Role Summary: The Senior Buyer for Protein will be responsible for overseeing the sourcing, negotiation, and management of fresh & frozen protein-products, ensuring optimal quality, cost-efficiency, and timely delivery. This is a new product category for Honor Foods. The individual we are looking for must have strong leadership skills, in-depth foodservice market knowledge, and the ability to drive cross-functional collaboration. Honor Foods is a foodservice redistributor selling to specialty and broadline foodservice distributors.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and implement a business plan for the category
• Conduct frequent marketplace analyses in order to effectively gauge the success of the category and adjust execution as needed
• Sell a differentiated customer experience based on data and analytics.
• Maximize sales opportunities through sales calls (primarily personal visits and some telephone calls)
• Identify and develop opportunities to generate profitable growth for Protein business
• Create and cultivate effective supplier relationships
• Develop price-to-win assessments and competitive pricing approaches to capture awards and maximize company value.
• Understand profit and loss and basic business accounting
• Maintains a strong working product knowledge, current product literature, and selling skills.
• Work in close collaboration with many internal business units to achieve sales goals and profitability metrics.
• Coordinate product and supply delivery to our distribution centers

Purchasing
Manage reporting on key performance indicators and look for ways to improve week over week, while leveraging available data and reports to understand ops performance and drive changes/insights based on those insights

• Purchasing and receiving product from vendors
• Manage and track protein inventory levels and ensure proper coverage based on our forecast.
• Ensure supply of materials and contingency plans to meet business needs by identifying potential areas of risk- recommending proposed solutions and implementing once aligned with vital collaborators.
• Keeping an accurate pricing record
• Negotiate contracts with suppliers ensuring the most optimal terms and conditions while never compromising service or quality
• Developing and maintaining an understanding of market conditions impacting Protein industry
• Effectively manage the disposition of obsolete protein inventory
• Maintain system product forecasting, vendor costing and complete purchase order costing confirmations within weekly and monthly guidelines.
• Consult with vendors regarding current orders and new protein products. Initiate orders, schedule deliveries and process related paperwork and documentation. Provide product and pricing information to sales staff. Investigate protein product quality complaints.
• Complete special projects as needed.
• Performs other duties as assigned

Education/Experience

• Education: Requires broad knowledge in a general professional or technical field normally acquired through four years of college resulting in a Bachelor's degree required.
• Excellent selling skills including consultative selling, also must have the ability to build, communicate and execute a business plan
• 8+ years of progressive experience in procurement, sourcing, or supply chain management, with a focus on fresh protein
• Strong understanding of protein sourcing, market trends, and supply chain dynamics.
• Experience managing and leading a team of procurement professionals.
• Excellent negotiation, contract management, and supplier relationship management skills.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving abilities, with the ability to analyze data and make strategic recommendations.
• Effective communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple priorities.

Skills & Qualifications

• Ability to remain calm and focused while prioritizing requests from multiple sources
• Ability to maintain and ensure confidentiality of team member and company information
• Accuracy and attention to detail
• Proficient in computer usage to include email, word processing, spreadsheets
• Knowledge of computer software and applications
• Ability to accommodate flexible schedules to meet the needs of the customer to include overtime, nights, weekends and holidays as required
• Ability to utilize equipment for the job (such as computers, cell phone, copiers, scanners, printers, etc)
• Ability to Travel 25% of the time

EXTENT OF PUBLIC CONTACT:

Must be able to interact courteously and tactfully with managers, co-workers, customers and/or vendors to the point that productivity and morale are positively affected.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee in order to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, use hands and fingers, handle or feel, reach with hands and arms, and talk and hear. The employee is frequently required to stand and walk. The employee must regularly lift and/or move up to 10 pounds and frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds.

WORKING CONDITIONS AND ENVIRONMENT:

This work is performed in a moderately noisy office environment.

EEO Statement:

Honor Foods, is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and will not discriminate against or harass any applicant or employee on any grounds prohibited under any federal, state or local law, including race, creed, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, marital status or membership in any other legally protected class. None of the questions in our application are intended to elicit information regarding any protected characteristics, nor imply any limitation; illegal preferences or discrimination based up non-job related information or protected characteristics.