Job Description

:India is among the top ten priority markets for General Mills, and hosts our Global Shared Services Centre. This is the Global Shared Services arm of General Mills Inc., which supports its operations worldwide. With over 1,300 employees in Mumbai, the center has capabilities in the areas of Supply Chain, Finance, HR, Digital and Technology, Sales Capabilities, Consumer Insights, ITQ (R&D & Quality), and Enterprise Business Services. Learning and capacity-building is a key ingredient of our success.Position Title: Consultant - Global Sourcing Solutions (Corporate Services Category Buyer)Function/Group: Global Sourcing SolutionsShift Timing: 1:30 PM to 10:30 PMRole reports to: GIC Indirect Sourcing ManagerRemote/Hybrid/in-office: HybridLocation: MumbaiABOUT GENERAL MILLSWe make food the world loves: 100 brands. In 100 countries. Across six continents. With iconic brands like Cheerios, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Nature Valley, and Haagen-Dazs, we have been serving up food the world loves for 155 years (and counting). Each of our brands has a unique story to tell.How we make our food is as important as the food we make. Our values are baked into our legacy and continue to accelerate.us into the future as an innovative force for good. General Mills was founded in 1866 when Cadwallader Washburn boldly bought the largest flour mill west of the Mississippi. That pioneering spirit lives on today through our leadership team who upholds a vision of relentless innovation while being a force for good. For more details check outGeneral Mills India Center (GIC) is our global capability center in Mumbai that works as an extension of our global organization delivering business value, service excellence and growth while standing for good for our planet and people.With our team of 1800+ professionals, we deliver superior value across the areas of Supply chain (SC), Digital & Technology (D&T) Innovation, Technology & Quality (ITQ), Consumer and Market Intelligence (CMI), Sales Strategy & Intelligence (SSI), Global Shared Services (GSS), Finance Shared Services (FSS) and Human Resources Shared Services (HRSS). For more details check outWe advocate for advancing equity and inclusion to create more equitable workplaces and a better tomorrow.JOB OVERVIEW:The GIC Supply Chain team manages end-to-end operations, encompassing planning, sourcing, manufacturing, logistics, and analytics. They strategically plan to meet market demands, optimize sourcing, ensure efficient production, and oversee the seamless movement of goods from production to delivery. The team employs advanced analytics throughout these processes, fostering adaptability and operational excellence. This collaborative approach ensures a well-coordinated supply chain that aligns with both organizational goals and dynamic market conditions.Purpose of the roleAs the Indirect Category Buyer, you will be responsible for implementing the procurement strategy for the Corporate Services Category. You will implement category strategies, manage supplier and stakeholder relationships, negotiate contracts, and payment terms, and drive cost savings for the organization in alignment with the US-led strategy. You will be responsible for executing and negotiating contracts that deliver service enhancement and Total Value (HMM) for your categories. You will report to the manager, to execute growth and holistic category strategies & to achieve business goalsThe Sourcing Buyer will leverage a consultative framework to prepare and deliver actionable insights to indirect sourcing operations leaders to tease out Cost savings/Cost avoidance Opportunities. Together, these insights will be leveraged as input to build a US-led category strategy, expose opportunities to drive incremental spend under management, deliver incremental Total Value, expose operational cost avoidance opportunities, and mitigate business riskKEY ACCOUNTABILITY30% of Time:

• Supports the development of short-term and long-term category-specific strategies that align with the Company's goals for reducing costs and meeting financial expectations while partnering on the management of vendor relationships. Drive consolidation of spend and seek out synergies across Business Units where applicable.
• Preparing and maintaining reports, analyzing data to tease out critical insights and providing recommendations and insights to sourcing leadership and other stakeholders.
• Innovate & provide expertise /insights in developing/ implementing the new capabilities.
• Work closely with the COE Leads, Sr. Sourcing Managers & Directors to understand their category needs and ensure continued value delivery.
• Use the business problems to build innovative proof of concepts.
• Conduct/Lead supplier selection and evaluation to work with best-in-class suppliers who provide quality goods and services at competitive prices
• Manage contracts MSAs, contract negotiation, and contractual dispute resolutions as defined by our ways of working and strategy set by the Category Leader. Pre-negotiate and incorporate terms, conditions, key performance indicators, and service level metrics into vendor contracts.
• Manage supplier relationships effectively by tracking their performance regularly and participating in their business reviews to improve /maintain their performance.
• Commercialize partnerships with agreements that leverage GMIs scale and external partner capabilities to deliver a competitive advantage for GMI.
• Launch tenders /RFIs, RFPs, Auctions as needed within the General Mills sourcing policy and conduct negotiations with suppliers with continuous alignment with relevant stakeholders.
• Ensure compliance to the General Mills Sourcing Policies

• Ensure GMIs Code of Conduct and Ethics policies are foremost in all supplier interactions.
• Know and Follow the General Mills Sourcing Strategy

70% of Time

• Manage projects in the Corporate Service Category including execution of category strategy, supplier selection, maintaining vendor relationships, negotiating vendor contracts within predefined ranges, and tracking supplier performance.
• Closely collaborate with category managers and stakeholders to execute multi-year category strategies.
• Negotiate favorable agreements that deliver services, capabilities and solutions that meet GMI requirements and achieve competitive pricing with long-term price protection
• Participate in the development of strategic sourcing plans that provide General Mills with a competitive advantage and deliver long-term term consistent, sustainable, cost-effective solutions
• Comply with corporate and regulatory policies and accounting practices.
• Learn and leverage continuous improvement tools and processes.
• Partner closely with stakeholders to understand business needs and priorities. Implement the Source to Pay process for all assigned areas to drive competitive advantage through productivity and innovation initiatives.
• Launch tenders /RFIs, RFPs, and Auctions as needed within the General Mills sourcing policy and conduct negotiations with suppliers with continuous alignment with relevant stakeholders.
• Experience in conducting RFIs/RFPs/eAuctions events leveraging eSourcing tools such as Jaggaer, SMART by GEP, and Ariba will be preferred.
• Provides input to Category leadership in the US to build pipeline and consensus on category buying strategies resulting in operational execution plans/initiatives and playbook documentation to prioritize in FY.
• Opportunity assessment leveraging data & analysis to provide recommendations to the sourcing organization.
• Understand the nature of request, and statement of work and provide Bidding support by managing & executing complex projects or bids.
• Improve payment terms, Total Value
• Recommend suppliers

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum Degree Requirements: Full-Time graduation from an accredited university (Mandatory)
• Minimum years of related experience required: 5+ Years

SPECIFIC JOB EXPERIENCE OR SKILLS NEEDED

• 5+ years of experience in procurement, strategic sourcing, or related field, with a focus on indirect categories such as Corporate Services.
• Experience in negotiating and managing contracts with suppliers.
• Good understanding and use of fundamental Source to Pay process and tools
• Understand key cost drivers of an agreement to be able to advocate for GMI during negotiations
• Experience in conducting eSourcing events independently leveraging tools such as Jaggaer, SMART by GEP, and Ariba will be preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to implement category strategies that meet operational targets.
• Strong project management, analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and procurement systems.
• Agile mindset: the ability to interpret and reinterpret data sets with evolving category strategy in mind - highlighting different insights and opportunities based on stakeholder input.
• Initiative-taker: bias for action with the ability to deliver outstanding results through task prioritization and time management.
• Number sense, ability to identify questionable data, dig in & address it.

COMPETENCIES/BEHAVIORS REQUIRED FOR THE JOB.Communication

• Ability to effectively communicate ideas (via written & verbal English communication) with stakeholders from different functions within the organization. Engages in cross-functional collaboration to identify innovative solutions.

Problem Solving / Analytical skills.

• Ability to understand the business requirements and convert them into solution development needs. Incumbents should have experience in working on large data sets. Can identify issues and provide ideas/solutions for resolution.
• Creative Thinking/Leads change.
• Ability and confidence to identify and recommend creative solutions. Identifies both opportunities and needs for change. Adapts quickly and responds effectively to change. Identifies issues or problems and provides a respective solution. Explores and shares innovative best practices with others.

Functional Skills.

• Ability to deliver outstanding results.
• Completes tasks, activities, and projects in a timely and effective manner. Communicates progress on projects with others to ensure overall alignment. Provides ideas and input to help the team achieve greater results. May lead a defined portion of a project. Assumes personal initiative and accountability for results, performance, and behaviors.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Preferred Degree Requirements: Masters
• Preferred Major Area of Study: BE, Supply Chain Management, MBA Operations /Supply Chain
• Required Professional Certifications: N/A
• Preferred Professional Certifications: APICS, PMP
• Preferred years of related experience: 7+Years

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

General Mills