Group Lead, Procurement – Accelerate Platforms

As the Procurement Lead for Innovation Elevation and MCCS, you will lead a team tasked with creating new capabilities that reimagine how Kraft Heinz innovates to deliver new disruptive food‑based solutions. You will be challenged with building and executing the sourcing strategy to optimize our innovation projects' profitability and chances of success. You will be responsible for empowering your team and stakeholders to leverage our supplier’s expertise to accelerate the company’s growth.

You will bring a depth of commercialization, collaboration, and procurement expertise to the Business Units you are working with to drive matters related to sourcing, supplier development, negotiations, commercialization, and process development. Success in this role requires a highly collaborative professional who can effectively partner with dynamic client groups including business units, supplier partners, and cross‑functional teams developing the strategy of the brands we expect to grow the fastest.

You will support marketing and R&D in the end‑to‑end direction from creating the vision and pipeline to building out the product or business model, all the way through in‑market launches.

• Create, deliver, and execute the external innovation category strategy for Elevation and MCCS.
• Execute the supplier selection process by identifying and developing suppliers capable of delivering products or services that meet or exceed KHC requirements.
• Establish trust and build effective business relationships with suppliers for long‑term partnerships.
• Be a leader on cross‑functional work streams to deliver fit‑for‑purpose practices (R&D, quality, regulatory, legal, sales, etc.).
• Coach teams through scaling products for concepts and ideas from incubation at small‑scale pilot facilities through accelerated test market launches to full‑scale factory production and national launch.
• Coordinate hand‑off to Category Managers after product stabilization.
• Embrace an open and inclusive environment that allows continuous improvement and learning.

• Team (salaried): 2 direct reports

• Bachelor’s degree in supply chain management, operations, finance, business, or equivalent. MBA and advanced Procurement qualifications preferred. Candidates with an equivalent combination of experience or education will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• 5 to 7 years of experience in Procurement (i.e., indirect, CAPEX, ingredients, or packaging) and five or more years of applicable business experience in the food industry (i.e., R&D, engineering, etc.). Possess extensive experience in the complete commercialization process.
• Knowledge of the commercialization requirements, ability to identify risks, and develop creative solutions to deliver end results.
• Strong business and financial acumen with the ability to understand and explain Procurement results and variances to non‑procurement audiences.
• Experience with managing and forecasting complex portfolios and budgets.
• Results‑oriented, adept at solving complex challenges and dealing with ambiguity; anticipates and adjusts to problems and obstacles in the team or the organization.
• High results orientation and takes the initiative and bias for action with drive‑through resolution.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills; proven track record of building effective business relationships.
• Ability to effectively negotiate and influence business decisions and change.
• Process‑thinking mindset to drive new processes and value streams.
• Effective at establishing trust, building effective business relationships, and getting things done through others.
• Ability to quickly develop organizational agility, i.e., know how to get things done through formal and informal channels.
• Growth mindset, model lifelong curiosity and learning.
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and have an understanding for source‑to‑pay tools (SAP, Ariba, etc.).

This position is considered a typical office environment with moderate travel to customer locations, stores, manufacturing…