About the Opportunity

The Corrugate and Paper Packaging Commodity Manager will be responsible for strategically managing the sourcing, procurement, and supply chain activities related to corrugated and paper-based packaging within the organization. The primary objectives of this position will be to ensure the availability of high-quality materials at competitive prices while maintaining efficient supplier relationships and optimizing the supply chain process for demand within United States and Canada operations. This position will work cross functionally with other groups both internal and external to Supply Chain to execute agreed upon strategies and ensure business requirements are met. This position requires strong analytical skills, supplier management expertise, excellent verbal and written communication skills and proven technical abilities.

Responsibilities

•    Develop and execute strategic sourcing plans for corrugate and paper products to ensure cost-effectiveness and quality standards are met
•    Identify potential suppliers, negotiate contracts, and establish long-term partnerships to secure a stable supply chain
•    Continuously evaluate market trends, supplier capabilities, and technological advancements to identify opportunities for improvement and cost savings
•    Manage relationships with existing suppliers, ensuring adherence to contractual agreements and performance metrics
•    Conduct supplier performance reviews and implement corrective actions as necessary to address quality, delivery, or service issues
•    Collaborate with suppliers to drive innovation, improve product quality, and optimize processes to enhance overall supply chain efficiency
•    Coordinate with cross-functional teams including New Product Introduction (NPI), Manufacturing, Packaging Planning, and Quality Assurance to ensure timely procurement and delivery of corrugate and paper packaging
•    Develop and implement inventory management strategies to minimize stockouts, excess inventory, and obsolescence
•    Utilize procurement systems and tools to streamline purchasing processes, track expenditures, and generate reports for management review
•    Analyze total cost of ownership for corrugate and paper packaging, identifying opportunities for cost reduction through process improvements, value engineering, or alternative materials
•    Work closely with finance and accounting teams to establish cost targets, budgets, and cost-saving initiatives
•    Monitor and manage commodity price fluctuations, implementing risk mitigation strategies to minimize impact on overall procurement costs
•    Ensure compliance with regulatory requirements, industry standards, and corporate policies related to procurement and supplier management
•    Assess and mitigate risks associated with supplier dependencies, supply chain disruptions, and market volatility to maintain business continuity
•    Develop contingency plans and alternative sourcing strategies to address potential supply chain disruptions or shortages
•    Benchmark packaging industry best practices, capacities with suppliers, business awards, contractual awards analysis to ensure suppliers are aligned within acceptable range
•    Solves complex problems takes a broad perspective to identify innovative solutions and develops new concepts, methods and techniques
•    Oversee RFx development, communication, analysis and supplier business awards for US and Canada direct material needs
•    Interpret internal/external business challenges and recommend best practices to improve products, processes or services
•    Collaborate with suppliers to build out long range capacity planning that will meet business growth needs by region
•    Develop regional support strategies that include proper redundancy for assurance of supply
•    Maintain a sourcing strategy that will ensure regional tooling requirements and cost optimization targets are met
•    Lead development of opportunity analysis to identify value creation opportunities
•    Lead the process of transitioning new products, executed deals, and new suppliers to the business
•    Contributes to the Business Unit’s priorities and objectives regarding effective leadership, engaged employees and enablement
•    Domestic and international travel required up to 20%
•    Represents Driscoll’s in an ethical and business-like professional manner in all interactions with growers, co-workers, suppliers, customers and the business community at large

Candidate Profile

Requirements
•    Bachelor’s degree required in Supply Chain Management, Industrial Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Manufacturing Management, Business Administration, or related fields 
•    MBA is a plus
•    Prior experience in sourcing and supply chain (7-10 years in this discipline) management preferably in the corrugate and paper packaging industry
•    Strong negotiation skills and the ability to build and maintain effective relationships with suppliers and internal stakeholders
•    Strong RFQ/RFP execution skills
•    Strong familiarity with MRP/ERB applications

Preferred Qualifications
•    Analytical mindset with the ability to analyze data, identify trends, and make data-driven decisions
•    Excellent communication (written & verbal), problem-solving, and project management skills
•    Excellent working knowledge of ERP systems (Oracle is preferred)
•    Prior experience working with 3rd party category sourcing experts and ability to fully extract and leverage the value these resources provide
•    Strong leadership and decision-making ability
•    Strong analytical skills with attention to financial details
•    Demonstrated ability to perform optimization analysis and business case development
•    Ability to work independently in a fast-paced environment showing initiative to collaborate cross-functionally
•    Self-starter with strong portfolio management skills
•    Ability to influence others to ensure tasks meet goals and objectives
•    Demonstrated ability to perform process improvement using 6-sigma or other continuous
improvement methodologies
•    California driver’s license and the ability to be covered under company-sponsored vehicle insurance program 
•    A valid passport and the ability to travel internationally without restrictions

Compensation & Benefits:
The following information is provided in good faith as a general description of the salary range and benefits for the position posted.  The actual compensation offered to the successful candidate is dependent upon experience, skills, education, work location, internal pay equity, and other objective job-related factors.

Salary Range estimated for the Commodity Manager, Corrugate and Paper Packaging $88,600 to $108,000 USD.

Driscoll’s is committed to a culture of care and offers an attractive benefits package that includes comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, life insurance, and disability coverage for positions working more than 30 hours per week. Other benefits include:  401(k) with employer match, profit-sharing participation, paid sick time, paid vacation, paid personal and family care leave, and a free Employee Assistance Program (EAP).  More detailed information regarding the benefits package, will be shared during the application process.

About Driscolls

Driscoll's is the global market leader for fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. With more than 100 years of farming heritage and hundreds of independent growers around the world, Driscoll's is passionate about growing fresh, beautiful and delicious berries. Our values of humility, passion and trustworthiness have guided our mission to delight consumers around the world.

Driscoll's exclusive patented berry varieties are developed through years of research using only natural breeding methods – meaning, no GMOs. From farm-to-table, we focus on delivering a high quality, premium berry experience with our many supply chain partners.

Driscoll's is the trusted brand for Only the Finest Berries™.

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Driscoll's es el proveedor líder en la comercialización de Fresas, Frambuesas, Zarzamoras y Arándanos Azules en el mundo. Con más de 100 años de herencia en agricultura y cientos de productores independiente alrededor del mundo, Driscoll's es una compañía apasionada por cultivar Berries frescas, hermosas y deliciosas. Nuestros valores de humildad, pasión y confianza han guiado nuestra misión de deleitar a los consumidores en el mundo.

Las variedades exclusivas de Driscoll's han sido desarrolladas a través de años de investigación usando sólo métodos de mejoramiento natural. De la granja a la mesa, nos enfocamos en ofrecer una experiencia de alta calidad con apoyo de nuestros socios de la cadena de suministro.

Driscoll's es la marca de confianza de sólo las mejores Berries.