

Qualifications & Experience

Required

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Agricultur