DIRECTOR OF PROCUREMENT
Senior Leadership | Agribusiness | Confidential Client
The Company
Our client is a multi-plant agribusiness manufacturer serving commercial cattle producers across the central United States. For more than five decades, the organization has built its reputation on disciplined execution, long-term producer relationships, and science-based nutrition solutions.
The company operates within the cattle feeding corridor and sources a complex mix of liquid and dry ingredients to support plant manufacturing operations. Leadership is deeply involved, performance-driven, and committed to long-term growth.
This role reports directly to the CEO and carries enterprise-level responsibility.
The Mission
Within 24 months, build and lead a procurement function that:
- Reduces total ingredient cost volatility exposure
- Improves inventory turns and working capital efficiency
- Expands strategic supplier partnerships
- Enhances pricing visibility for executive decision making
- Positions the business for scalable growth
This is not a buyer role. It is a leadership and risk management role.
The Scorecard
(What You Will Be Accountable For)
First 6 Months
- Conduct full risk assessment of ingredient exposure and supply chain dependencies
- Implement clear commodity risk reporting to CEO
- Improve short-term price projection accuracy (1–4 month horizon)
- Strengthen communication cadence between procurement, operations, and finance
6–12 Months
- Improve procurement discipline across all ingredient categories
- Increase supplier leverage through contract optimization
- Improve inventory forecasting accuracy and reduce stock-out exposure
- Standardize urea position management and dispatch planning
12–24 Months
- Reduce total cost of procurement through strategic sourcing initiatives
- Improve inventory turns and working capital deployment
- Identify and onboard new strategic ingredient sources
- Develop and elevate procurement team capability
Key Outcomes This Leader Will Drive
- Enterprise-level commodities risk management
- Best-total-cost sourcing strategy
- Accurate forward visibility on ingredient pricing
- Cross-functional alignment with finance, operations, and executive leadership
- Development of a high-performance procurement team
Competencies That Matter
We are not hiring based on years alone. We are hiring based on demonstrated performance.
The right candidate will have:
- Proven success managing commodity purchasing in volatile markets
- Experience negotiating long-term supplier contracts
- Strong inventory management and forecasting capability
- Deep understanding of logistics: rail, truck, and bulk movement
- Ability to communicate risk clearly to executive leadership
- Demonstrated ability to build and lead teams
Industry experience in feed, dairy, grain, fertilizer, or related commodity-driven manufacturing environments is strongly preferred.
Culture Fit
This is a performance-oriented, direct, no-politics organization.
The CEO values:
- Transparency
- Speed
- Data-driven decision making
- Accountability
- Long-term relationships
If you prefer excessive bureaucracy or indirect communication, this is not the environment.
Compensation
- Competitive base salary
- Performance incentive
- Leadership visibility and long-term growth opportunity
Relocation support available for the right candidate.
Why This Role Matters
Procurement in this business directly impacts EBITDA.
This position is a lever for margin expansion, risk mitigation, and growth.
You will not sit on the sidelines. You will shape outcomes.