Senior Procurement Manager, Food Ingredients

ABOUT UNILEVER

With 3.4 billion people in over 190 countries using our products every day, Unilever is a business that makes a real impact on the world. Work on brands that are loved and improve the lives of our consumers and the communities around us. We are driven by our purpose: to make sustainable living commonplace, and it is our belief that doing business the right way drives superior performance. At the heart of what we do is our people – we believe that when our people work with purpose, we will create a better business and a better world.  

At Unilever, your career will be a unique journey, grounded in our inclusive, collaborative, and flexible working environment. We don’t believe in the ‘one size fits all’ approach and instead we will equip you with the tools you need to shape your own future.

JOB PURPOSE:

Unilever is the place where you can bring your purpose to life with the work that you do – creating a better business and a better world.  If you are ​passionate about food ingredients, making a difference in diverse supply chains,impacting brands with long history,​ then this role is just for you!

• Be one of the senior managers within the global Food Ingredients portfolio with €100M+ across various crops (eg.: tomato, cereals, herbs etc.), with key focus on Europe.

• Set the strategic vision and ensure execution of procurement strategies with consistent focus on competitiveness, value chain interventions, climate and nature commitments, and resilience.

• Conduct thorough industry and market analysis to identify trends and opportunities, to stay ahead of the market.

• Lead e2e supply chain benchmarking, assess and land value creation opportunities.

• Deliver best in class negotiations and superior supply chain agility to support business growth and profitability ambitions.

• Deliver in-year financial targets while building medium- and long-term value pipeline.

• Drive the climate, nature and social commitments through actively engaging the strategic supply base on sustainable sourcing, regenerative agriculture, net zero and livelihoods agenda.

• Be the voice of the market in engagements with senior stakeholders and brands.

• Develop a high performing team while being a strong talent catalyst to the wider, global Ingredients team.

WHAT YOU NEED TO SUCCEED: 

• Growth mindset.

• Strong negotiation skills, financial and business acumen.

• Outstanding pioneering mindset, big picture strategic thinking with excellent execution.

• Outstanding complexity management and prioritization skills, with an eagle eye for the detail.

• Team leadership for growth and high performance, fostering a collaborative environment.

• Strong communication skills, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration.

• Excellent learning skills and adaptation to change.

• Hunger for maximizing the benefits of digital tools.

EXPERIENCES & QUALIFICATIONS :

• Minimum 5 years in senior procurement manager role with strong track record of delivery, ideally linked to agricultural commodities.

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, or a related field.

• Proficiency in e-procurement systems and other relevant technologies.

• Minimum 5 years in team leadership.

• Fluent business English. Spanish, French or Chinese are a plus.

SKILLS :

• Procurement strategy creation.

• Advanced, excellent negotiation skills in complex portfolios.

• Value chain understanding and optimization.

• Sustainable sourcing (including regenerative agriculture and net zero commitments).

• Stakeholder management and influencing.

LEADERSHIP:

• You are an inclusive motivator of people. Your team deliver with real passion, growing and learning from each other whilst delivering quick wins.

• You are still responsible for your own results and as a manager, you also need to motivate others to deliver with passion, creating an inclusive and engaging climate around you. You can balance challenge with support and coaching. You understand the wider business context and you are emotionally intelligent enough to motivate people to deliver what is needed.

SOL (Standards of Leadership) Behaviors​