Category Buyer

Job Summary

Job Summary

Responsible for the procurement of raw materials, communication with vendors, and ensuring quality standards of raw materials. This position has the authority to act as a purchasing agent for the Company.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan and execute raw material requirements for internal customers through ERP System.
• Reorder raw materials within lead time specifications as needed, enter purchase order with detail to quantity and cost, communicate purchase order to vendor, and confirm/update pricing as needed.
• Adherence to inventory levels based on usage, forecast, minimum and maximum inventory ranges.
• Monitor daily raw material orders/logistics to ensure on-time deliveries and efficient production.
• Contact vendors when orders do not meet our standards (Ex: out of spec, not on time, incorrect quantity)
• Maintain product reorder data including lead time, minimum order quantity, minimum and maximum inventory levels, primary and secondary vendor.
• Maintain Vendor Database with contact and ordering info for customer service and sales representatives.
• Negotiate with vendors for competitive pricing and review new products.
• Qualify new suppliers as business needs change for the organization.
• Develop and implement cost reduction programs.
• New Vendor and Product setup (price quotation and negation, raw material specs, data setup).
• Invoice approval and reconciliation by researching supplier information, invoice approval software, and ERP data.
• Maintain pricing information for the purpose of tracking and placing contracts.
• Attend weekly KPI meetings and action initiatives to improve quality, reduce cost and reduce inventory.
• Use internal Supplier Evaluation Program to monitor supplier performance.
• Assist Operations Team (Receiving/Warehouse/Production/Planning/Transport) with raw material issues, delivery and pickup times, and ensure customers and supplier are aligned.
• Work with QA to action expiring inventory, manage raw material rejections and returns, and other issues as needed.
• Due to 24-hour delivery schedules, after hours and weekend communication may be required when issues arise.
• Project Management – Develops Plans; Coordinates projects; Communicates changes and progress; Completes projects on time and budget.
• May preform other duties as required.

Required Skills

• Bachelor’s degree
• Requires one - three years of experience
• On-the-job training of 0-3 months.
• Must be proficient with MS Office programs, specifically Excel and Outlook.

Desired Skills

• Demonstrated excellence in driving consistently strong profitable sales growth
• Experience working with Procurement/Supply Chain Planning
• Strong written, verbal communication and presentation skills
• Financial and business acumen
• Knowledge in chilled/refrigerated manufacturing industry
• Ability to communicate effectively with suppliers and internal customers
• Strong negotiation skills, interpersonal skills, and problem-solving ability
• Working knowledge of Purchase to Pay business process
• Strong understanding of ERP Systems
• Build and maintain relationships with internal and external stakeholders
• Ability to read and interpret raw material specifications and supplier documents
• Work independently in a face-paced environment
• Self-starter able to conceptualize and drive initiatives forward
• Positive attitude and motivated by contributing to the overall success of the team
• Obsessive attention to detail, well organized and able to juggle many projects at once
• Passionate about food
• Willing to address difficult situations head on with patience and respect

Responsibility

• Works with little supervision and work is not reviewed. Exercises discretion within areas of responsibility.
• Advises others within the organization on matters within area of expertise.
• Receive customer questions and responds within prescribed areas of knowledge.
• Position is directly responsible for generating revenue within product line or territory.
• Ineffective actions could result in significant loss of time, resources and/or could have moderate impact on the organization’s public image. Decisions or actions have a significant impact on the organization. Errors are difficult to detect and may be difficult and/or costly to correct. Decisions may have a significant impact on resources and organizational effectiveness; funding, productivity, service, quality, security of assets or external relationships may be adversely affected.

Working Conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those a Category Buyer encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.

Physical Demands/Efforts

• Work requires little or no physical effort.

Mental & Visual Demands

• Work performed by this position requires a siginficant level of mental concentration to manage multiple complex tasks.
• Work requires frequent visual effort for extended periods of time.

Work Environment and Hazards

• Employee typically works in a normal office environment free from noise and hazards with occasional exposure to heat and cold.
• This position has limited exposure to hazards that require the exercise of caution with the little likelihood of injury.
• Less than 10% travel is required for this position. Travel may be out-of-state and occasionally require overnight stays.

Americans with Disabilities Act

Kettle Cuisine complies with all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and state disability laws. This means we will not discriminate against qualified individuals with a disability in any phase of the employment relationship including application for employment, hiring, promotions and/or advancement opportunities, termination, compensation, training and any other conditions or privileges of employment.

Core Values

Kettle Cuisine takes the utmost pride in its people, products and reputation. Each employee is expected to understand and live our Core Values every day.

Honor Food We create and produce the best tasting, safest, all natural recipes that strive for perfection in every batch, from bench to kettle

Honor Each Other We seek to develop trusting, respectful and mutually rewarding relationships with all our team members and business partners

Honor Development We recognize and nurture each other?s talents, strengths and interests in order to further strengthen and grow our team

Honor Innovation We continually strive for creative and sustainable ways to achieve excellence

Pay Range for Category Buyer

The Category Buyer base pay range $65,000 - 80,000 USD/annually. The listed salary range represents Kettle Cuisine?s good faith estimate for this position and represents the minimum and maximum for new hire salaries for the Remote location only. Ranges will be reviewed on a regular basis. An employee?s rate of pay within the range is determined by their qualifications, relevant experience, and demonstrated performance over time. In addition to those factors, we believe in the importance of pay equity and consider internal equity of our current team members as a part of any final offer. Hiring at the maximum of the range would not be typical to allow for future and continued salary growth. The Category Buyer position is eligible for our comprehensive benefits package and is eligible for the annual discretionary bonus program up to 10%. Kettle Cuisine and all its legal entities comply with all federal, state, and local minimum wage laws.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit their application online using the link below.