Contract Manufacturing Manager
- Saint Louis, MO
- Permanent
- Full-time
- Manage external co-manufacturing companies that can deliver unique capability and capacity at competitive delivered costs
- Foster relationships across multiple grocery and pet brands and facilities
- Contribute to key commercialization and innovation initiatives, focusing on volume and profit growth as well as cost reduction
- Participate in Product Supply outsourcing decisions when our plants are fully utilized or lack specific capabilities
- Facilitate capability searches and development of RFPs as it relates to innovation or changes in manufacturing locations
- Participate in make / buy decisions to determine if projects should be done at our plants or at a co-packer
- Engage in contract negotiations with qualified contract manufacturers or co-packers that clearly convey expectations, accountability, low costs, superior services, and promote strong relationships
- Promote and support continuous improvement with co-packers to improve efficiencies, reduce costs, and improve margins
- Collaborate with Quality Assurance to provide oversight and direction related to product safety incidents and negotiate disposition and related payments / penalties
- Assist with annual reviews with third parties and respective leadership programs
- Participate in development of annual budgets and product costs for all co-packed items and reporting out on performance against operating profit targets monthly
- Review co-manufacturing P&Ls with finance and validate COGS variances vs standard
- Lead monthly business reviews of KPIs and a performance scorecard for all external manufacturers and co-packers
- Work with legal to develop, execute, and maintain all Post confidentiality agreements and contract(s)
- Lead, support, and participate on cross-functional project teams on key business unit commercialization initiatives
- Assist in new product launch trials and start-ups at third party manufacturers to ensure execution against overall timeline and key objectives
- Coordinate quality audits, physical inspections, and site approvals for new third party manufacturers
- Provide support with project requests for miscellaneous capital as needed with appropriate scope, business rationale, and financial analysis
- Lead and facilitate project team meetings and publish meeting minutes with key deliverables, owners, and dates
- Assist in contingency planning for potential labor interruptions and fluctuations in product demand
- Oversee administrative activities including inventory control and disposition of obsolete inventory at co-packers
- Maintain communication with key internal contacts, including Sales, Marketing, Accounting, R&D, Quality, Legal, and Product Supply
- Manage relationships with external manufacturing customers and contractors sourced throughout the year to support current business and innovation
- Bachelor’s Degree in a related field (Business, Procurement, Supply Chain, Operations, Engineering, etc)
- Minimum of 5-7 years of operational and plant manufacturing experience preferably in a CPG environment
- Minimum of 5-7 years of project management experience
- Willing to develop expertise in quality and food safety regulations and compliance requirements
- Assertive and ready to gain proficiency with P&Ls, negotiating pricing, and key business terms within co-manufacturing agreements
- Familiar with ERP software and systems such as Oracle, SAP, JDE, etc
- Ability to take initiative with little supervision
- Demonstrated cross functional leadership skills
- Strong business acumen
- Travel Requirements: ~30% monthly