Procurement Head

Job Summary

The Head of Procurement will lead the sourcing strategy, vendor management, inventory optimization, and cost-control initiatives for the company. This role oversees the end-to-end purchasing of food-grade agricultural raw materials, specialized packaging, capital machinery, and maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) supplies. The position ensures strict compliance with international food safety standards such as FSSAI and WHO/UNICEF guidelines, contributing to the company’s goal of delivering high-quality nutritional products efficiently and cost-effectively.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute multi-year procurement strategies for key agricultural commodities including peanuts, milk powders, vegetable oils, sugar, and micro-nutrients.
• Monitor global and domestic commodity market trends, crop harvests, price movements, and weather patterns to optimize purchase timing and hedge prices.
• Establish and maintain strategic long-term relationships with international suppliers, humanitarian agencies, and local agricultural producers.
• Identify and implement cost-saving opportunities through strategic negotiations, bulk buying, alternate vendor development, and value engineering without compromising quality.
• Enforce strict raw material quality standards in collaboration with Quality Assurance/Quality Control (QA/QC) teams, ensuring compliance with FSSAI, ISO 22000, HACCP, and UNICEF/WHO guidelines.
• Conduct vendor audits, evaluate risk scorecards, and implement dual/multi-sourcing strategies to mitigate supply chain disruptions.
• Draft, negotiate, and finalize commercial contracts, Service Level Agreements (SLAs), and extended credit terms to maximize working capital efficiency.
• Lead and mentor the procurement team, setting clear Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) aligned with business objectives.
• Collaborate with Plant Operations, Production, QA, Logistics, and Finance teams to streamline procure-to-pay (P2P) processes and optimize Material Requirements Planning (MRP) within ERP systems.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree: B.Tech / B.E. in Food Technology, Agricultural, Chemical, or Mechanical Engineering, or B.Sc. in Food Science or Chemistry.
• Master’s Degree (Preferred): MSc (Food/Agriculture), MBA, or PGDM in Supply Chain Management, Materials Management, or Operations from a reputed institute.
• Deep expertise in agricultural commodity sourcing, including knowledge of crop seasons, grade specifications, and price hedging strategies.
• Strong skills in supplier ecosystem development, including vendor identification, auditing, qualification, and development.
• Advanced negotiation and commercial acumen, including mastery of pricing structures, total cost modeling, and legal contract drafting.
• Hands-on experience with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems such as SAP, Oracle, or Tally, and procurement analytics dashboards.
• Familiarity with national and international food safety and quality standards including FSSAI, ISO 22000, HACCP, and UNICEF/WHO certifications.
• Excellent strategic vision, leadership, analytical thinking, stakeholder management, communication, and crisis management skills.

Preferred Skills

• Experience in FMCG, Food Processing, Dairy, or Nutraceutical industries.
• Proven ability to synthesize complex market data and trade intelligence into actionable procurement strategies.
• High emotional intelligence and superior communication skills to influence cross-functional teams and external partners.
• Agility in managing acute supply disruptions and global logistics challenges.

Experience

• 14 to 18 years of total professional experience.