Albert’s Organics, America’s largest, most knowledgeable organic, fresh foods distributor and subsidiary of United Natural Foods, is seeking a national Produce Commodity Buyer III for our Santa Cruz, CA office.
We are currently looking for a Local Produce Category Manager to join our team at any one of our facility locations. Our facilities are located at Logan Township, NJ, Sarasota FL, Charlotte, NC, Mounds View, MN, Chesterfield NH, Vernon, CA, Prescott, WI and San Francisco, CA.
As a Local Produce Category Manager you will be responsible for providing sales, procurement and supply chain leadership in the produce category. You will support high-performance produce sales to exceed revenue/margin potential and market share goals. You will also work strategically with cross-functional teams to achieve category growth goals by managing promotional program, commodity growth program and supporting the goal of enhanced vendor performance.
The right candidate will work and lead independently while moving in the direction of continuous improvement. They will ensure successful financial results by collaborating with the procurement team, division buying and sales teams and produce suppliers. They will also create an environment that fosters teamwork and communication within direct area of responsibility as well as other critical areas of the internal/external business.
- Bachelor’s degree in agriculture, business, food sciences or related degree.
- Must have minimum 5 years category management and sales experience with exposure to supply chain management, all within a high-volume, multi-site produce/ distribution/retail/wholesale/ food industry or meat purveyor environment.
- Must have at least 5 years of produce industry experience; organics a plus.
- Computer competency necessary with warehouse management systems/applications and MS Office Suite, including Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Outlook.
- Bilingual English/Spanish skills a plus.
- Excellent organizational skills; able to meet strict deadlines and manage multiple tasks and projects simultaneously.
- Able to present complex topics in an engaging manner to a group of business professionals at all levels of the organization.
- Self-motivated with excellent planning, organizing, interpersonal and leadership skills.
- Builds confidence in others to excel beyond expectations.
- Effective management capabilities that can attract, lead, evaluate, coach, recognize, and motivate individuals and teams.
- Able to develop and maintain effective internal/external relationships and customer service skills with a diverse group of individuals and able to exemplify these qualities in a leadership role.
- Strong sense of urgency with ability to excel in a fast-paced environment.
- Able to effectively manage for results across functional and cultural boundaries.
- Excellent oral/written communication skills.
- Comfortable and effective in a highly open, dynamic and collaborative company culture.
- Flexible work style that can facilitate progressive change and effectively manage others during times of change.
- Establish and lead effective procurement processes that support the category management program.
- Schedule and facilitate Procurement Department program meetings.
- Create and maintain key vendor performance reports for scheduled business reviews as required.
- Create and maintain promotional calendars, create and publish post promotion analysis.
- Create and maintain commodity program reports as required.
- Facilitate division sales and buying program review meetings.
- Coordinate customer requests with division Sales Teams to ensure customer needs and services levels are met.
- Assist in the planning, designing, and implementing divisional produce category business plans.
- Work with AO Marketing Team on internal and external marketing programs/initiatives on promotion/commodity programs.
- Responsible for following policies and procedures outlined in the Albert’s recall plan.
- Observe all HACCP and Safe Quality Food (SQF) policies and procedures, as appropriate for location.
- Embrace a high regard for safety. Observe all Company safety policies and procedures.
- Perform all duties in a highly ethical manner and in accordance with Company policies and procedures. Lead and serve as a role model for others in the organization by consistent demonstration of high ethical standards.
- Perform other duties and projects as assigned by management.
