Strategic Sourcing and Planning Manager-Food

We are seeking a highly motivated and detail-oriented Strategic Sourcing and Planning Manager to join our team. As Strategic Sourcing and Planning Manager, you will play a key role in supporting Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line, and Seabourn in the NAA Sourcing and Supply Chain function of our organization. You will collaborate with cross-functional teams to develop and execute effective sourcing strategies, identify opportunities, and optimize the supply chain. As a category lead, you will engage with strategic business partners, listen to understand needs, provide expertise, track and communicate project timelines, and provide favorable outcomes to ensure business goals and objects are met.  As a people-manager, you will lead and manage 2-5 direct reports with similar responsibilities. 

The person will utilize appropriate sourcing process including the 7-step sourcing process to develop and implement strategies that deliver breakthrough value creation, innovation, and/or quality improvements and will be responsible to drive cost innovation for their category and their direct reports.

The Manager, Strategic Sourcing and Planning has responsibility to develop and implement sourcing strategies and procurement activities on highly complex, high value, high risk projects for the food & beverage categories assigned covering North America and Europe. As an advisor to the business, this role recommends sourcing strategies to internal stakeholders driving the balance of price, quality, supply, and service to insure the overall best customer experience onboard our vessels.

This role reports to the Director, Strategic Sourcing – Food & Beverage. The role will have 2-5 category leaders as direct reports.

This role will be challenged to effectively work across internal stakeholder groups for all North American brands.  It is challenged with ensuring continued supply for a portfolio of categories and/or work on strategic sourcing initiatives on a project basis.  Challenges include meeting value creation targets, consistent client engagement, cultivation of qualified sources, and consistent engagement of Carnival Corporation operating units to ensure potential global synergies are captured.  

Essential Functions:

• Development of an effective long-term strategic sourcing plan for highly complex categories and projects that create long term value while meeting brand objectives, including value creation, supply continuity, risk mitigation, and innovation. Effective collaboration on strategic sourcing categories and projects within the organization and stakeholders; Developing relationships to become a trusted sourcing partner.  Ensuring cross-functional engagement and support of category projects and initiatives. Remains connected to key stakeholders, and solicits input from them at appropriate times to stay aligned with the needs of the business, as well as run meetings providing key supplier and product updates and/or address specific needs of key stakeholders
• Apply spend category management best practices, tools and techniques in the development and implementation of an integrated strategic sourcing strategy to assesses the overall opportunity within the categories for projects. Serving as a subject matter expert on strategic sourcing categories with the stakeholders and fostering effective relationships.
• Maintain focus on project timelines and deliverables to ensure business goals and objectives are met. Strong partnership with Finance team to accurately forecast impacts of category strategy, including scenario modeling. Manages annual initiative plan by creating realistic timelines and meeting contracting deadlines, communicates initiative status.
• Provide oversight, performance manage, coach, and develop highly skilled team of 2-5 category leaders able to drive strategic approaches and cultivate their own strong business relationships with both internal stakeholders and external partners.
• Researching best practices and conducting baseline due diligence to best understand opportunities for savings, reducing TCO, improve efficiencies, quality improvement and service of the sourcing teams. Lead supplier qualification, segmentation and certification programs. Well informed about commodity markets and uses information to report trends, pricing fluctuations, provides forecast detail and product cost shifts to brands.
• Effective supplier relationship management; leveraging data, metrics, and internal feedback.  Providing and reviewing score cards to improve supplier results. Developing early supplier involvement to ensure suppliers are utilized to their full capabilities and proactively providing input to provide low cost, efficient, and quality goods and services. Effectively influencing change and buy-in across the stakeholder group and leadership. Oversees portfolio of c