Procurement Category Manager - Agriculture Commodities

At Britvic, we make, market and sell great-tasting soft drinks, offering refreshments to billions of consumers worldwide. We're constantly refreshing and reimagining our business, ensuring it's innovative and evolving while staying true to our vision – to be the most dynamic soft drinks company, creating a better tomorrow. We've been home to iconic brands for over 100 years, and our relevance is anchored in an authentic heritage. Delivering our vision is down to the passion of our people, and we create conditions for everyone to thrive and grow. From our international supply chain and network of partners, we export to over 100 countries, offering opportunities for our people and businesses to grow.

Job Overview

Britvic's Procurement team is responsible for sourcing all goods and services the business needs to operate. As Category Manager – Agricultural Ingredients, you will be responsible for providing assurance of supply and cost competitiveness for the portfolio of Juices used in Britvic's products. You will develop category strategies, build efficient supplier relationships, manage risks, comply with procurement governance processes, and lead the sustainability agenda for the category, working closely with suppliers to implement sustainability and ethical standards across the juice portfolio.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies for Juices at a group level
• Identify synergies between business units, driving supply, financial, and sustainability benefits
• Develop a robust Pipeline of Value for the Ingredients Portfolio
• Develop the Sustainability Roadmap and deliver Britvic's Sustainability Agenda
• Work with the Value Engineering Team to identify cost reduction opportunities
• Be the subject matter expert for Juice spend categories
• Participate in functional projects and engage suppliers where appropriate
• Deliver savings/cost avoidance in line with budget forecast
• Maximise spend under contract and conduct commercial negotiations/tenders
• Develop and maintain excellent supplier relationships to drive value over time
• Act as a point of escalation for resolving supplier performance issues
• Adhere to relevant Purchasing Policies and Processes
• Be an ambassador for Procurement internally and externally

Knowledge, Skills & Experience

• Advanced knowledge of Ingredients categories (especially Agriculture)
• Strong understanding of International Supply Chain and Regulatory Environments
• Strong Experience in Tender processes: RFI, RFP and e-auctions
• Strong Category Management experience
• Good understanding of FMCG product development and manufacturing processes
• Strong analytic skills
• Good negotiation skills, and willing to challenge the status quo
• Demonstrable cross-functional stakeholder management and influencing skills
• Good interpersonal skills
• Strong time management and organisational skills
• Experience working with suppliers across different countries and cultures
• Ability to work at pace to deliver required outcomes
• Ability to deal with ambiguous situations and make rational decisions
• Demonstrated success working in a cross functional team environment
• Enthusiasm and a \"can do\" attitude, showing initiative and drive
• Ability to request and obtain help at the appropriate time and work under pressure
• Good working knowledge of systems including SAP Ariba, Cirtuo, BW
• High level of competency in Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel

Education

Bachelor's degree preferably in Business or Engineering is required.

Certifications

• CIPS qualification is desirable