Sr. Buyer, Direct Materials

Florida Crystals is a leading domestic sugar producer and North America’s first fully integrated cane sugar company, guiding our sugar from farm to table.  We are America’s first and only producer of certified organic sugar, grown and harvested in the United States. Our renewable energy facility is the largest of its kind in North America and provides clean energy that powers our sugar operations, which helps us reduce our use of fossil fuels.  Florida Crystals also sustainably farms rice, sweet corn and other vegetables in rotation with our sugarcane.  Our rice mill is the only rice mill in Florida. 

OVERVIEW

Under the general guidance of the Director, Direct Materials, the Senior Buyer is responsible for acting as a strategic sourcing and subject matter expert for assigned categories within packaging, ingredients, and/or process chemicals, identifying new sources of supply that can be leveraged and optimized by the business. The Senior Buyer makes sound business decisions with little or no direction, has a full understanding of market trends, market analysis, and supplier negotiations process.  The Direct Materials Senior Buyer must have a solid understanding and demonstrated ability to complete analysis of assigned categories by producing relevant metrics and generating SAP reports as well as the ability to make sound business decisions.  The Direct Materials Senior Buyer will work in a collaborative team environment and is responsible for maintaining positive business relationships with both internal and external customers. This position is also responsible for providing guidance to less experienced Purchasing Staff while encouraging teamwork and leading by example.

EDUCATION AND WORK EXPERIENCES

• Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited university required. Degree major in Supply Chain, Business, or related field is preferred
• 5+ years of applicable purchasing experience required
  • Experience buying packaging materials preferred.
• 5+ years of experience utilizing an ERP system (Buying, Researching, Reporting & Analysis, etc.) 

DETAILED ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Conduct strategic sourcing events and category purchasing management for facilities located in US and Canada.
• Develop commodity strategies with a focus on product supply, quality and capacity planning.
• Develop and present market-competitive category management strategies covering the assigned commodity groups.
• Provides current marketplace trends in price, suppliers, and/or other conditions affecting business in assigned categories with ability to analyze supply & demand factors within key categories.
• Direct negotiation of cost reductions based on cost modeling, product and supplier benchmarking, category market analysis, extended global or regional agreements and provide market intelligence.
• Independently negotiates contracts, price, and supplier agreements 
• Independently completes one on one negotiations 
• Evaluates, qualifies, and selects suppliers based on quality, service, cost and capability to support overall company product manufacturing processes.
• Develop category budget targeting to achieve optimal PPV results.
• Delivers on cost savings and process improvement initiatives 
• 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.
• Develop strategic analysis of assigned categories
• Responsible for processing a high volume of requisitions from multiple sites under assigned categories

• Ability to consolidate, analyze, and report on ERP and marketplace information 
• 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
• Ensures all agreements, purchases, and initiatives comply with established department policies and procedures 

• Ensures that all suppliers are in compliance with established company credentials for specified category 
• Ensures all agreements, purchases, and initiatives comply with established department policies and procedures
• Completes special projects and other duties as assigned

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

• Strong analytical and numeracy skills, combined with advanced Excel and IT skills.
• SAP experience is strongly preferred.
• Knowledge of Purchasing practices and legislation (required), especially within the Food & Beverage industry (preferred)
• Strong negotiation & influencing skills
• Commercially astute
• Results-driven, combined with a 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, Powerpoint, and Outlook on an Advanced Level

• Operations Management (Intermediate)
• Analytical Thinking (Advanced)
• Supply Chain Management (Advanced)
• Supplier Relationship Management (Advanced)
• Inventory Management (Advanced)
• Continuous Improvement (Intermediate)
• Category Management (Intermediate)
• Enterprise Resources Planning (Intermediate)
• Supplier Negotiations (Advanced)
• Material Resource Planning (Advanced)
• Contracts (Advanced)
• Business Strategy and Financial Acumen (Intermediate)
• Analysis and Reporting (Advanced)
• 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.