Senior Procurement Manager, Agricultural Commodities & Sustainability, Africa

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Job Description Summary:

Position Overview:

Our vision is loved brands, done sustainably, for a better shared future.  The Senior Procurement Manager of Agricultural Commodities & Sustainability will support current lead for Africa in overseeing the sourcing, procurement, and management of critical agricultural commodities for our operations across the African continent as described in the responsibilities below. This role requires deep expertise in agricultural markets, supply chain management, and procurement strategies. The successful candidate will be responsible for driving cost efficiencies, ensuring supply resilience, and maintaining the highest standards of quality and sustainability.

What You’ll Do for Us:

Category management

• Establish & Implement sourcing strategy for the portfolio that is in line with Operating Unit’s strategy and ensures alignment with global leads for each category. – keeping with the 4 pillars of continuity of supply, competitiveness, quality, and sustainability 
• Stakeholder management through education programs, workshops, & info sharing.
• Build resilience of supply across the sensitive and risky categories
• Ensure alignment on protocols impacting sourcing across the various stakeholders – CPS( Commercial Products Supply ) -R&D, CPS, bottlers, marketing, Technical OU(Operating Units)
• Develop and nurture supplier relationships to support our strategy.
• Lead regional negotiations
• Support the implementation of the sustainability goals the company has set and take part in the shaping of projects that impact the geography.
• Implement practices and tools to support the procurement activities effectively.

Negotiation responsibilities: 

• Collect volume and specific needs (preferred INCOTERMs, pack constraints…) from the CPS plants, bottlers, Operating Unit
• Lead Pre-Negotiation discussions with customers to understand needs, share context, and cost trends as well as post-negotiation sessions with results
• Coordinate and cooperate with global lead on specific category – even if local buy
• Develop white paper around the category strategies for the region through lens of the category itself and the needs of the specific OU/customer
• Apply Company guidance policies, chart of authority, confidentiality & code of during the procurement processes.

Other responsibilities:

• Collect the relevant regional procurement data for the cost forecast, provide data to the regional finance department, CPS and global if needed
• Stakeholder alignment to explain strategy and gather information on needs and future trends to prepare the supply base.
• Provide market updates in the various forums, regional, global, R&D, finance etc.
• Gather internal & external data and analyses of industry knowledge to define strategy.
• Generate business value growth by promoting end-to-end supply chain optimization, and constant focus on decreasing complexity (i.e. spec harmonization).
• Support regional new product launches 
• Influence decisions to develop new product/innovations to promote resilient commodities and multi sourcing purchase. 
• Incident resolution: after failed attempts from the vendor / planning schedulers – help manage supplier communication and lead appropriate settlement discussions with Suppliers. Specifically, provide support for write off cost avoidance. 
• Ensure regional legal aspects of contracts are covered
• Participate/Lead the regional projects related to juice supply with the cross-functional teams
• Manage SGP programs, sourcing sustainability, collaborate on projects regarding all other parameters of sustainability – water, carbon footprint, deforestation etc. Provide road maps for the various categories
• Maintain databases around juice recommendations and price trends

Qualification & Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience is required
• The ability to lead, prioritize, collaborate and execute complex projects is required
• Prior experience in agricultural sectors in an added advnatage
• Relationship management (suppliers, contractors, bottlers) knowledge of third-party supplier/contractor culture/core competencies is required
• Knowledge of supplier capabilities and performance to enhance and manage relationships
• Must possess the ability to think outside of the box and translate complex business issues into simple solutions.
• Courageous leadership
• Able to work in ambiguous situations and have a sense of urgency
• Negotiation skills
• Strong analytical skills and background
• Concise and impactful communication skills with strong presentation skills
• Ability to deliver results both individually and collectively
• Strong presentation skills, concise, impactful
• Stakeholder management skills
• Influence and mediation skills
• Sustainability practice knowledge
• Logistics and freight knowledge
• Ability to interact with the most senior leaders of large global suppliers
• Independent and self-motivated
• Ability to manage tasks and lead projects
• Simplify and standardize whenever possible

What We Can Do For You: 

• Iconic Brand: Work on the most recognized brand in the world and be part of developing the brand's next chapter.
• Exposure to World Class Leaders: Availability to global marketing leaders that will expand your network and expose you to emerging digital platforms and marketing insights.
• Sustainability: Be part of a company that is committed to water stewardship, sustainable agriculture, sustainable packaging, and climate.
• Social Impact: Join a company that aims to improve people's lives through diversity, equity, inclusion, and community engagement.

Skills:

Our Purpose and Growth Culture:

We are taking deliberate action to nurture an inclusive culture that is grounded in our company purpose, to refresh the world and make a difference. We act with a growth mindset, take an expansive approach to what’s possible and believe in continuous learning to improve our business and ourselves. We focus on four key behaviors – curious, empowered, inclusive and agile – and value how we work as much as what we achieve. We believe that our culture is one of the reasons our company continues to thrive after 130+ years. Visit Our Purpose and Vision to learn more about these behaviors and how you can bring them to life in your next role at Coca-Cola.