Manager, EMI - Innovation Desserts

About the role

Kraft Heinz is hiring a Manager, EMI - Innovation Desserts in Chicago, Illinois, to lead project-level procurement support for innovation initiatives across the business unit portfolio. The role covers both external manufacturing innovation (sourcing partners to commercialize products through an external manufacturer) and internal innovation, acting as the primary procurement point of contact and driving supplier readiness, risk mitigation and launch support.

Key responsibilities

• Partner with brand and cross-functional teams to understand pipeline priorities, product requirements, timing and supplier capability needs.
• Lead end-to-end sourcing for innovation projects commercialized through an external manufacturer, including supplier identification, RFP development and execution, supplier evaluation, CAPEX and IP considerations, commercial negotiations, contracting, onboarding, launch preparation and early lifecycle support.
• Analyze supplier and market landscapes to identify new partners and opportunities, and bring forward innovation concepts and emerging technologies.
• Work with the base business procurement lead to support the sourcing strategy and establish supplier ways of working, governance and readiness plans.
• Manage supplier readiness, risk mitigation, issue resolution, escalation, launch support and steady-state stabilization, then transition ownership to the base external manufacturing procurement team.
• Embed procurement early in internal innovation planning, coordinate with Ingredients, Packaging and other procurement teams, and act as escalation point for timing, lead times and supplier readiness issues.
• Surface supplier-enabled innovation opportunities, anticipate project risks and contribute to continuous improvement of innovation procurement tools and routines.

Required profile

• Bachelor's degree in supply chain, business, finance, operations, engineering or a related field; MBA and/or advanced procurement qualifications preferred.
• Procurement experience in innovation sourcing, external manufacturing, commercialization, ingredients, packaging, CAPEX or related categories.
• Strong experience in cross-functional environments supporting new product development, commercialization or launch execution.
• Strong negotiation, influence, collaboration and project management skills, with adaptability in fast-moving environments.

Required skills

• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Familiarity with source-to-pay tools such as SAP, Ariba and Workday.
• Digital savviness and basic knowledge of business intelligence tools such as Tableau and Power BI.
• Interest in AI solutions and their use in insight generation and decision making.