Director of Purchasing-Feed

Foster Farms has been serving families since 1939. Since the founding days, Foster Farms has always been committed to providing consumers with the highest-quality, best-tasting poultry products available. Our commitment to excellence, honesty, quality, service, and our valued Team Members will shine through in everything we do.

Foster Farms is always looking for talented individuals to join the Foster Farms team. We offer the experience of a large organization; however, we operate like a family business. More than half of our job openings are filled by internal promotion, and we encourage Team Members to gain a variety of experiences across different functional groups.

Salary Range: $136,700-$182,275 per year

Purpose of Position:

To provide leadership and overall management of the company’s category spend in feed nutrition ingredients including soymeal and back-up for corn--annualized spend in the entire category is in excess of $500 million.  Will be responsible for the comprehensive management and development of the feed nutrition ingredients category, leading the sourcing, contracting, ordering and logistics of supply for our internal feed milling operations located throughout the country.  In addition, this position will trade and merchandize our $200 million dollar soymeal business in support of all company feed mill needs. This includes supply security, logistics truck and rail, supplier management and optimization, strategic bids and negotiated contracts, commodity risk management, market assessments, sustainability opportunities, and budgeting.

This position will manage a team of buyers and ensure that in all instances, they are positively contributing to the company’s success, sustainability and profitability through cost savings and continuous improvement projects, focused energy sustainability, regulatory management, inventory cycles and costs and through the elimination of waste as identified. Position reports to the Senior Vice President of Commodities.

Essential Job Functions:

• Responsible for the comprehensive development of Commodity futures trading, rail and truck logistics Feed Ingredients strategies and sourcing management for meat and protein meals, micro-ingredients, amino acids, minerals, vitamins, coccidiostats, feed fats additives, and other feed ingredients that drive cost reduction and usage optimization.  
• Investigate, assess value, and manage alternative sources and sustainability opportunities.
• Manage a comprehensive commodity risk management program effectively across $200 to $300 million in commodities as part of the overall $500 million spend area. Develop financial forecasts, thorough market analysis, market risk strategies, budgets and reporting. 
• Generate, support and oversee requests for proposals and quotes, evaluate benefits and financial analysis, create and author contracts, and negotiate terms for Feed Ingredients and other areas as required.
• Provide purchasing support for ordering and budgeting for internal and external feed facilities. Support in the budgeting, planning, financial justification and acquisition of various products required for our feed mills and other feed ingredient facilities. Support business units, as needed.
• Support Commodities Senior Vice President in the preparation and tracking of sourcing objectives, support special projects, and development of new initiatives, cross-functional team building, monitoring and development of standardized policies and procedures. Tracking and competing against our Agristats peer group.
• Research regulatory requirements, supply or contract issues, and make necessary improvements ensuring Foster Farms remains in compliance and at best advantage.
• Oversee the evaluation and selection of suppliers. Establish performance guarantees for customer protection based on specifications; implement Supplier Management tools for buy spaces.
• Supervise and manage 2 direct reports. Develop and ensure company and department policy compliance with respect to role responsibilities. 
• Support others on the team with purchases of corn, vegetable and animal fats, amino acids, vitamins and mineral needs along with other feed ingredients.

Additional Functions:

• Special projects as needed, including reports RFP, RFQ’s and tasks in support of our total feed and nutrition areas.
• Occasional back up to Corn Grain Merchandizing, fats and molasses purchasing and others during vacations and time offs.
• Be a leader to drive department performance, cost savings, vendor consolidation and growth, savings and company profitability.

• Bachelor's degree in Business, or equivalent required, MBA or Masters in Ag Econ preferred.
• Must have five to seven years' work experience in Sourcing with both material management and risk management of Commodities preferably feed ingredients, California experience a plus.
• Must have proven leadership, project management, initiative and a strong analytical/problem solver. Must be flexible and willing to adapt to changing business and environmental demands and work well within cross-functional teams. The operations supported are 24 hours a day and seven days a week.
• Strong analytical skills, with highly proficient use of Excel and Word.
• Excellent knowledge of MS Office applications: word processing, presentation, database management including PowerPoint.
• Experience in creating supply contracts, in procurement system operation, procedures and SAP highly desired.
• Demonstrated leadership and problem-solving skills.
• Strong communication abilities, capable of simplifying complex data.
• Excellent Interpersonal and negotiating skills, strong accounting and some tax knowledge.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.

Foster Farms is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Minorities, Females, Veterans and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Foster Farms participates in E-Verify during the hire process at all locations for all new Team Members.