Procurement Manager - Dairy & Egg
Greencore · Leeds, GB
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Why this role matters
How close this job is to real sourcing and menu decisions.
This role sits directly on the desk where Greencore's dairy and egg supply is bought: the material group sourcing strategy, supplier cost negotiations, and the inbound quality and service standards for those categories all pass through this seat. Dairy and egg are categories with real, well-documented standards questions - cage-free provision, dairy cow culling, calf disposal - and the person managing procurement strategy and supplier relationships for this material group has a genuine, if commercially-framed, opportunity to push higher supplier requirements into those conversations with Technical and Sustainability teams. It's not a standards-titled role, so no one is expecting you to raise it, which is precisely what makes it a useful seat for someone who wants to. Doing this well for a few years builds the commodity knowledge, supplier relationships and commercial credibility that senior category and procurement leadership roles are built on - the roles that eventually decide what standards a major convenience food manufacturer puts into its dairy and egg contracts, with consequences for suppliers, customers and the wider food system.
Where this role can take you
What this job teaches you, and the jobs it can lead to.
What you'd build
- Dairy and egg category procurement
- Commodity cost and inflation management
- Supplier negotiation at scale
- Cross-functional stakeholder engagement with Technical and Sustainability teams
- Material group sourcing strategy
Where it can lead
- Senior Procurement Manager
- Category Manager - Dairy
- Head of Procurement
Senior category and head-of-procurement roles set the sourcing strategy and supplier standards that determine how dairy and egg supply chains are specified and audited across a manufacturer's full portfolio.
About the role
Greencore is recruiting a Procurement Manager for its Dairy & Egg material group, based in Leeds on a hybrid basis. The role contributes to the formulation and implementation of the Material Group Sourcing Strategy, ensuring business strategies and performance targets are achieved with cross-functional alignment. The postholder leads all procurement activity for the material group, managing total cost of the portfolio efficiently, with rigorous attention to detail on PV (price variance), financial forecasting, rebates, cash management, Greencore Purchasing Excellence delivery, material availability and input cost inflation. The role involves stakeholder engagement with Commercial teams, including regular market updates and commentary and supporting inflation recovery, including direct dialogue with customers where necessary. It also involves stakeholder engagement with Operational teams, including Technical and Sustainability, to ensure correct levels of Quality and Inbound Service levels are achieved, and developing good working relationships with site General Managers and Supply Chain teams. Requirements include degree calibre or equivalent, detailed knowledge of procurement systems and processes, negotiation experience, knowledge/experience of Dairy and Egg procurement, proficiency in Microsoft Office systems, and a good understanding of food manufacturing, processes, and working with suppliers. Benefits include competitive salary and job-related benefits, holidays, matched pension contributions, life insurance up to 4x salary, a company share save scheme, Greencore Qualifications, an employee discount platform, a wellbeing centre platform, and enhanced parental leave and menopause policies.
We added this one ourselves, from the employer's own advert.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer is asking for, in their words. Applications are often screened by software looking for exact phrases, so if these describe your experience, use their wording.
- procurement strategy
- material group sourcing
- total cost management
- financial forecasting
- rebate management
- cash management
- input cost inflation
- commercial negotiation
- stakeholder engagement
- supplier relationship management
- dairy procurement
- egg procurement
- food manufacturing knowledge
- inflation recovery
How to position yourself
The language that works with hiring managers for this kind of job.
Position your interest in dairy and egg procurement around supply chain resilience and cost management - input cost inflation, rebate structures and supplier reliability are the language this role runs on. If you can speak to ethical or welfare sourcing standards, frame it as risk mitigation (reputational, supply continuity, customer requirements) rather than a values argument, and highlight any exposure to procurement systems, negotiation, or CIPS-aligned commercial vocabulary.
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