Company culture :

Job :

Centrale Danone is looking for its future Topline Buyer who will contribute to the Topline purchasing strategy by supporting the Marketing teams in selecting, negotiating, and managing external partners throughout the purchasing process.

The role involves understanding and formalizing needs, from sourcing and launching tenders to contracting and monitoring supplier performance, with the aim of ensuring competitiveness, service quality, innovation, compliance, and value creation for brands and internal clients.

Main responsibilities:

1. Understanding and formalizing needs:

• Gather and challenge briefs from internal clients.
• Clarify deliverables, deadlines, budgets, and evaluation criteria.
• Co-create specifications with stakeholders.
• Understand the business stakes and specific needs of the Marketing and Topline teams.

2. Sourcing and tender management

• Conduct market research, perform benchmarks, and qualify suppliers.
• Identify and select external partners suitable for the teams' needs.
• Prepare and launch RFQs/RFPs and agency competitions.
• Coordinate the technical and commercial analysis of received offers.
• Formulate award recommendations in collaboration with stakeholders.

3. Offer analysis and negotiation

• Analyze cost structures, daily rates, fees, commissions, and external expenses.
• Compare different offers on a consistent basis.
• Identify productivity levers and value creation opportunities.
• Prepare and conduct negotiations with the support of the Category Sourcing Manager.

4. Contract management and supplier performance monitoring

• Contribute to contracting in collaboration with Legal, Finance, and Compliance teams.
• Monitor supplier KPIs, SLAs, commitments, and improvement plans.
• Participate in supplier performance reviews.
• Contribute to the rationalization and optimization of the supplier base.
• Ensure compliance with commitments and the service quality of partners.

5. Purchasing governance and reporting

• Apply purchasing policies, ethical rules, and confidentiality requirements.
• Ensure the updating of the purchasing pipeline, gains, contracts, risks, and next steps.
• Prepare clear summaries for management and internal clients.
• Ensure traceability of decisions and rigorous monitoring of the different stages of the purchasing process.

6. Responsible purchasing and sustainability

• Integrate CSR, climate, circularity, and responsible purchasing criteria into Topline tenders.
• Participate in monitoring supplier compliance with internal standards.
• Identify partners capable of offering innovative, responsible solutions aligned with Danone's business and sustainability ambitions.
• Contribute to integrating sustainability issues into purchasing decisions.

7. Digitalization and continuous improvement of purchasing

• Contribute to the use of digital purchasing tools: e-sourcing, e-auctions, contracting platforms, and tender tracking tools.
• Structure purchasing data to facilitate reporting and performance management.
• Contribute to improving the traceability of decisions and purchasing processes.
• Participate in the continuous improvement of processes to gain efficiency, transparency, and speed of execution.

8. Stakeholder coordination

• Collaborate with Marketing and Topline, Sales, Finance, Management Control and Accounting, Legal, Compliance, and Internal Control teams.
• Work in coordination with Supply Chain and Operations, IT & Data, Quality and Food Safety, R&D/Innovation, and Human Resources teams.
• Collaborate with local and global Cycles & Procurement teams.
• Ensure coordination with external partners: creative agencies, media agencies, digital agencies, research institutes, event service providers, POSM suppliers, and production partners.

Required profile :

• Master's degree (Bac+5) in Purchasing, Business, Management, Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, or equivalent.
• First experience in purchasing, sourcing, marketing procurement, or project management.
• Experience in the FMCG sector is a plus.
• Good command of Source-to-Contract processes.
• Good ability to analyze costs and remuneration models.
• Proficiency in tender processes and negotiation techniques.
• Knowledge of contract and supplier management.
• Good understanding of business issues.
• Very good command of Excel and PowerPoint.
• Comfortable with digital tools, purchasing platforms, and ERP systems.
• Fluent French and professional English.

Behavioral competencies:

• Business and results orientation.
• Rigor and analytical skills.
• Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills.
• Curiosity, agility, and proactivity.
• Ability to work with stakeholders and teams with varied expertise.
• Sense of integrity and compliance.
• Value creation and solution-seeking orientation.
• Ability to manage multiple subjects and stakeholders in a cross-functional environment.