Global Buyer for Dairy Ingredients – Whey & Specialities

Procurement at Danone

About the job

Are you ready to define and execute the global sourcing strategy for High Whey, Organics, AMF & Specialities categories? Do you want to lead the sourcing and tendering process? Then join us now as our next Global Buyer for Dairy Ingredients – Whey & Specialities!

As our Global Buyer for Dairy Ingredients – Whey & Specialities, you will be accountable for setting the strategic direction, understanding global dairy markets and cost structures, and leading the sourcing and tendering process. You will also lead and support value-driven projects, contribute to Danone’s Impact Journey, and be accountable for delivering key business objectives across the organization.

Your main responsibilities will be:

• Defining Strategic Direction: You will develop holistic category strategies in alignment with key stakeholders. You will analyze all aspects of your categories—end use, specifications, supplier processes, operations, customer needs, and competitor differences. You will also build a deep understanding of cost and market drivers. You should understand cost structures and “should-costs,” and develop a pipeline of initiatives to drive productivity and added value.
• Leading the Sourcing Process: You will define and implement go-to-market strategies and recommend optimal award outcomes. You will lead post-tender supplier engagements to deliver strategic goals and ensure timely execution of legal agreements.
• ESG: You will contribute to the development of Danone’s ESG strategy and support the integration of ESG metrics into supplier relationships.
• Finance: You will be accountable for preparing, consolidating, and communicating annual plans and rolling forecasts to global and regional stakeholders. You will also track material variances, market changes, and cost-saving initiatives against forecasts.
• SRM (Supplier Relationship Management): You will map current and potential suppliers across regions, segment them strategically, and engage regularly to build strong, value-driven partnerships.
• Risk Management: You will analyze category-specific and macro-level market trends, identifying potential risks and assessing their impact.

Meet your future manager! You will be reporting to Richard MCGUIRE, Global CSM Whey & Derivatives.

About you

To be successful in this role, you will need in-depth experience in strategic sourcing and category management, knowledge and experience of world-class category management and sourcing practices from one or several world-class companies. You will also have strong negotiation skills, a proactive and action orientated attitude, and have proven ability to build strong supplier relationships to achieve business goals.

You also have:

• 3+ years in Procurement experience in a related field
• Bachelor’s Degree in related field (procurement, business, food science)
• Enjoy working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment and has creativity to solve problems and oriented for value creation.
• Pragmatism, “hands on” mentality, with strategic business approach.
• Ability to navigate in ambiguous environment, tenacity with strong adaptation and relationship capabilities, to gain credibility and create an efficient network within regions and suppliers.
• Proven track record of delivering outstanding performance and results.
• Ability to lead, influence, collaborate, and effectively engage multiple stakeholders.
• Strong analytical and quantitative skills.
• Presence to engage effectively with senior supplier stakeholders.
• Creative and continuously looking for stretching value-adding opportunities.
• Fluent in English

About Danone

Working at Danone is a unique experience. It’s fast-paced and complex and, at times, it can get a little challenging. But it’s packed with opportunities to learn and grow working with some of the best-known brands in the world, like Evian, Alpro, Nutricia, Activia and Nutrilon. Bring your unique perspective, ambitions and entrepreneurial ideas to the table – the impact you could make might just surprise you. One Planet. One Health – BY YOU.

We’re proud to be a B-Corp certified company. That means we meet the highest verified standards of social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability in everything we do.

We’re committed to building a diverse and inclusive team. As an Equal Opportunities Employer, we base our hiring decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs.*

We Offer

It’s an exciting time to join Danone. And the best part? You’ll be supported to grow an impactful career that you can be proud of. Together, we’ll build a healthier world. All Danoners receive a complete package of benefits. This includes a competitive salary and yearly bonus, a premium free pension and great discounts on health insurance and Danone products. We understand the importance of flexibility and offer 30 days of annual leave (with the opportunity to purchase more) and a hybrid working environment, where you can work either from home or from one of our People Hubs in Hoofddorp, Utrecht, Rijswijk or Brussels.

Job details

Dedicated to bringing health through food to as many people as possible, we are a leading global food & beverage company built on four businesses: Essential Dairy and Plant-Based Products, Waters, Early Life Nutrition and Medical Nutrition.

* all applicants will be considered for employment without attention to race, colour, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, veteran or disability status