Head of Procurement in Andover

Company Overview

Rich’s, also known as Rich Products Corporation, is a family‑owned food company dedicated to inspiring possibilities.

From cakes and icings to pizza, appetizers and specialty toppings, our products are used in homes, restaurants and bakeries around the world.

Beyond great food, our customers also gain insights to help them stay competitive, no matter their size.

Our portfolio includes creative solutions geared at helping food industry professionals compete in foodservice, retail, in‑store bakery, deli, and prepared foods, among others.

With more than 13,500 associates working globally in 100 locations and annual sales of $5.9 billion, Rich’s is a global leader with a focus on everything that family makes possible.

Rich’s — Infinite Possibilities.

One Family.

Purpose Statement

The Head of Procurement is responsible for all direct and indirect strategic areas, leading the buying team to achieve procurement goals and objectives, supporting and guiding the Category Managers across all aspects of procurement activity.

The role includes the creation of category sourcing strategies to identify best‑in‑class suppliers who can deliver and exceed expectations through SRM activities.

It also ensures pipeline projects that deliver value for money are executed at speed to provide much needed future cost savings for the business across short‑ and long‑term planning horizons.

The Head of Procurement will discover effective ways to reduce cost across the supply base utilizing TCO opportunities that directly affect ROCS projects and key target deliverables within the procurement arena.

The 2025‑26 procurement strategic plan is created across the four pillars: Indirect P2P, SRM, Risk Management, and Leveraging Digital capabilities & analytics.

This role is for a fixed term contract of 12 months.

• Key Accountabilities / Outcomes
• Member of the Global Procurement Steering Team creating strategic procurement direction across the globe, contributing to strategic procurement planning in alignment with the local UK BU.
• Providing procurement guidance, expertise, and support across Bakery, F’real, and TCCS (Toppings, Creams and Culinary Solutions).
• Creation and implementation of procurement strategies and best practice.
• Keeping abreast of commodity markets, attending WHQ commodity updates, and networking within the industry to ensure timely, cost‑effective contracts are secured.
• Responsible for the buying of strategic commodities: chocolate, buyer, flour, cocoa, F’real milkshake co‑manufacturer.
• Support the creation of effective sourcing strategies for all categories of spend across the Kraljic grid.
• Regular ROCS and Flash reporting on a monthly basis is timely, accurate and reflective of the procurement decisions undertaken.
• Develop and maintain high levels of strategic relationships with suppliers, resolving complex issues.
• Responsible for the legal supply contracts and the creation and agreement of all legal agreements with suppliers.
• Focus on developing ways to extract innovation from key suppliers via innovation days, site visits, and regular R&D communications.
• Track and report key functional metrics to ensure KPI targets are met.
• Become involved in important negotiations with suppliers, particularly in deadlock situations, resolving the issue while maintaining supplier relations.
• Drive the use of e‑auctions, multiple tenders, benchmarking activities, and RFIs, using Ariba as the platform of choice to determine best value across all categories.
• Identify and help execute the most appropriate risk management tools for products or categories at potential future risk.
• Work with the Sustainability Associates in the US and local R&D to create supplier documentation and project deliverables linked to our requirements, with key milestones and dates mapped out for critical sustainable category areas.

These initiatives will profoundly affect our ability to service customers in the future.

• Provide support to other departments and carry out any other duties as necessary to support the wider business.

You must comply with Rich Products Health and Safety policies and procedures at all times.

• Knowledge / Skills / Experience
• Critical
• Deep and extensive level of procurement knowledge and experience across FMCG categories.
• Excellent negotiation skills.
• Strategic procurement thinking agility.
• Knowledge of risk management strategies.
• Strong ability to keep calm under pressure.
• Strong leadership capabilities.
• Knowledge of SRM tools and techniques.
• Contract law knowledge.
• Knowledge of sourcing and procurement techniques as well as a ‘dexterity’ in reading the market.
• Results driven.
• People orientated, ability to motivate and engage.
• Through understanding of all procurement tender processes.

Desirable

• Experience of leading, managing and motivating teams.
• Experience of delivering procurement strategies.
• Ariba knowledge.
• Ideally from a food/bakery background, FMCG.
• MCIPS qualified.
• Proven record of sustained delivery of cost savings and cost avoidance achievements.
• Risk Management expertise.

Rich Products Corporation welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities.

Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.

#J-18808-Ljbffr