Procurement Manager – Animal & Pet Nutrition - NA - Chicagoland

Procurement Manager – Animal & Pet Nutrition - NA - Chicagoland

Department:
Procurement

We are seeking an experienced Manager, Procurement – Animal & Pet Nutrition to lead strategic sourcing and category management activities across the United States and Canada. This role requires deep expertise in the Animal Nutrition and Pet Food industries, including knowledge of ingredients, supply markets, manufacturing requirements, regulatory considerations, and supplier networks. The successful candidate will serve as a strategic business partner, develop sourcing strategies that ensure supply continuity, support growth, manage risk, and deliver value across a complex portfolio of ingredients and raw materials.

The role will also provide leadership and development for a team of 2–3 direct reports while partnering closely with Operations, Quality, Regulatory, R&D, Commercial, and Supply Chain leaders throughout North America.

• Develop and execute sourcing strategies for Animal and Pet Nutrition ingredients across the United States and Canada.
• Build and maintain deep knowledge of ingredient markets, industry trends, supply dynamics, and emerging risks.
• Create and implement business continuity and risk mitigation plans for critical materials.
• Lead category planning activities aligned with business growth, profitability, and operational objectives.
• Identify opportunities for supplier diversification, second sourcing, and supply chain resilience.

• Leverage extensive industry relationships and market knowledge to identify strategic sourcing opportunities.
• Develop executive-level supplier relationships and lead supplier performance management programs.
• Conduct strategic negotiations and manage commercial agreements that optimize cost, service, quality, and innovation.
• Monitor commodity, ingredient, transportation, and regulatory developments impacting Animal and Pet Nutrition markets.
• Represent the company in industry forums, supplier meetings, and market intelligence activities.

• Lead, coach, and develop a team of 2–3 procurement professionals supporting the Animal and Pet Nutrition business.
• Establish clear objectives, development plans, and performance expectations for direct reports.
• Foster a culture of accountability, collaboration, continuous improvement, and customer focus.
• Build procurement capabilities that support both current business needs and future growth.

• Superior collaboration skills with cross‑functional stakeholders and partners including Operations, Commercial, R&D, Quality, Regulatory, and Supply Chain teams to support business objectives.
• Provide market intelligence, pricing forecasts, and risk assessments to leadership.
• Support new product development initiatives through supplier engagement and ingredient sourcing expertise.
• Influence business decisions through data‑driven recommendations and procurement leadership.

• Drive procurement process improvements and best practices across sourcing and supplier management activities.
• Utilize spend analytics, supplier scorecards, contract management systems, and procurement tools to improve performance.
• Ensure compliance with procurement policies, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and sustainability objectives.

• Establish and monitor category performance metrics.
• Deliver measurable value through cost optimization, working capital improvements, risk reduction, and supply assurance.
• Report category performance, market conditions, and strategic initiatives to regional and global leadership.
• Support long‑term business growth through proactive category management and strategic supplier partnerships.

• Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Agricultural Economics, Animal Science, Food Science, or related field.
• 10+ years of procurement, sourcing, category management, commercial, or supply chain experience within the Animal Nutrition, Pet Food, Feed Ingredient, Feed Additive, Premix, or Agricultural Ingredient industries.
• Demonstrated expertise in…