Procurement Manager

Description

 #ComeJoinTheFun with us as our Procurement Manager and be part of #MakingCandyFun!

At R.M. Palmer Company, our mission is clear: driving innovation that celebrates life’s special moments by focusing on value and integrity while making candy fun in everything we do. We take pride in blending creativity and tradition to deliver products that spark joy, bring smiles, and create lasting memories, one candy at a time.

Since 1948, R.M. Palmer Company, LLC has grown from just 4 employees and 4 products into a leading manufacturer of imaginative chocolate novelties with more than 500 unique products and over 600 full-time employees. Today, we operate two manufacturing facilities and a distribution center the size of 11 football fields, producing more than 50 million pounds of product each year.

Our continued success is built on the people and values that drive us every day. We believe in getting it done with urgency, ownership, and accountability. We challenge ourselves to break it better through innovation, curiosity, and continuous improvement. We own the outcome by taking responsibility and acting in the best interest of our team, customers, and company. We play to win by focusing on results and striving for excellence in everything we do. Most importantly, we aim to leave them smiling by bringing positivity, teamwork, passion, and energy to every interaction.

If you are ready to grow your career in a fast-paced, team-oriented environment where accountability, innovation, and collaboration are valued, we encourage you to apply and become part of the R.M. Palmer team. 

The Procurement Manager is responsible for sourcing, purchasing, contracting, and managing the supply of all edible ingredients and commodity-based raw materials used throughout the organization. This includes key commodities such as cocoa products, sugar, edible oils, dairy ingredients, nuts, flavors, colors, inclusions, and other ingredients supporting chocolate and confectionery manufacturing.

This hands-on role serves as the primary owner of ingredient procurement, balancing day-to-day purchasing execution with strategic category management responsibilities. The successful candidate will develop strong supplier relationships, manage commodity exposure, negotiate supply agreements, monitor market trends, ensure material availability, manage all ingredient & commodity purchases, and drive continuous improvement in cost, service, and supply reliability.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities 

Ingredient & Commodity Procurement

• Manage the sourcing and purchasing of ingredients and edible commodities, including cocoa products, sugar, oils, dairy, nuts, flavors, colors, and inclusions.
• Manage purchase orders, inventory coverage, material requirements, and supplier deliveries to ensure continuity of supply.
• Proactively identify and resolve shortages, delivery issues, and other supply risks.

Commodity Management & Strategic Sourcing

• Monitor commodity markets, pricing trends, crop conditions, and supply-demand dynamics to identify risks and opportunities.
• Provide market intelligence and cost forecasts to support budgeting, forecasting, and purchasing decisions.
• Develop sourcing and contracting strategies that balance cost, quality, service, availability, and risk.
• Lead supplier negotiations, RFQs, sourcing events, and ingredient supply agreements.
• Identify and execute cost savings, productivity, and value improvement opportunities.

Supplier Management

• Develop and maintain strong relationships with ingredient and commodity suppliers.
• Evaluate supplier performance across quality, delivery, service, and cost.
• Partner with suppliers to resolve performance issues and drive continuous improvement.

Cross-Functional Partnership

• Partner with Planning and Operations to ensure material readiness and optimize inventory levels.
• Support R&D and Commercialization with ingredient sourcing for new products, reformulations, and product initiatives.
• Collaborate with Manufacturing, Quality, Food Safety, Finance, and Commercial teams on sourcing and supply priorities.
• Participate in S&OP and material planning processes.

Analytics & Continuous Improvement

• Maintain spend analysis, supplier performance metrics, and procurement KPIs.
• Support annual cost reduction and productivity objectives.
• Identify opportunities to improve procurement processes, supply reliability, and working capital.
• Maintain accurate procurement and supplier data within ERP systems.

Requirements

•  Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Business, Finance, Food Science, Agricultural Economics, or related field.
• 5-8+ years of progressive procurement experience in food manufacturing, confectionery, ingredients, agricultural commodities, or CPG.
• Strong understanding of production planning and material requirements planning (MRP).
• Experience purchasing major food commodities such as cocoa, sugar, oils, dairy, or similar ingredients.
• Strong negotiation, supplier management, and contract administration skills.
• Experience with inventory planning and material replenishment processes.
• Advanced Excel and ERP skills (Microsoft Dynamics 365 preferred).
• Strong analytical and financial acumen with the ability to translate commodity market trends into actionable sourcing decisions.