Procurement Manager, Paper & Flex Packaging

fairlife, LLC is a Chicago-based nutrition company that creates great-tasting, nutrition-rich and dairy products to nourish consumers. With over $3B in annual retail sales, fairlife’s portfolio of delicious, lactose-free, real dairy products includes: fairlife® ultra-filtered milk ; Core Power® High Protein Shakes, a sports nutrition drink to support post-workout recovery; fairlife® nutrition plan™ , a nutrition shake to support the journey to better health. A wholly owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola company, fairlife, LLC has been recognized by both Fast Company and Nielsen for its industry leading innovation. To learn more about fairlife and its complete line of products, please visit fairlife.com . job purpose : The Procurement Manager, Paper (corrugate) & Flex (shrink sleeves, shrink film, stretch film) Packaging is accountable for leading all activities within strategic sourcing and procurement operations for the Paper and Flex categories within the packaging portfolio at fairlife. This role is directly responsible for managing and overseeing the development and execution of sourcing strategies that align with fairlife’s strategic objectives: cost improvements, supply resilience, innovation, and supporting growth. The position delivers value to the business by ensuring fairlife sources the highest quality, most cost-effective packaging materials from a reliable, high performing supply base. The Procurement Manager, Paper & Flex Packaging will drive business continuity and risk mitigation, collaborate on sustainability & innovation initiatives, be an owner in the Supplier Relationship Management process, and deliver continuous improvement in the value chain. responsibilities: • Lead all procurement and category management activities for Paper & Flex Packaging spend at fairlife. • Identify, develop, and implement sourcing strategies that reduce total delivered cost, mitigate inflationary headwinds, and bolster supply resiliency. • Manage supplier performance through routine business reviews and cross-functional scorecard evaluation process. • Identify risks and vulnerabilities within paper & flex packaging supply base and develop risk mitigation strategies to build a more resilient supply chain. • Lead Request for Proposal (RFP) process to ensure consistent lowest total cost of ownership. • Develop and execute vendor agreements in close collaboration with Legal Team. • Assist in the development and management of annual material cost budgets. • Analyze and forecast market inflation trends and work to address any price variances to budget. • Support Packaging Engineering Team in innovation and sustainability projects involving supplier & material selection. • Develop a supply base which creates and sustains a competitive advantage, enabling strong supply chain resilience while effectively leveraging spend, and driving innovation & sustainability. • Monitor, track and report on savings and key performance indicators for category • Stays abreast of industry trends, supplier capabilities, and emerging technologies within the paper & flex packaging industry. • Support new packaging development projects, including supplier selection and qualification. • Resolve any unforeseen problems with suppliers relating to operations, purchasing or quality/performance. • Collaborate with Planning Team on inventory flow & order optimization opportunities. skills/qualifications required: • Bachelor’s Degree (Preferably in Supply Chain, Procurement, Finance or Engineering). • 5+ years’ experience performing packaging strategic sourcing or relevant experience. • Sound technical knowledge in flexible packaging (shrink sleeves, shrink film, stretch film) and paper packaging (corrugate or paperboard) for beverage/CPG. • Demonst