The Opportunity:

The Maple Leaf Foods (MLF) Procurement is responsible for the Strategic Sourcing of goods and services across the organization. The team is focused on generating value for the business, lowering organizational risk and providing excellent stakeholder support.

As the Sourcing Director - Meat, this position is responsible for leading a Procurement Team comprised of managers and analysts who work collaboratively with business stakeholders to strategically source beef and pork to improve overall value to MLF.  The successful candidate can expect to work in a dynamic, fast-paced environment and be exposed to Six Sigma methodologies using several Microsoft and SAP platforms.  The successful candidate will have an immediate opportunity to participate in change leadership by driving process improvements across multiple functions to streamline the meat procurement process.

As a Sourcing Director for meat, you will work closely with your Sourcing team, operations, marketing, and functional Leadership teams to drive competitive cost sourcing initiatives across both beef and pork while ensuring the raw material fill rate to the plants are maximized.  This role requires strong analytical skills and the ability to generate insights which will maximize usage of value-added product, while minimizing the total cost of ownership and deliver value to the organization.  The candidate will need to have a history of the ability to navigate through multiple functions and levels of an organization and provide change leadership to optimize the procurement planning process while maximizing profitability.

Any MLF team member interested in being considered for this role are encouraged to apply online by January 21. Applications received beyond that date are not guaranteed consideration.

Snapshot of a Day-in-the-Life:

• Lead and develop a diverse team by coaching and developing competencies required for current and future needs
• Create and establish efficient processes and technology adoption in the procurement of both pork and beef to ensure that future growth can be supported with defined processes
• Collaborate with a cross-functional teams to establish the long-term strategy for meat procurement to meet the commercial needs of the organization
• Provide leadership and expertise in a variety of areas including category strategy support and development, RFX development and oversight, market analysis and supplier negotiations
• Coach the development and execution of source plans for key spend
• Support and advise on contract negotiations, development and execution of contracts inclusive of regular KPI reviews and appropriate action plans from key partners to ensure growth needs are met
• Mentor team to develop constructive supplier relationships for meat procurement
• Accountable to deliver annual key performance indicators including cost reduction targets to maximize profitability
• Ensure executional excellence through ensuring the team processes all purchases orders accurately and timely according to MLF standard process
• Review inventory levels and where needed, engage with customers to maximize return on any external sales
• Oversee the business relationship with key supplier activities including ordering, communication of demand/volume/ delivery time changes, issue resolution, sharing end-user feedback, follow up on backorders, quality claims etc.
• Develop a strong understanding and knowledge of incumbent and disruptor suppliers and their capabilities to enable the team to adapt to market changing conditions
• Manage supplier relationships to ensure continuity of good and services that meet the quality, service and price performance standards of the company
• Identify, prioritize, initiate and impact key business opportunities
• Work with stakeholders and leadership teams to implement and enforce polices that increase spend visibility and compliance

What You’ll Bring:

• Post secondary education, preferably in Business, Engineering, Supply Chain or Food Science
• +10 years of experience in strategic relationship management including vendor/customer management, sourcing/procurement or related discipline
• High levels of organizational navigation and change leadership to adopt new processes and develop strategies while influencing leadership decisions
• Growth mindset combined with continuous improvement to enable processes to be scalable with growth and enable the sourcing team to focus on analytics and maximizing availability while reducing costs
• Strong collaboration skills to facilitate discussion to reach alignment within the meat supply agreements enabling their team to be able to execute with excellence
• Vision to adopt change to drive process improvement and streamline processes leveraging technology
• Experience in inventory management strategies to minimize costs and proactively identifying where product needs to be sold off to maximize profit
• Regular demonstration of emotional intelligence and empathy; leveraging diverse team member skills perspectives and experiences to drive engagement and results
• Superior analytical skills – able to draw insights and form clear recommendations for team and stakeholders
• Effective and clear communication skills
• Well organized; able to balance multiple competing priorities to move the procurement endeavours forward to enable growth.
• Model sound decision making and a proven ability to navigate, adapt and respond quickly to volatile, ambiguous, uncertain and complex situations
• Superior negotiation skills with demonstrated resilience in the face of setbacks and pressure
• Regularly seeks out, learns and adapts best practices for self and others
• Demonstrates sound business ethics and models Maple Leaf Leadership Values on a day-to-day basis
• Demonstrates the ability to adapt to market changes to deliver incremental value to Maple Leaf Foods
• Actively links team work to organizational strategy
• Reinvents business practices to drive out waste and rapidly seize on value
• Seeks out and regularly shares relevant industry knowledge to enable business strategy
• Solves ambiguous business problems in a methodical approach under pressure and in a timely fashion.
• Sets aggressive team goals and delivers on their outcomes
• Applies best practices to broader functional organizations support broader strategies
• Proficient user of Microsoft Office applications (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
• Experience working in an SAP environment is an asset

What We Offer at Maple Leaf Foods:

• Being part of a high-performance, people-focused company that has an inspiring and unique vision to become the most sustainable protein company on earth, and a deep commitment to sustainable protein across North America.
• An inclusive company culture and a work environment that keeps our people safe, rewards excellence, and empowers everyone to learn and contribute their best.
• A hybrid work model that embraces remote work for eligible roles, helping team members achieve work-life balance—combining the best of both spending time working remotely, benefitting from focus time, and purposeful collaboration in the office setting. 
• Competitive Health and Wellness benefits that offer flexibility to meet your individual or family needs, including programs focused on improving mental health and wellbeing. These benefits start on your first day of employment.
• Defined Contribution Pension Plan with company matching that starts on your first day of employment.
• Learning and development opportunities, including workshops, ‘speaker series’ events, and resources that allow you to develop your skills and progress your career.
• Comprehensive tuition reimbursement program that supports continuous learning and development of our team members through investment in eligible degrees, diplomas, professional certification, or trades programs.
• Supporting our deep commitment to community impact, we offer up to two paid days annually to volunteer at a cause of your choice.

About Us:

We’re a carbon neutral food company on a purposeful journey to Raise the Good in Food through better nutrition, safer food and workplaces, more humane animal care, and environmental sustainability efforts that protect our planet. We care about our communities and commit to reducing food insecurity in Canada. Join us on the journey. Let’s build a better future, together.

We’re passionate about food. For more than 100 years, we’ve made delicious, healthy protein that Canadians love under iconic national and regional brands, like Maple Leaf®, Schneiders®, and Greenfield Natural Meat Co.® We’re on a journey to become the most sustainable protein company – not just in Canada – but on earth.

• We are carbon neutral.
• We are one of the only food companies in Canada to set science-based targets.

We’re a global food company with more than 13,500 team members. We operate sites in 20+ locations across Canada. We also have locations in the U.S. and Mexico, and do business in Asia.

A diverse and inclusive work environment

Championing diversity and inclusion is a critical component to advancing our collective purpose and vision and living the Maple Leaf Leadership Values. We believe in building, investing in, recognizing, and rewarding remarkable people who value an inclusive workplace, embrace all forms of diversity, and commit to including every voice in our collaborative environment. We’re so much stronger when we know we’re accepted and valued for who we are and what we each bring to the workplace.

We embrace a strong, values-based culture

Our eight Leadership Values are our north star. They guide the decisions we make for all our stakeholders: our consumers, our customers, our people, our communities, our shareholders, and the environment.

• Doing What’s Right
• Shared Value
• High Performance
• Diverse and Inclusive Teams
• Disciplined Decision Making
• Our Accountability
• Intense Curiosity
• Transparency and Humility

We thank all applicants for their interest in exploring employment opportunities with Maple Leaf Foods; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted. Applicants may be subject to a background check and must meet the security criteria designated for the position.

Championing diversity and inclusion is a critical component to advancing our collective purpose and vision, living the Maple Leaf Leadership Values, and delivering winning results. Accommodation is available upon request for applicants with disabilities in the recruitment and assessment process and when hired; please contact our Talent Attraction Team at accommodations@mapleleaf.com.

Disclaimer:  Please note that salaries posted on sites other than the MLF Careers Page are not a reflection of Maple Leaf Foods and are an estimated salary range provided by that particular job board.  Maple Leaf Foods offers competitive wages and an attractive total rewards package, which will be discussed during an interview with our Talent Team.

#LI-Hybrid