Procurement Manager

Grand River Foods is a leading food solutions company serving customers in the North American grocery and food service industry. As a member of the Sunrise Farm family, we remain as dedicated as ever to both providing a quality work environment for our employees, as well as producing only the highest quality products for our customers. We are known for the great care we take with clients and employees alike.

**Role**:
The Protein Procurement Manager plays a pivotal role in driving companywide strategic sourcing excellence across all protein categories. This role ensures cost optimization, supply continuity, innovation and risk mitigation to support long-term growth, customer commitment and operational resilience.

The Protein Procurement Manager develops and implements strategic sourcing initiatives and supplier management strategies by reviewing and seeking out new technologies and processes to optimize not only the supplier selection but the entire cost cycle across the organization. The Protein Procurement Manager incorporates a sustainability and total cost of ownership perspective as an integral component for the products and services provided.

**Responsibilities**:

- The following list of duties and responsibilities is not intended to be all-inclusive but provides an overview of the scope of the role
- Oversee the business relationship with key supplier activities including ordering, communication of demand/volume/ delivery time changes, issue resolution, sharing end-user feedback, follow up, quality claims, fill rate monitoring etc.
- Develop a strong understanding and knowledge of incumbent and disruptive suppliers and their capabilities to enable the team to adapt to changing market conditions and create agile procurement and reduce protein supply disruptions.
- Manage supplier relationships to ensure continuity of goods and services that meet the quality, service and price performance standards of the company
- Mentor team to develop constructive supplier relationships for protein procurement
- Develops market intelligence specific to the assigned portfolio of commodities including but not limited to analysis of supplier capabilities and offerings, competitive landscape, market trends, impact of various factors on cost, price and availability of protein
- Keep abreast of economic conditions, business situations, new materials and techniques that affect our processes and business to assist with purchasing decisions and mitigate risks related to price volatility and supply chain disruptions
- Develop and implement procurement strategies to optimize the sourcing of protein products by conducting in-depth market analysis and benchmarking to identify trends, opportunities, and risks within assigned protein category
- Create and establish efficient processes and technology adoption by leveraging advanced procurement analytics and digital forecasting platforms to enhance decision making in the procurement of poultry, beef, pork, cheese and other protein to ensure that future growth can be supported with defined processes
- Review inventory levels and, where needed, engage with cross functional teams to manage the optimum levels of inventory required for maximum profitability
- Identify and establish continuous improvement and total cost of ownership reduction opportunities in collaboration with Business Partners
- Continuous improvement and reduction opportunities may impact financial and operational areas as well as staffing workloads, working conditions, changes in positions and staffing levels. Accountable to deliver annual key performance indicators including cost reduction targets to maximize profitability
- Develop and execute buying programs for multiple proteins (beef, pork, poultry, etc.) and execute weekly procurement and management of raw materials for production
- Work closely with the quality assurance team to ensure all protein products meet the company's standards and specifications
- Conduct regular supplier audits and inspections to verify compliance with quality, safety, and regulatory requirements
- Address any quality issues or non-conformities with suppliers and implement corrective actions as needed
- Manage the protein procurement budget and monitor expenditures to ensure cost control and financial targets are met
- Prepare and present reports on procurement activities, supplier performance, market analysis, and cost savings initiatives
- Establish annual cost improvement targets by working with business partners to conduct reviews addressing performance metrics and regularly report savings results to management
- Track and report success against clearly defined key performance indicators (KPIs), including cost savings, service level improvements and risk mitigation outcomes
- Work with stakeholders and leadership teams to implement and enforce polices that increase spend visibility and compliance. Develop risk mitigation approaches and evaluation plans for reviewing pricing mec