About the Role:

The Category Lead - Grains is part of the Central Buying Organisation (CBO) of Godrej Agrovet's Animal Nutrition Business, which procures over 1.5 MMT of agri-products annually. The incumbent owns the national grains category charter and leads regional buying teams across sourcing geographies.

The role is responsible for consolidating regional intelligence into a national sourcing and price-risk strategy, standardising procurement processes, developing regional buying capabilities, and ensuring delivery against cost, supply continuity, and supplier performance objectives.

Key Responsibilities:

Team Leadership & Category Governance:

- Lead, coach, and develop Regional Buying teams across sourcing geographies, ensuring alignment with the national category plan.

- Set clear regional targets and monitor performance against procurement objectives.

- Drive capability building and succession planning within the buying team.

- Act as the escalation authority for buying plans, quality concerns, supplier disputes, and procurement decisions.

- Conduct regular business reviews to track performance against cost, OTD, and compliance metrics.

National Sourcing & Procurement Strategy:

- Own the end-to-end sourcing strategy for grains and allied agri-commodities including DDGS, Molasses, Hullar Bran, Maize Gluten, and other feed ingredients.

- Develop short-term and long-term procurement strategies to optimize costs and manage supply-demand fluctuations.

- Identify new sourcing geographies, suppliers, and raw materials to strengthen the national vendor portfolio.

- Support regional procurement operations for Fuel, Packing Material, and Engineering Items in alignment with respective category leads.

- Ensure Procure-to-Pay (P2P) process compliance across the category, including Purchase Orders, delivery tracking, and payment coordination.

Market Research, Analysis & Price Risk Management:

- Consolidate crop surveys and market intelligence generated by regional buyers into a comprehensive national market view.

- Monitor domestic and global commodity market trends and formulate category-level price-risk strategies.

- Travel to key sourcing markets to validate market intelligence, assess risks, and support regional teams.

- Present category outlook, risks, opportunities, and sourcing recommendations to senior leadership.

Technology & Digital Transformation:

- Drive the adoption of SAP, E-Auction platforms, and digital sourcing tools across all sourcing regions.

- Own category-level dashboards and MIS for tracking commodity prices, inventory, supplier performance, and procurement KPIs.

- Lead digitization and automation initiatives to improve procurement efficiency and decision-making through analytics.

Logistics & Release-Item Selling:

- Drive initiatives to maximise realization from release items such as packaging materials and scrap.

- Lead warehouse space planning, de-hiring decisions, inventory consumption planning, and inbound logistics coordination.

- Ensure smooth unloading and movement of raw materials across manufacturing locations.

Supplier Relationship Management:

- Build and maintain strong relationships with strategic suppliers.

- Ensure regional teams effectively manage and expand their supplier networks.

- Implement supplier performance management frameworks across all regions.

- Negotiate long-term and national-level supply arrangements to leverage organisational scale and achieve cost advantages.

Business & Stakeholder Collaboration:

- Partner with Production, Stores, Supply Chain, and Finance teams to ensure uninterrupted plant operations.

- Ensure adherence to organisational values, compliance requirements, and internal controls.

- Drive category-wide cost-saving initiatives and monitor implementation through regional procurement teams.

- Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to deliver procurement excellence and business objectives.

Education:

- Post-Graduate degree required.

- MBA in Agri-Business preferred.

Experience:

- 8 - 12 years of experience in Procurement, Strategic Sourcing, Commodity Buying, or Supply Chain within Agri-Commodities, Animal Feed, Agri Inputs, or allied sectors.

- Prior experience managing procurement teams and regional sourcing operations.

- Proven expertise in: Strategic Sourcing, Commodity Procurement, Market Intelligence, Price Risk Management, Supplier Performance Management, Multi-regional/National Procurement Operations.

- Experience working with SAP, E-Auction platforms, and digital procurement solutions.

- High willingness to travel extensively across sourcing markets and regions.

Key Skills:

- Procurement & Category Management

- Strategic Sourcing and Category Management

- Commodity Procurement and Market Intelligence

- Supplier Development and Vendor Management

- Contract Negotiation and Commercial Management

- Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Optimization

- Technology & Analytics

- SAP and ERP Systems

- E-Auction Platforms

- Procurement Analytics and MIS

- Dashboard Management

- Digital Procurement Tools

- Leadership & Stakeholder Management

- Team Leadership and Coaching

- Cross-functional Collaboration

- Senior Stakeholder Management

- Change Management

- Decision Making and Problem Solving

Key Competencies:

- Strong team leadership and mentoring capability.

- Commercial acumen and advanced negotiation skills.

- Analytical mindset with the ability to synthesize regional insights into strategic decisions.

- Strong stakeholder management and influencing skills.

- Entrepreneurial approach with an ownership mindset.

- High integrity and compliance orientation.

- Ability to balance strategic planning with operational execution.