VP-Feed Ingredient Purchasing

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation (NYSE: PPC) is the largest chicken company in the United States and Puerto Rico and the second-largest in Mexico. Pilgrim's Pride employs approximately 56,500 people and operates 37 chicken processing and 12 prepared-foods facilities, with major operations in Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Mexico and Puerto Rico as well as other facilities in Arizona, Iowa, Mississippi, Ohio and Utah.

Pilgrim's Pride products are sold to foodservice, retail and frozen entree customers. The Company's primary distribution is through retailers, foodservice distributors and restaurants throughout the United States and Puerto Rico and in the Northern and Central regions of Mexico. For more information, please visit www.pilgrimspride.com

We are seeking a VP-Feed Ingredient Purchasing for our ADM Feed Ingredient Purchasing Department. This position reports to the Senior VP, Commodity Risk Management and is located in our World Headquarters in East Texas (Pittsburg).

This position is responsible for the cost effective acquisition and transportation of all feed ingredients for the company’s operations. Guides the strategies, planning, in-bound logistics, and execution of grain and other feed ingredient acquisition activities using a network of company owned and operated feed milling facilities that provide feed for thousands of contract animal growers. This position also assists in managing the company's procurement of these critical feed ingredients, assuring a consistent, safe and readily available quantity and managing risk associated with activities around multiple commodity ingredient groups such as corn and soybean meal, as well as other related protein sources and ingredients to produce a high quality feed. Manages the day-to-day activities of Directors and buyers of the feed ingredient purchasing team. Communicates with company leadership team as required. Annual spend for feed and feed related ingredients approaches $3 billion.

• Communication at this level represents the entire organization with the ability to compromise on behalf of the organization. Must be able to influence key decision makers affecting the operations of the organization. Must be able to communicated effectively with all position levels within the organization.

• Establishes goals and objectives for the grain procurement functions of the company consistent with top performance in the industry as measured by historical performance and the industries top 25%.

• Develops and manages strong vendor relationships through supplier segmentation, consolidation, and scorecards. Collaborates with various product supply areas, quality, feed nutritionists and research and development to grow deeper relationships with suppliers where appropriate.

• Monitors, tracks, and reports purchase price variance and status of cost reduction projects to senior management, finance, and operating unit leaders.

• Hires, trains and develops a staff of competent, professional managers, supervisors and directors as needed to acquire, trade, negotiate, process and safeguard these critical company assets.

• Insures proper risk management tools are employed where necessary to minimize the risks associated with adequate supplies, quality ingredients and commodity related market pricing risk to the company within the guidelines of the company Commodity Risk Management Policy.

• Negotiates and manages all contracts with transportation service providers including rail, trucking and shipping where necessary. Insures all contractual commitments are structured to protect the company from unnecessary liability, ensures adequate feed supplies to farmer growers and provides for appropriate capacities, particularly during harvest seasons.

• Grows and sustains relationships with key internal customers including plant operations, sales, feed nutritionists and live operations.

• Tracks, forecasts, reports, and manages purchase opportunities, existing positions and purchase price variances in addition to initiating appropriate cost-savings strategies and providing oversight and execution in conjunction with internal business partners, spending guidelines and operating plans.

Preference for a minimum of 5 - 10 years in a senior ingredient purchasing function, with substantial agricultural ingredient purchasing experience and feed milling experience with management and operational exposure, at a medium or large size organization, preferably in the food-processing sector with public ownership. A path of successful transition from soley managing exposures and postions to managing both exposures and a professional staff will be preferred.

Ten years experience in direct commodity purchasing of feed ingredients, specifically in corn and soybean meal and where alternative ingredients and substitutes are regularly used in large quantities to formulate least cost and optimal feed rations for animal diets.

A thorough working knowledge of feed ingredient conversions, processing, logistics and distribution and related costing, and exceptional relationships from past experience with a broad range of suppliers

Experience managing the components of a purchasing organization using least cost formulations to optimize the cost of feed and take advantage of high quality ingredient substitutes as market values and nutritional values shift.

Successful experience in managing both time and price continuum.

Experience with scorecard processes and P&L accountability to deliver goals against a plan; managing surprises; and anticipating resource needs.

Senior management exposure in the reporting and presentation contexts.

Education:
Requires a Bachelor's degree in business, food science, marketing or agricultural economics; an MBA or Masters in Agricultural Economics is desirable.

If interested, please apply online at http://track.jobviper.com/ViewJob.asp?id=504963-3-643