Smurfit Westrock makes consumer and corrugated packaging solutions that give our customers a winning edge in the global marketplace. We partner closely with customers on everything from beverage packs and pizza boxes to trigger sprayers and fragrance pumps to paperboard used for a wide variety of packaging and shipping containers. We consider ourselves to be part of their team – as we strive for continuous improvement together.
Every day, our team members combine practical innovations and rigorous execution in operating and business facilities across North America, South America, Europe and Asia to deliver products and services that answer unique local needs. We expect to win as a company and lead the industry by achieving success together with our customers, employees and investors.
Sr. Procurement Manager
Battle Creek, MI
Career Opportunity:
We are seeking to fill the position of Mill Procurement Manager at our Battle Creek, MI location. This position manages the mill’s purchasing function and provides leadership to mill storeroom personnel. The Procurement Manager will be responsible for managing mill purchasing priorities, developing the purchasing and stores organization to deliver both short and long-term value and for managing change. This position will participate in strategic sourcing activities and negotiations with vendors- capital and routine.
The daily functions of the Procurement Manager include:
Ensuring compliance with all safety, purchasing, stores, and environmental policies, procedures, and initiatives.Managing and overseeing the Storeroom team purchasing and inventory of maintenance materials, supplies and equipment, along with capital procurement for the facility.Deploy and maintain an inventory strategy that supports the company’s supply chain point of view and operational reliability utilizing our proven management tools.Selecting vendors through appropriate procurement practices, total cost of ownership and compliance guidelines.Bid, negotiate and source local contracts for services and goods to include capital projects.Managing system capabilities as they pertain to the purchasing and inventory functions.Recommending and implementing improvements to maximize operating productivity, quality and efficiency while minimizing the total cost of ownership.Representing procurement and the facility operations on regional and national sourcing initiatives.Acting as a key member of the leadership team at the Battle Creek Mill, proactively engage stakeholders.Setting department goals and working to lead improvements across the supply function and within a facility.Working with internal customers to identify and address unmet needs that align with procurement and business unit goals to deliver long term value.Collaborating with cross-functional teams at the facility and headquarters to implement corporate initiatives.Gather, cleanse, and analyze data from multiple systems to generate insights and recommendations that drive decision-making.Measure and track results and outcomes using data from multiple systems, acting when necessary to align to targets and goalsPartner with category, legal, and contract teams to ensure that pricing and terms are managed and observedAbility to manipulate and analyze data to drive recommendations and decision-making Demonstrate an ability to collaborate and partner with stakeholders across functionsAbility to negotiate and resolve conflicts with internal and external stakeholders. Strong interpersonal skills demonstrated through effective stakeholder/supplier relationship management
What you need to succeed:
Bachelor’s degree or higher is preferred (Supply Chain, Business, or Accounting preferred)A minimum of 5 years of experience in supply chain (purchasing, inventory, engineering, maintenance or related area)Experience with inventory and storeroom managementExperience supervising and managing employeesProven negotiation skills or formal negotiation trainingExperience with Microsoft Office to include Excel (creation of spreadsheets), PowerPoint (ability to do presentations), and Word (document creation).Willing and able to travel.
Preferred Competencies:
Exhibits strong competencies in Safety Mindset and has a thorough understanding of safety policies and procedures.
Quality – Is attentive to detail and accuracy, is committed to excellence, continuously looks for improvements, finds root cause of problems, owns/acts on problems, and seeks opportunities to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Familiar with ISO and internal audits that sustain top notch quality system.
Customer Focused – Demonstrates a high level of service excellence, does what is necessary to ensure customer satisfaction; reinforces excellence as a fundamental priority. Understands and works to meet customer requirements. Listens to and responds to customers’ needs. Build relationships with and gains trust of customer by always meeting commitments.Communication – Clearly presents information through oral and written communication, reads and interprets complex information; talks with employees, customers, and suppliers; demonstrates strong listening skills.Planning/Prioritizing/Goal Setting – Manages multiple projects, prioritizes project urgency in a meaningful and practical way. Use goals to guide actions and create action plans. Organizes and schedules people and tasks. Communicates vision in a way that inspires and motivates others. Influence/Persuasion – Exhibits a ‘can-do’ approach and inspires employees to excel, uses competition to encourage others. Develops performance standards and confronts negative attitudes. Fosters a team spirit, uses tact when expressing ideas or opinions, presents new ideas to authority figures, adapts presentation to suit a particular audience, responds to objections successfully.Technical Functional Excellence – Strives to be an expert in their functional area or technical expertise. Continues to increase technical/functional knowledge through formal and informal learning. Stays current with any advances in their field of expertise; looks for ways to apply new and emerging technologies. Is sought out by others to provide functional or technical advice; demonstrates the level of skills and knowledge based on role, level, and function.Decision Making/Problem-Solving – Acts in solving problems while exhibiting judgment and a realistic understanding of issues, able to use reason even when dealing with emotional or sensitive subjects. Reviews facts and weighs options, focuses on process rather than isolated events. Integrity – Maintains professional composure and tact in challenging interactions, maintains confidences, and fosters an ethical work environment. Prevents inappropriate behavior by coworkers, gives proper credit to others and handles all situations appropriately.
How you will impact WestRock:
Facilitating an environment where safety is our first priority.Effectively manage production performance.Effectively partner with other departments of the mill and create an environment Candidates are required to undergo a drug screening after receiving a conditional job offer, but before starting employment.