Monday - Friday; 7 am - 4 pm; Flexibility is needed to work varied hours to meet demands of position

Position Summary:

The Procurement Specialist manages contracts with vendors to ensure quality products and best prices. This position oversees the ordering of goods and services used in the production of Westby Cooperative Creamery products. Responsibilities include analyzing costs, negotiating contract details, and offering strategies and solutions to better manage costs on supplies and vendor services. Additional duties include managing inventory, tracking orders, resolving issues concerning price disputes, and making bids for a vendor’s services.

Responsibilities:

1. Oversees the procurement process, including sourcing, negotiating, and purchasing materials, supplies, services, and freight.

2. Develops and continually reviews purchasing and inventory systems/processes to continually improve process and reduce inefficiencies and risks.

3. Manages and maintains inventory, including creating and maintaining inventory tracking and monthly reconciliation process and entering ingredient, finished goods and other data in ERP system; partners with internal customers to ensure optimal stock levels and reduce carrying costs.

4. Establishes and maintains strong relationships with suppliers and vendors. Assesses costs, negotiates, maintains and manages all terms of contracts, resolves pricing conflicts, places bids and secures vendors with favorable pricing and terms to ensure timely delivery and quality of materials.

5. Analyzes supply needs while controlling procurement costs, tracks spending, and implements cost-saving initiatives.

6. Manages the reporting process for damaged materials.

7. Ensures compliance with all regulatory requirements and industry standards related to supply chain and procurement activities.

8. Leads, directs, trains, and develops shipping and receiving staff to ensure the supply chain and purchasing processes are understood, followed and completed; acts as first line response for issues; fosters a culture of continuous improvement and collaboration.

9. Supports vendor payment escalation issues by working closely with Accounts Payable.

10. May perform Accounts Payable or Accounts Receivable duties.

11. Performs other duties as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

1. Bachelor’s degree in business, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or other related field and 1 – 3 years of similar work experience or a combination of education and experience is required.

2. Strong computer skills and proficiency with Microsoft Office; Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint are required.

3. Experience with and solid understanding of Great Plains and/or other ERP systems and supply chain software required.

4. Working knowledge of business operations and processes and experience within a food manufacturing environment is preferred.

5. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are required.

6. Highly detailed with a systematic approach, sense of responsibility and positive customer focus is required.

7. Strong interpersonal, written, and verbal communication and negotiation skills are required.

8. Ability to effectively interact with all levels of personnel with professionalism is required.

9. Ability to work independently while remaining productive is required.

10. Flexibility and ability to multi-task in a fast-paced environment is required.

11. A passion for learning new skills is required.

Physical Requirements:

1. Ability to meet the physical demands of the position per work screen protocol is required.