📣  A bit about the role.  

Location: Flexible with 50 - 75% travel required

Role Overview:

As the Head of Core Foods Procurement at Butternut Box, you will play a crucial role in ensuring the consistent quality and availability of the core ingredients that go into our fresh dog meals. You will lead the procurement team, build and maintain relationships with suppliers, and contribute to the development of a robust supply chain. This role requires a strategic thinker with strong negotiation skills, a deep understanding of food sourcing, and a passion for driving sustainability and ethical practices within the procurement process.

Key Responsibilities:

• Strategic Sourcing: Develop and implement a strategic sourcing strategy for core food ingredients, ensuring a secure and cost-effective supply chain.
• Supplier Management: Build and maintain strong relationships with key suppliers, negotiating terms and agreements to optimise cost, quality, and delivery.
• Quality Assurance: Collaborate with the quality control team to establish and maintain high standards for ingredient quality, consistency, and safety.
• Cost Management: Work closely with the finance team to manage and optimise procurement budgets, identifying cost-saving opportunities without compromising quality.
• Supply Chain Optimisation: Continuously assess and improve the efficiency and resilience of the supply chain, identifying potential risks and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Sustainability and Ethics: Drive initiatives to ensure ethical sourcing practices and sustainability in the procurement process, aligning with Butternut Box's commitment to responsible business practices.
• Cross-functional Collaboration: Collaborate with other departments, including product development, operations, and marketing, to align procurement strategies with overall business objectives.
• Market Analysis: Stay informed about industry trends, market dynamics, and regulatory changes, providing insights and recommendations to senior management.

👋  A bit about you. 

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, or a related field. Master's degree is a plus.
• Proven procurement experience, focusing on food sourcing and supply chain management.
• Demonstrated ability to negotiate and manage supplier relationships effectively.
• Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills.
• Experience in the food industry, preferably in a fresh food or perishable goods context.
• Knowledge of sustainability practices and ethical sourcing in the food industry.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and adapt to changing priorities.
• Passion for pets and alignment with Butternut Box's mission is a plus.

If you are a strategic thinker with a passion for sustainability and a track record in procurement, and you're excited about being part of a team that's changing the pet food industry, we'd love to hear from you. Join us on our mission to provide dogs with the nutrition they deserve!

🐶 A bit about us. 

At Butternut, we put the food back into dog food. We believe dogs deserve to eat the healthiest, most natural and tastiest food with none of the nasties. That’s why we make freshly prepared dog food. Cooked like you would at home. Delivered in perfect portions.

As a B-Corp certified company; you can be sure you are joining a sustainable company who care about our people, product and our impact on the environment.

Our goal is to help dogs live healthier, happier and longer lives whilst leaving humans smiling after every interaction. We’ve come a long way since our co-founders (Kev & Dave) hand-delivered the first Butternut Box, we now feed a lot of dogs across the UK - but we want to feed dogs everywhere. And to do this, we need a team of brilliant people who share that ambition to come and work with us. As we continue to expand and disrupt the market, we are looking for a dynamic and experienced professional to join our team as the Head of Core Foods Procurement.

 🙌 A bit about what we offer.

• 257.5 hours holiday (inclusive of Bank Holidays) + 8 hours extra for each year of service (up to 5 years)
• £500 personal learning & development budget 
• Butternut Box employee discount 
• Enhanced parental leave
• Flexible working hours and work from home options 
• Pension with NEST
• Private Medical Insurance with Vitality
• Pre - pay day pizza, fruit, coffee and parking (free!)
• Lots of office dogs (Cleo, Paxo, Harvey, Cali, Milo and many more….)

❗️A few things to note: 

Butternut Box is an equal opportunity employer and we value diversity and inclusion. We welcome people of different nationalities, backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives.

As our business has grown so has our responsibility to our community, our planet and our business. We are not perfect, but we are committed to doing business the right way and continually improving our social and environmental performance.

We're not afraid of putting extra weight on candidates from underrepresented groups. We want strong, diverse teams built from different backgrounds, experiences, and identities. We're ready for the ongoing work that goes into building an inclusive, supportive place for you to do the best work of your career, if it makes your application easier for you please feel free to complete the application form in your native language, we are really happy to translate it afterwards.

We are not looking for external agency support with this role.

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