Procurement and Commercial Manager

Summary:

This position is responsible for the profit and loss of assigned procurement activities and their commercial impact. This will be accomplished by establishing and managing effective and efficient programs that meet forecasted sales targets from the assigned suppliers. In this individual contributor role, the Procurement & Commercial Manager will be responsible for identifying current and future market needs for assigned Customers and industries in North America. The position requires leadership skills to direct (coach) the various departments within Southern Polymer to maximize opportunities and growth.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Purchasing

• Pricing responsibility for product, package, and quantity, including evaluation of competitive situations.
• Systematically gather and maintain industry and market intelligence relating to key direct materials
• Monitor and update relevant departments regarding price fluctuations of goods and vendor pricing
• Perform risk management for supply contracts and agreements
• Establish short and long-term sourcing strategies in alignment with the Company’s Business Plan
• Strengthen the company’s relationship with strategic partners for raw materials as well as logistics
• Perform frequent analysis of the current Sourcing Strategy and determine any necessary changes needed per fluctuations in the market and/or industry.
• Leverage and Collaborate with colleagues in similar roles within the Audia Group
• Work together with the Sales Force to expand technical and market expertise within the Commercial team, keeping them updated on new technologies, products, processes or applications relevant to the business.
• Provide a point of contact with external market intel resources.

Sales and Marketing

• Develops marketing plans, business plans, sales strategies, and action plans for identified targets for opportunity that clearly define objectives, goals, and strategies.
• Pricing responsibility for product, package, and quantity, including evaluation of competitive situations.
• Assess the sales and profit that Southern Polymer could earn by successfully filling the Customers' needs.
• Develop effective programs to optimize volume and market share in a given segment.
• Manage programs to successful conclusion or discontinuation.
• The position is accountable for seeking new opportunities within the assigned industry.
• The incumbent will possess substantial knowledge of Southern Polymer’s product line as well as competitive materials. He/She will also have a solid understanding of Customer operations and economics and will develop working relationships with major Customers and prospects in conjunction with sales.

Planning

• Identify current and future market segment needs for material properties and performance.
• Prioritize opportunities while recognizing capability and resource availability.
• Securing agreement from other Departments to ensure that the support and resources are adequate for success.

People

• The Procurement and Commercial Manager works effectively with and acts as a liaison between corporate functional groups, i.e. Sales, CSR, Accounting, etc.
• Coordination of annual business process.
• The incumbent possesses strong analytical, marketing, planning and communication (oral and written) skills.
• The position operates within the defined policies and established company goals. The incumbent meets regularly with the Sales Director and President to update program status and to solicit guidance and consent for activities that have a potential major impact on future sales and profits.

Preferred Educational/Training/Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Management, or Engineering is preferred.
• Five to seven years of technical marketing, engineering, product development or sales experience in the plastics industry is required.
• Demonstrated ability to develop new business and achieve profitable sales in highly competitive markets.
• Must be able to travel to Customers, Vendors, and between Audia divisions which may include international travel. Travel can vary from 30-50% based on business needs.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills necessary to promote ideas, motivate people and develop relationships.

The successful candidate will be committed to our values, mission and vision; a servant leader with the skills to collaborate at all levels of the organization both internally and externally. The ability to be mobile and to accept different opportunities is critical to grow and develop with the company.