Buyer, Direct Materials

Florida Crystals Corporation is a fully integrated cane sugar company. Florida Crystals regeneratively farms sugarcane and rice in South Florida, where it owns two sugar mills, a sugar refinery, a packaging and distribution center, Florida's only rice mill, a compost facility, and one of the largest renewable power plants of its kind in the U.S., which uses sugarcane fiber to generate eco-friendly energy that powers its sugar operations. Florida Crystals owns one of the largest Regenerative Organic Certified® farms in the U.S. and its Florida Crystals® products are the only ROC™ sugar grown and milled sugar in the country. Florida Crystals owns ASR Group International, Inc., a holding company that conducts operations through its subsidiaries. The ASR Group® family of companies make up the world’s largest refiner and marketer of cane sugar. Florida Crystals is headquartered in West Palm Beach, Florida. Learn more at www.FloridaCrystalsCorp.com.

OVERVIEW

Under the general guidance of the Sr. Strategic Sourcing Buyer or Sr. Manager, Direct Materials Procurement, the Strategic Packaging Buyer is responsible for supporting the sourcing strategy, category management, and supplier relationship activities for assigned packaging categories. The Buyer serves as a subject matter expert for designated packaging materials and supports the identification, evaluation, and development of new sources of supply that improve cost, quality, service, innovation, sustainability, and supply continuity.

The Buyer supports the development and execution of sourcing strategies, supplier negotiations, contract management activities, and cost reduction initiatives while maintaining an understanding of packaging industry trends, raw material market dynamics, supplier capabilities, and emerging market opportunities. The role works closely with suppliers and internal stakeholders to identify value engineering opportunities, manage supply risks, and support business growth objectives.

The Buyer is responsible for analyzing category spend, supplier performance, market conditions, and key business metrics to provide data-driven recommendations that support sound business decisions. This role requires the demonstrated ability to conduct analysis, develop meaningful reports and metrics, and communicate recommendations to stakeholders across the organization.

Working in a collaborative team environment, the Buyer develops and maintains positive relationships with internal customers, suppliers, and cross-functional partners including Operations, Planning, Quality, Manufacturing, R&D, Marketing, and Logistics. The Buyer supports both strategic initiatives and the day-to-day management of assigned packaging categories by monitoring supplier performance, resolving supply and service issues, supporting inventory and continuity of supply objectives, coordinating product transitions, managing supplier communications, and ensuring compliance with procurement policies and contractual commitments.

The Strategic Packaging Buyer is expected to drive continuous improvement, support packaging innovation and sustainability initiatives, identify cost savings and value creation opportunities, and contribute to the achievement of the company's financial, operational, and supply chain objectives. The buyer will support the day-to-day transaction and activities of the assigned categories.

DETAILED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Responsible for processing a high volume of requisitions from multiple sites under assigned categories
• Responsible for PO confirmations, coordinating deliveries, manages past due PO’s
• Prepares and coordinates agreements for assigned commodities and/or services
• Utilizes the company ERP system to run complex reports and perform analytics
• Releases orders in a timely fashion while closely adhering to established company guidelines
• Independently negotiates contracts, price, and supplier agreements
• Evaluates, qualifies, and selects suppliers based on quality, service, cost and capability
• Ensures all agreements, purchases, and initiatives comply with established department policies and procedures
• Stays abreast of current marketplace trends in price, suppliers, and/or other conditions affecting business in assigned categories
• Maintains confidentiality of proprietary business information at all times
• Performs other duties as assigned
• Manage and negotiate annual pricing agreements and contractual needs, specifications, payment terms, product delivery with support from Sr Strategic Sourcing Buyer
• Participate in leverage cost and technology advances and supplier responsiveness.

• Ability to successfully negotiate price, terms, delivery, and volume levels with suppliers
• Contributing and supporting the development and presentation of market-competitive category management strategies covering the assigned sub-categories and commodity groups.
• Contribute to the Procurement team’s performance against departmental and internal customer KPIs and SLAs.
• Efficient execution of all purchasing standard operating procedures to secure materials and services to meet the needs of the business.
• Building and maintaining collaborative relationships between the Procurement team and its internal customers, that provide for appropriate levels of service and support being maintained and for priorities being addressed.
• Development and support of subject-matter expertise for the assigned commodities and sub-categories, employing analysis of supply markets & trends data.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills including the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively with internal and external members of the Supply Chain as well as present information in a clear and concise manner to all audience levels up to C-suite
• Completes special projects as assigned

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCES

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university plus 2-5 years of applicable Purchasing experience
• Degree major in Supply Chain, Business, or related field is preferred but not required
• At least 2 years of experience utilizing an ERP system (Buying, Researching, Reporting, etc.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITY

• None

ESSENTIAL CAPABILITIES (KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES AND PERSONAL ATTRIBUTES)

• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, combined with advanced Excel and IT skills.
• SAP experience strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of Purchasing practices and legislation, especially within the Food & Beverage industry
• Strong negotiation & influencing skills
• Commercially astute
• Results driven, combined with positive attitude, high level of energy, passion and enthusiasm.
• High level of emotional intelligence and strong interpersonal skills.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills
• Ability to:
• Understand internal demands as they relate to the purchases of goods and services for the business
• communicate in a clear and concise manner both verbally and in writing
• analyze complex information and perform root cause analysis
• Recognize areas for Continuous Improvement strategies; recommend and implement CI strategies as assigned
• Provide excellent customer service to both internal and external customers and foster strong, open lines of communication across all levels of the organization
• Maintain confidentiality of proprietary business information at all times
• Effectively manage time, including the ability to prioritize, work within assigned deadlines, and work independently or collaboratively to accomplish organizational objectives
• Manage multiple tasks and projects while maintaining quality & accuracy standards
• Utilize Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Excel, Power point, and Outlook on an Advanced Level

• Analytical Thinking (Advanced)
• Continuous Improvement (Intermediate)
• Enterprise Resources Planning (Intermediate)
• Supplier Negotiations (Intermediate)
• Supplier Relationship Management (Intermediate)
• Contracts (Intermediate)
• Supply Chain Management (Intermediate)
• Business and Financial Acumen (Intermediate)
• Analysis and Reporting (Intermediate)
• Travel up to 20% of the time; travel will be assigned based on the current needs of the business.

LOCATION OF ROLE

• West Palm Beach, FL

We are an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, national origin, disability, veteran status or any other category protected under federal, state, or local law.  All employment is decided on the basis of qualifications, merit, and business need.