Feed Ingredients Buyer

Job Summary: The Feed Ingredient Buyer is responsible for developing and executing sourcing, procurement, and supply strategies for bulk feed ingredients, including corn, soybean meal, and other raw materials used in proprietary feed formulations. This role serves as a senior subject matter expert, independently managing complex sourcing decisions, supplier negotiations, commodity market considerations, and multimodal inbound logistics while balancing cost, quality, inventory, supply continuity, and risk. The role partners with internal stakeholders and external suppliers, brokers, producers, and transportation providers to optimize total delivered cost, resolve complex supply and logistics issues, and ensure reliable ingredient availability across assigned mill locations.

Job Responsibilities:

Strategic Sourcing and Commodity Procurement

• Develop and execute sourcing and procurement strategies for corn, soybean meal, and other bulk feed ingredients based on demand, market conditions, supplier capabilities, transportation availability, inventory requirements, and operational priorities.
• Independently evaluate sourcing alternatives and make procurement decisions balancing commodity and transportation costs, supply reliability, quality, inventory exposure, and operational risk.
• Lead complex commercial negotiations with producers, brokers, trading partners, and suppliers regarding pricing, volumes, delivery requirements, contract terms, and freight arrangements, exercising independent negotiation authority within established business parameters.
• Monitor commodity markets, supply conditions, production factors, and transportation constraints and apply price-risk management and derivative hedging knowledge to sourcing and purchasing decisions.
• Identify and implement opportunities to improve sourcing economics, supplier diversification, commercial terms, and overall supply reliability.
• Apply knowledge of agricultural commodity price-risk management and derivative hedging concepts when evaluating purchasing strategies, market exposure, and sourcing alternatives.
• Identify opportunities to improve sourcing economics, supplier diversification, contractual terms, and overall supply reliability.

Supply and Logistics Management:

• Manage the inbound supply pipeline for assigned feed ingredients and mill locations, maintaining appropriate inventory levels to support production requirements and supply continuity.
• Develop and coordinate logistics strategies across rail, barge, truck, and other transportation modes based on cost, capacity, lead times, inventory positions, and operational requirements.
• Independently adjust purchasing and logistics plans and develop alternative solutions in response to market volatility, transportation disruptions, supplier constraints, weather events, and changing production requirements.
• Coordinate shipping and delivery requirements with suppliers, carriers, mill operations, and internal stakeholders and manage demurrage, detention, freight, and other logistics-related costs to minimize avoidable expense.
• Evaluate significant supply and transportation risks and their potential operational and financial impact, recommending and implementing appropriate actions and escalating material issues to leadership.

Supplier, Commercial and Quality Management:

• Establish and maintain strategic relationships with commodity producers, brokers, trading partners, suppliers, and transportation providers to support reliable and competitive ingredient supply.
• Evaluate supplier performance across cost, quality, reliability, service, contract compliance, and delivery, partnering with Quality and Operations to ensure established ingredient specifications and requirements are met.
• Manage and negotiate resolution of complex supplier and transportation claims, including quantity, quality, pricing, and delivery discrepancies, while protecting the organization's commercial interests and supplier relationships.
• Identify opportunities to strengthen and diversify the supplier base, reduce supply risk, improve commercial terms, and enhance sourcing flexibility.

Market Analysis, Business Partnership and Continuous Improvement:

• Serve as a senior subject matter expert on feed ingredient sourcing, agricultural commodity markets, supply conditions, and related procurement and logistics activities.
• Analyze commodity, transportation, inventory, supplier, and market data and translate complex information into actionable recommendations for Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, and leadership.
• Partner with mill leadership and operational stakeholders to incorporate production forecasts, inventory requirements, capacity constraints, and changing business needs into sourcing and supply decisions.
• Provide subject matter leadership on cross-functional initiatives and identify and implement improvements to sourcing, supplier management, logistics, controls, and procurement processes.
• Provide technical guidance and coaching to procurement colleagues and stakeholders, maintain appropriate documentation of significant procurement and commercial activities, and perform additional relevant duties as assigned.

Experience:

• Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible experience in agricultural commodity procurement, feed ingredient sourcing, agricultural processing and trading, or a related field.
• Experience independently developing and executing sourcing strategies and leading complex supplier and commodity negotiations in dynamic, market-driven environments.
• Experience managing multi-location commodity supply and logistics across rail, barge, and/or truck transportation.
• Experience evaluating commodity price risk, applying hedging and risk-management concepts, and resolving complex supplier, quality, transportation, and commercial issues requiring significant judgment.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Advanced knowledge of agricultural commodity markets, feed ingredients, strategic sourcing, supplier management, commodity pricing, basis relationships, price-risk management, and derivative hedging concepts applicable to feedstock procurement.
• Strong knowledge of multimodal bulk commodity transportation and logistics, including rail, barge, and trucking operations, and the ability to anticipate and mitigate supply and transportation risks.
• Demonstrated ability to independently develop and execute sourcing and supply strategies and make complex commercial decisions balancing cost, risk, quality, inventory, logistics, and operational requirements.
• Advanced negotiation and relationship-management skills with the ability to independently represent the organization with producers, brokers, suppliers, trading partners, and transportation providers.
• Strong analytical and financial acumen, business judgment, and problem-solving skills with the ability to interpret complex market and operational information and resolve non-routine issues with limited direction.
• Ability to influence decisions, provide functional leadership across organizational boundaries, and translate complex commodity, sourcing, and logistics information into clear recommendations for operational and senior leadership audiences.
• Strong organizational, planning, communication, and execution skills with demonstrated initiative, accountability, and ability to manage multiple priorities in a rapidly changing market and operational environment.
• Strong proficiency with Microsoft Office and related business and analytical tools; ability to appropriately manage confidential and commercially sensitive information; multilingual capabilities preferred.

Supervisor Responsibilities:

• None. This is an individual contributor role and may have additional responsibility of managing one Feed Ingredient Specialist

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Supply Chain, Procurement, Agriculture, Agricultural Economics, or a related field from an accredited institution.

Work Environment: Office

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is exposed to typical risks of injury in an office environment. 
• Duties include a typical office setting including extensive computer work, sitting or standing.
• Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Must adhere to the company’s Code of Conduct and all other policies.

Safety Requirements:

• Follows all departmental and company safety policies and programs.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, Wayne-Sanderson does not discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, religion, gender (sex), sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, citizenship status, a person’s veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law or executive order.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.