Category Procurement Manager

Job Title: Category Procurement Manager

Location: Based in Shepshed, Leicestershire with hybrid working

Contract: Permanent

Hours: Full-time, 37.5 hours per week

Salary: Competitive package

Reporting to: Managing Director, UK CirQlar OpCo

Job Req: R7609

ForFarmers CirQlar is focused on securing co-products (by-products) from the food and drinks industries and circulating them back into the food chain. We buy these raw material products and either sell them to farm customers or incorporate them into our own animal feed blends. Thus we help achieve a sustainable and affordable food supply.

Your role

You will lead the CirQlar procurement for defined categories to build long term, sustainable strategic partnerships with the source customers, continually driving a tangible, value based solution agenda for both the customer/s and CirQlar whilst delivering the targeted financial results.

The Category Procurement Manager is responsible for effectively managing current and securing new source customers to support CirQlar margin and volume growth objectives.

Working in close collaboration with CirQlar and group colleagues, procurement responsibilities include negotiating commercial terms with existing and prospect source customers, building effective relationships across the end to end value chain, feeding back market and customer insight to help shape strategic and tactical price positions that both mitigate commercial risk and optimise added value returns.

Your responsibilities

Deliver the targeted results

• Deliver the key financial performance objectives in line with budget / agreed forecast
• Ensure the high quality execution of the “vital few” customer initiatives as identified and agreed in the budget and pipeline plan

Commerciality

• Lead and own the commercial interaction with source customers ensuring agreed price objectives are met on time, through a proactive and collaborative approach.
• Present detailed commercial recommendations, factoring in end to end market dynamics, aligning proposals to reflect source customer priorities, ie ESG / H&S.
• Curate and execute commercial terms as agreed with CirQlar OpCo and ForFarmers legal team. Adopt and demonstrate a “critical thinking” negotiating mind set of every 0.1% counts; be objective and tough during periods of negotiation

Cross functional engagement

• Lead by example, bringing together the necessary multifunctional resources to deliver customer excellence
• Drive business processes to deliver the customer agenda and ensure that all functions are appropriately engaged
• Build personal awareness and understanding of all functional agendas harnessing individuals input to create compelling pitches and or to new and prospect source customers

Set the direction

• Ensure all source customers have a clearly identified where to play/how2-win position within the procurement plan
• Led the development of a detailed, robust market development plan and ensure this is at the heart of ongoing operations and drives the source customer agenda
• Champion the source customers strategy and priorities within the business and vice versa

Source customer development

• Plan ahead and execute an ongoing engagement with the source customers, sharing plans with key internal functions and utilising key colleagues to ensure 100% customer satisfaction / senior alignment to the strategy and key initiatives
• Build multipoint high level relationships with the source customers to gain insight and deliver influence as required; be seen as the senior point of contact who gets things done and makes things happen. Organise work streams in advance to support effective customer retention and new business wins.
• Lead the multipoint team to plan, deliver and measure their customer interaction, ensuring deadlines are met and communication and work standards are consistently high.

Key player within CirQlar

• Be a positive member of CirQlar team, proactively contributing to the broader performance beyond your own scope
• Act as role model, positive, solution orientated, growth led attitude and mindset freely offering encouragement and advice to solve challenges through teamwork and best in class processes.
• Be known as a leader, always connected to the source customers and market environment.

Your profile

Essential:

• Advanced level of critical thinking
• Significant relevant work experience in a customer facing environment
• Experience in the AGRI, Food and Drink or Anaerobic Digestion sectors
• First hand exposure to buying / selling process
• First class negotiation / customer management
• Strong numerical literacy
• MS office / SAP
• Opportunity seeking
• Demand for efficiency and quality
• Customer centric
• Goal setting
• Information seeking
• Systematic planning
• Determination
• Self-awareness
• Creative thinking
• Positive mindset and attitude
• Influencer

Benefits

• Competitive salary
• Performance related bonus
• Car allowance
• Company pension (with option to enhance after 12 months service)
• Private medical insurance
• 27 days holiday plus bank holidays
• Employee Assistance Programme (offering support on a range of topics).
• Cycle to work scheme
• Opportunity to shape the role and grow with the business

About ForFarmers

UK CirQlar OpCo is part of ForFarmers UK, a separate entity within the ForFarmers Group.

CirQlar business purpose is integral to ForFarmers group vision and mission, supporting farmers to achieve good returns and a robust long-term business model. CirQlar aims to bring more and more co-products back into the food chain and in this way enhance circularity to help achieve sustainable and affordable food supply,

The procurement function is highly visible, both internally and externally. Acting with purpose and integrity with a clear emphasis promoting CirQlar as the partner of choice for co product and waste streams across all relevant sectors. Key success factors focus on delivering “win win” added value solutions, connecting end to end value chains, underpinning circularity and unlocking mutual commercial value.

Proud values:

PASSIONATE

Working for ForFarmers is more than a job; it's a passion. The farming business is what makes us tick. We do everything we can to future-proof the sector, and this ambition shines through in our behaviour and our way of working. We push back boundaries and go the extra mile for our customers, suppliers and colleagues.

RESPONSIBLE

Our actions have an impact. We help farmers work in a sustainable way so that together we can safeguard the continuity of the farming business. The same principle applies to our day-to-day operations: we take good care of our customers and other stakeholders, and always aim for the best, most efficient and most sustainable result.

OPEN-MINDED

Keeping an open mind enables us to support farmers in the rapidly changing agricultural sector. We are able to adapt to the needs and working methods of the industry and are always on the lookout for new opportunities. We are clear about our intentions and expectations and prefer to listen than to speak.

UNITED

Addressing the challenges with which the agricultural industry is faced requires a joint effort and mutual trust. We join forces with colleagues and customers and work as one team towards our shared goals. In many cases we take the lead but we are also able to follow if that produces better results.

DELIVERING

We have a natural ambition to get things done, regardless of how difficult the job is. We do what we say and say what we do. We are respectful, honest and direct at all times. It is the sign of a ForFarmers employee.

Applications

We value diversity in our workplace and welcome enquiries from everyone.

Please make us aware if your need any reasonable adjustments to participate in this process.

We encourage you to submit your application as early as possible and not wait until the published closing date as this can vary.