Assistant Procurement Manager, Cocoa and Chocolate Europe/Global

Job description

JOB PURPOSE:

As the Assistant Procurement Manager, for Cocoa and Chocolate Europe/Global, you will be responsible to support the development and implementation of the Cocoa and Chocolate sourcing strategy across Europe (>€250m spend/yr.) and supporting the Global strategy and cross-cluster initiatives. The position will especially focus on Cocoa Sustainability, Reporting and Contract Management, Quality, Resilience, and reports directly into the Global Procurement Manager for Cocoa and Chocolate. You will be part of the global Soft Commodities team, and within the overall team led by the Head of Ice Cream Procurement.   

The impact of the Soft Commodities Team:

The Soft Commodities team is composed of portfolios such as Cocoa & Chocolate, Sugar, Fruits & Nuts, and Confectionary & Baked. The purpose of the Soft Commodities team is to drive the implementation of the Procurement with Purpose strategy in the sourcing and supply strategy of our commodities mainly supporting the Ice Cream Business Group whose purpose is “Happy People, Happy Planet”.

WHAT WILL YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES BE?

Strategic Sourcing:

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Support in development and execution of the portfolio strategy in line with both short term and long-term Business Group objectives

· 
Lead global cocoa on several global initiatives (e.g. Sustainability, Quality, Resilience, etc.) to create more leverage globally via ensuring strong connection between clusters

· 
Bring external in: develop market insights to decide from who, when and how to buy

· 
Support regional negotiations, developing strong relationship with suppliers and analyse their capabilities to develop long term supplier strategies

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Support and Management of the RFQ process, E-tenders, data management and in-depth analysis of submissions

· 
Support innovation projects through strong collaboration with R&D team, providing market intelligence, supplier capabilities and capacity 

Supplier & Contract Management:

· 
Excellent contract life cycle management and reporting, ensuring 100% coverage of contracts on time in full, including management of purchase price variances

· 
Ensure supplier base is 100% compliant with Unilever standards (Specifications, Quality & Responsible Sourcing etc.)

· 
Identify and mitigate sourcing risks with cross functional team, ensuring high service levels to sourcing units

Value Delivery:

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Support to create multi-year, cost savings programs funnel for market deployment

· 
Work cross-functionally with both local and global counterparts to identify and implement value-project based projects and initiatives

· 
Support to agree and execute best strategies on risk management for the portfolio, together with Commodity Risk Management team

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Provide reliable and accurate forecast of market and Unilever portfolio prices

· 
Identify and execute incremental cash opportunities

Sustainability:

· 
Business partner the Sustainable Sourcing team, to identify and execute the partnerships and projects required to meet Unilever’s sustainability targets such Cocoa NDPE and Living Income

· 
Lead all reporting and monitoring requirements for Cocoa sustainability

SKILLS YOU SHOULD HAVE :

Below are the differentiating skills which are important to be effective in this Portfolio Sourcing role. These skills include:

· 
Procurement sourcing strategy; Supplier analysis

· 
Value chain understanding

· 
Supplier negotiation; Contract negotiation

· 
Strategic partnerships

· 
Sourcing resilience

· 
Collaboration

· 
Stakeholder management

EXPERIENCE YOU SHOULD HAVE:

· 
>3 years’ experience in Procurement, preferably in FMCG sector, direct categories

· 
Fluency in English

· 
Experience in strategic sourcing development and contract negotiations

· 
Very Strong Communication and Analytical skills:  data/information analysis and presentation

· 
Knowledge of SAP will be advantage, however it is not essential

· 
Able to build relationships with people across the business (internally & externally)

Unilever is an organisation committed to equity, inclusion and diversity to drive our business results and create a better future, every day, for our diverse employees, global consumers, partners, and communities. We believe a diverse workforce allows us to match our growth ambitions and drive inclusion across the business. At Unilever we are interested in every individual bringing their ‘Whole Self’ to work and this includes you! Thus if you require any support or access requirements, we encourage you to advise us at the time of your application so that we can support you through your recruitment journey.