Job Description:
Job Description:
Sr. Sourcing Specialist – Rice, Wheat and Specialty Grains
As a Sr. Sourcing Specialist at Mars, you will work closely with the global category manager & be responsible for sourcing Rice, Wheat and Specialty Grain categories for the North America region. Together you will support the development of category buying strategies and lead execution. Drive value by leading strategic sourcing events, negotiations and managing contracts. This position will work with key suppliers, as well as cross-functional partners and key stakeholders.
What are we looking for?
- Bachelor’s Degree.
- 5-8 years of solid procurement experience in multinational Food & Beverage industry.
- Food Industry Experience as well as good understanding of US agriculture and commodity markets is highly preferred.
- Expertise in negotiations, contract management and running large RFPs.
- A passion for developing strong relationships with suppliers and cross functional stakeholders both domestically and internationally.
- Excellent communication and collaborative skills and ability to navigate through ambiguity,
- Ability to analyze complex market data / developments and drive insights and actions.
- Ability to travel approximately 20% (may vary due to business needs).
What will your key responsibilities be?
This role is part of a global sourcing organization responsible for sourcing Rice, Wheat and Specialty Grain categories for North America region.
- Execute Sourcing Strategy: Leverage market and spend intelligence, lead strategic sourcing events, evaluate supplier proposals, and prepare business award recommendations to activate category strategies.
- Negotiate & Contract for Value: In partnership with the cost modeling team, conduct comprehensive analysis to inform negotiation strategies, lead supplier negotiations, and manage end-to-end legal contracting to maximize value.
- Operational & Supplier Management: Maintain operational contracts (e.g., in SAP) for accurate pricing and engage in supplier relationship management as defined by segmentation.
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree
- 5-8 years of procurement experience in the multinational Food and Beverage industry
- Food industry experience
- Understanding of US agriculture and commodity markets
- Expertise in negotiations
- Contract management experience
- Experience running large RFPs
- Excellent communication and collaboration skills
- Ability to analyze complex market data and drive insights and actions
- Ability to travel approximately 20%
Mars Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Mars and has not been reviewed or approved by Mars.
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Healthcare Strength — The benefits package is positioned as comprehensive, with broad medical coverage and additional protections like life insurance and short- and long-term disability. Mental health support is emphasized, including free mental health services and wellbeing programming under initiatives such as Mars Be Well.
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Parental & Family Support — Paid parental leave is highlighted as market-leading in the U.S., with an example of 18 weeks fully paid for both parents. Additional family-related leave types such as sick time for caregiving and bereavement leave are also described as part of the overall package.
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Retirement Support — Retirement offerings are described as strong, including 401(k) matching (with a 6% match cited) and pension plans in some cases. The broader package also references retirement savings options and contributions aligned to local market practice, supporting long-term financial security.
Mars Insights
What We Do
For more than a century, Mars, Incorporated has been driven by the belief that the world we want tomorrow starts with how we do business today. This idea is at the center of who we have always been as a global, family-owned business. Today, Mars is transforming, innovating and evolving in ways that affirm our commitment to making a positive impact on the world around us. Across our diverse and expanding portfolio of confectionery, food, and petcare products and services, we employ 133,000 dedicated Associates who are all moving in the same direction: forward. With $40 billion in annual sales, we produce some of the world’s best-loved brands including DOVE®, EXTRA®, M&M’s®, MILKY WAY®, SNICKERS®, TWIX®, ORBIT®, PEDIGREE®, ROYAL CANIN®, SKITTLES®, WHISKAS®, COCOAVIA®, and 5™; and take care of half of the world’s pets through our pet health services AniCura, Banfield Pet Hospitals™, BluePearl®, Linnaeus, Pet Partners™, and VCA™. We know we can only be truly successful if our partners and the communities in which we operate prosper as well. The Mars Five Principles – Quality, Responsibility, Mutuality, Efficiency and Freedom – inspire our Associates to take action every day to help create a world tomorrow in which the planet, its people and pets can thrive.
