Procurement Sourcing Category Manager

The Sourcing Manager is responsible for providing the bridge between product and procurement teams managing the communications between local and international stakeholders.

Working in collaboration with the Category Managers, you will be responsible for identifying existing cross-market sourcing opportunities to onboard NID SKUs into the portfolio more efficiently. You will work closely with the local Ingredient, Culinary, FSQA and Supply Chain Operations (SCO) teams in your market to facilitate the onboarding of NID SKUs in the portfolio and act as the gatekeeper for all requests ensuring that they don’t add additional complexity to the operation.

As our Sourcing Manager, you’ll be the go-to link between product and procurement, making sure new ingredients find their way into our boxes to delight our customers. You’ll team up with Category Managers and cross-functional colleagues to spot cross-market opportunities, keep processes simple, and make sourcing more efficient. In this collaborative role, you’ll connect with local and international teams, gain visibility across markets, and help shape the future of our delicious portfolio.

The role will report into the International Sourcing Lead, with a dotted line into the local Head of Culinary with regular interactions with international stakeholders and peer Sourcing Managers in other Hello Fresh markets.

• Leads the project management for new ingredient requests between culinary, product, and procurement teams
• Owns workflow for new ingredient requests, once handed over from product operations them and acts as gatekeeper responsible for ensuring strict adherence to the standardized process ultimately managing the progression and or rejection of all new ingredient requests
• Aligning with the local NID/Ingredient Specialist to ensure all sourcing tasks are completed on time, in line with the critical path. Gatekeeper for all NID requests, ensuring only SKUs that pass Gate 2 (feasibility) progress to Culinary SKU testing
• Reviews all new ingredient requisition proposals in market for completeness before connecting with local suppliers or handing over to category managers for sourcing/tender if multiple markets are involved
• Manages stakeholder engagement and communications between local and international to ensure NID approach consistent with other markets
• Coordinates new developments with category managers, sensory testing mgmt, culinary, FSQA and other markets
• Facilitates speedy SKU onboarding, but also ensures new SKUs creation is coordinated across markets, which includes a review of potential suitable alternative SKUs already available in other markets’/global portfolio
• Support category managers in cost savings initiatives through improved SKU catalog management and to identify opportunities for SKU consolidation/rationalization or to also source from existing international catalogs
• Support SKU improvement initiatives with culinary and quality teams to tweak specifications or formulations that yield improved ingredient performance

The ideal candidate for this position will exhibit the following skills and competencies:

• Demonstrable experience (3+ years) in Procurement/Category sourcing
• Ideally a degree in a business or related subject
• Excellent verbal and written communication, collaboration, and self-management skills with a strong focus on teamwork.
• Proficient in English, customer-oriented, and able to interact with business leaders and vendors at a senior level.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and critical thinking skills with a focus on continuous process improvement.
• Ability to lead and influence business partners, team members, and other stakeholders, present ideas effectively, and facilitate discussion with multiple inputs.
• Change management, process improvement, and risk assessment skills with experience managing hybrid and flexible delivery-focused teams in a global organisation.
• Creating an environment (culture) that inspires people to generate novel, data based solutions
• Aptitude for establishing and sustaining trusting relationships amongst stakeholders across the organisation in local and international teams
• Abilit…