Procurement External Manufacturing Specialist

Job Description

Objective:

The Procurement External Manufacturing Specialist plays a key role in enabling business scalability, innovation, and supply continuity by strategically managing the sourcing of finished goods and manufacturing services through a network of approved external partners. This position is also responsible for developing a robust portfolio of alternative suppliers to support business growth, mitigate risks, and unlock innovation opportunities.

Through proactive supplier development, contract management, and close collaboration with cross-functional teams—including Quality, Regulatory, Legal, Finance, and Supply Chain—the analyst ensures cost-effective, timely, and compliant procurement aligned with market demands and company standards. By aligning global and local procurement strategies, the role contributes to the optimization of the external manufacturing footprint, supports innovation pipelines, and drives long-term value creation across the supply chain.

Identify and Evaluate External Manufacturing suppliers: Conduct through market research to identify potential partners for meeting our company's requirements. Assess their capabilities, quality standards, track records, and compliance with industry regulations.

Vendor Selection and Negotiation: Collaborate with cross-functional teams, including, quality assurance, regulatory, legal, and finance, to evaluate potential partners. Negotiate volume, contract terms, including pricing, delivery timelines, quality control, and service level agreements, to secure favourable deals for the company based on cost, quality, and delivery requirements, to ensure cost-effective solutions.

Supplier Relationship Management: Foster strong, long-term relationships with partners by providing clear communication, addressing concerns, and facilitating collaboration. Monitor supplier performance, ensuring adherence to contractual obligations, quality standards, and ethical conduct.

Contract Management: Oversee the preparation, review, and execution of contracts with suppliers. Work closely with legal teams to ensure all legal and compliance requirements are met, minimizing risk and protecting the company's interests.

Cost Optimization: Continuously analyse procurement processes, market trends, and supplier performance to identify opportunities for cost savings and process improvements. Develop strategies to drive efficiency, minimize expenses, and achieve cost optimization goals.

Supply Chain Management: Collaborate closely with the supply chain team to align procurement activities with production schedules, inventory management, and demand forecasts. Maintain accurate records of procurement activities, supplier performance, and contracts to support effective supply chain planning. Strong organizational skills with the ability to prioritize tasks effectively.

Risk Management: Mitigate supply risks by diversifying supplier base and implementing robust contingency planning.

Quality Assurance: Collaborate with quality assurance teams to define and enforce quality control standards for procured goods and services. Monitor and evaluate external manufacturer performance against quality metrics and take appropriate corrective actions when necessary.

Strategy: Guarantee the correct alignment between global teams, local procurement team and KHC related to innovation and strategic plan by updating capabilities to absorb our growth in Mexico, building a Strategic agenda, by setting up categories’ strategy & sourcing plan.

Innovation Enablement: Act as a catalyst for innovation by identifying external capabilities that support new product development and speed-to-market.

Activities:

1.Develop and execute sourcing strategies for external manufacturing partners to ensure supply continuity, cost efficiency, and scalability. Develop and apply cost models to support negotiations with external manufacturers and service providers.

1. Identify, evaluate, and onboard alternative external manufacturers to support innovation, risk mitigation, and business continuity.
2. Lead contract negotiations and manage supplier agreements, ensuring compliance with legal, quality, and service-level requirements.
3. Monitor and manage supplier performance, fostering long-term relationships and driving continuous improvement.
4. Collaborate cross-functionally with Quality, R&D, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure alignment of external manufacturing activities with product and business requirements.

Knowledge & Experience

Minimum 3 years of experience in Procurement and Supply Chain, with at least 2 years focused on external manufacturing or co-manufacturing.

Bachelor’s degree in engineering, Economics, Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, or related field.

Business fluent in Spanish and English.

Strong knowledge of finished goods sourcing, external manufacturing models, and supply chain operations/management.

Proven experience in contract negotiation (planning and leading complex negotiations), supplier evaluation, and relationship management.

Proficiency in SAP, Ariba and Advanced Excel

Capability

Excellent communication skills across organizational levels.

Strong organizational and prioritization abilities.

Analytical and strategic mindset with a focus on execution.

Effective interpersonal skills and ability to influence stakeholders.

Ability to operate in fast-paced environments with multiple priorities.

Resilient, process-oriented, and skilled in creative problem-solving.

Capable of managing multiple projects with varying complexity.

Demonstrated ability to build relationships and influence decisions internally and externally, both regionally and globally.

Location(S)

Mexico, D.F.

Kraft Heinz is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Underrepresented Ethnic Minority Groups/Women/Veterans/Individuals with Disabilities/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity and other protected classes.