Director , Produce Procurement Operations Sobeys - Phoenix

Job description
We have an opening for an accomplished leader and builder in the area of Produce Procurement. In this newly created position, the successful candidate will play a lead role in establishing a produce procurement strategy, and building and managing produce procurement operations in the South West. This role will contribute to the success of Sobeys and our banners across Canada by enhancing our fresh offering in alignment with our brand promise.

Based out of a new office in the Phoenix area, the Director will manage a US-based procurement team and oversee activities related to the ethical sourcing of fresh produce from the US, Mexico, Central and South America. These activities will augment existing activities in Canada and the USA and are required in order to support our continued growth. Travel to these areas and to a variety of sites in Canada, will be required and is expected to account for up to 25% of time annually.


Success in this role will require a dynamic leader with a proven track record of identifying, developing, and executing sustainable programs designed to deliver on performance commitment while meeting procurement revenue budgets, and achieving targeted and budgeted cost synergies. This will include working with your team and with peers in both Canada and the USA in areas such as QA, Procurement, Distribution/ Transportation/ Logistics, Merchandising, and Operations among others particularly as it relates to building and or refining upstream and downstream process associated with delivering outstanding fresh products and for establishing and achieving internal service level requirements.

Sobeys is proudly committed to Serving our Communities and in keeping with this core value, the nature of our supplier relationships is an important consideration in this role as there will be a need to work collaboratively to improve vendor performance as we seek to deliver freshness, quality, and a great eating experience for our customers.

At Sobeys our passion includes our people, and as an experienced leader, the successful candidate will assume accountability for the identification and development of talented individuals as well as the ongoing engagement of their team.

In brief, the responsibilities include:
Building a sustainable US-based Produce Procurement function
Financial planning, and meeting business deliverables
Sourcing – strategy, execution, meeting KPIs
Processes and Systems – efficient practices, policies, guidelines, IT and financial systems
Relationship Management – vendor, regulatory
People Management – develop and engage staff
Business Operational Management – day to day operations

Desired Skills and Experience
In order to be considered for this role, a candidate must demonstrate the following combination of skills and experience:
Proven track record as a senior leader in the area(s) of Produce Procurement, Quality Assurance, Merchandising, and Category Management,
Minimum of 10 years of directly related experience in a retail setting
Proven capacity to understand business strategy and drivers and translate these into procurement strategy and activities
Confidence and credibility within function and with vendors
Ability to collaborate with, and influence key stakeholders
Effective negotiations skills
Effective listening and communication skills
Responds well to constructive feedback
Strong analytical and financial acumen skills
Track record of building effective relationships
Ability to engage and develop people
Experience leading business operations in the US including but not limited to:
Payroll, benefits, medical/dental/live insurance, 401 k plans
HR and related functions, hiring, agency employees, workman’s comp
Licenses, Bonds, Permits, Taxes
US Government Regulatory requirements
Lease Negotiations, property management, up keep, safety compliance
Authorization, verification, disbursement of payments
Other business items as required

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