General Manager Procurement

Job Title: General Manager – Procurement (Biscuit & Bakery)

Location: Dhulagarh

Reporting To: VP-Supply Chain & Procurement

Role Overview

The General Manager – Procurement will lead end-to-end sourcing and procurement strategy for a high-growth biscuit and bakery business. The role carries full accountability for cost optimization, supply continuity, quality assurance, and governance across critical raw material and packaging categories.

This position plays a strategic role in strengthening margin resilience, mitigating commodity risk, ensuring food safety compliance, and building a future-ready procurement organization capable of supporting multi-plant, national-scale operations.

Key Responsibilities

1. Procurement Strategy & Category Management

• Develop and execute a comprehensive procurement strategy aligned with business growth, cost, quality, and service objectives.
• Lead sourcing across key categories including:
• Flour and wheat derivatives
• Sugar
• Edible oils and specialty fats
• Cocoa / chocolate
• Dairy inputs
• Flavours, emulsifiers, leavening agents
• Packaging materials (flexibles, laminates, cartons, trays, films)
• Build long-term category roadmaps incorporating alternate sourcing and risk mitigation strategies.

2. Supplier Management & Risk Mitigation

• Develop and manage a robust supplier ecosystem including qualification, audits, performance reviews, and rationalization.
• Establish structured supplier scorecards covering cost, OTIF, quality, compliance, and service.
• Negotiate commercial contracts and service-level agreements.
• Drive dual/multi-sourcing and business continuity planning.
• Manage import sourcing and commodity hedging exposure where applicable.

3. Cost Leadership & Working Capital Optimization

• Deliver structured cost reduction initiatives through:
• Should-cost modelling
• RFx and e-auctions
• Value engineering
• Alternate specifications
• Optimize working capital through improved payment terms, VMI models, and inventory management.
• Drive Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) approach across categories.

4. Quality, Compliance & Governance

• Partner with R&D, Quality, and Manufacturing to finalize specifications and shelf-life standards.
• Ensure compliance with regulatory and food safety standards (FSSAI, HACCP, ISO 22000).
• Own procurement governance, policies, delegation of authority (DOA), and audit readiness.
• Champion ESG initiatives including sustainable sourcing and recyclable packaging adoption.

5. Digital & Process Excellence

• Leverage ERP platforms (SAP MM / Oracle / Ariba / Coupa) to enhance procurement efficiency.
• Implement spend analytics and reporting dashboards for decision support.
• Institutionalize structured sourcing processes and governance frameworks.

6. Team Leadership & Capability Building

• Lead and mentor a high-performing procurement team across categories and manufacturing locations.
• Develop succession strength and functional capability.
• Foster a culture of accountability, data-driven decisions, and commercial excellence.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Annual cost savings and P&L impact
• Price variance vs benchmark
• Total Cost of Ownership improvement
• Supplier OTIF and quality incident reduction
• Contract coverage and spend under management
• Payment term optimization
• Raw material inventory days
• Audit and compliance score

Qualifications & Experience

• MBA / PGDM in Supply Chain / Operations / Finance or equivalent.
• 10–12 years of overall experience with at least 5+ years leading procurement in Food / Biscuit / Bakery / FMCG manufacturing.
• Deep expertise in agri-commodities, ingredients, and packaging procurement.
• Exposure to import sourcing and commodity hedging is preferred.
• Strong commercial negotiation and contract management capability.
• Hands-on experience with ERP systems and spend analytics tools.

Key Competencies

• Strategic thinking with strong execution capability
• Commercial acumen and negotiation strength
• Risk management mindset
• Stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration
• Leadership and team development capability
• Governance orientation with high integrity