2023 Graduate Program North America - Procurement (Packaging)
How often can you find a multi-billion-dollar company that offers you flexibility to change in your career as your interests change? You just did. Kerry's unique culture and commitment to change in the food, beverage, and pharma industries offers support and opportunities as your interests and need to explore grow. If fast-paced, entrepreneurial, and global opportunities appeal to you, then introduce yourself!
About Kerry
Kerry is the world’s leading taste and nutrition partner for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. We innovate with our customers to create great tasting products, with improved nutrition and functionality, while ensuring better impact for the planet. Our leading and proprietary consumer insights, global RD&A team of 1,000+ food scientists and local manufacturing footprint in 31 countries enable us to co-create with our customers across over 150 countries. At Kerry, we are driven to be our customers’ most valued partner, creating a world of sustainable nutrition, and will reach over 2 billion consumers with sustainable nutrition solutions by 2030.
Procurement Overview
Within Kerry, the Procurement Team has the responsibility for managing and overseeing all third party spend for both direct and indirect materials and services. They are experts in their respective categories of packaging, meats, dairy, ingredients and indirect materials and services such as energy, engineering and facilities management. Just like Kerry, our suppliers are based in locations right around the world, and while a career in Kerry will afford you the opportunity to work abroad, a career in procurement will also involve travel to supply locations
Your role will involve working with category buyers in all aspects of the sourcing process, working closely with Kerry’s manufacturing sites and supply partners.
Key Responsibilities
What you'll do
- Provide category and market insight by analyzing both category and market data which will lead to development of sourcing and supply plans, presentations, and market summaries for our business.
- Monitor usage/demand by coordinating with site supply chains. Working with R&D to introduce new materials and to identify potential new sources. Networking with stakeholders in other functions such as supply chain, finance, etc
- Work closely with category buyers to source the highest quality materials and services at the best price using a range of tools including tendering.
- Jointly working with category buyers to develop and execute a cost savings pipeline.
- Working with the category buyers to negotiate contracts and manage supplier performance to ensure quality and service requirements are met.
- Support buyers on the achievement of our “Beyond the Horizon” sustainability goals and specifically our commitments on responsible sourcing, waste reduction, circular economy and recyclable packaging
- Create and maintain packaging specification documents for existing and new packaging materials.
- Collaborate with suppliers to ensure the packaging specifications are accurate, complete, and compliant with regulatory guidelines.
- Drive continuous improvement ideas through process and material/specifications
- Assist in providing specification related information to both external and internal stakeholders
- Actively live the Kerry values of Courage, Ownership, Inclusiveness, Open-mindedness, & Enterprising Spirit
Qualifications and Skills
What you'll need to be successful
- A Bachelor’s Degree Bachelor’s degree from a four-year accredited college or university in Packaging Engineering, or similar relevant degree
- Problem-solving and analytical skills
- Ability to comply with existing/quickly adapt to new processes within the organization
- Advanced analytics skills, with the ability to manage complex spreadsheets and similar data
- Strong interpersonal skills with the proven ability to communicate effectively to all levels of an organization
- Excellent IT skills, particularly in MS Excel, PowerPoint and Word
- A curious mindset
- Must be able to travel up to 10% of the time
- Minimum 3.25 GPA
Kerry is an equal opportunity employer. Employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age disability, protected veteran status or other characteristics protected by law. Kerry will only employ those who are legally authorized to work in the United States for this opening. Any offer of employment is conditional upon the successful completion of a background investigation and drug screen. EEO is the Law poster can be found here. Additional information can also be here.