Job Description:

We are looking for an experienced Zonal Head - Milk Procurement to lead end-to-end milk procurement operations across Maharashtra. The role will be responsible for driving procurement volumes, maintaining milk quality and collection standards, strengthening relationships with farmers and milk societies, and ensuring consistent supply in line with business requirements.

The ideal candidate should have extensive hands-on experience in dairy milk procurement, strong knowledge of the Maharashtra dairy ecosystem, and proven leadership experience managing large field procurement teams.

Key Responsibilities:

Milk Procurement Operations:

- Lead end-to-end milk procurement operations across assigned locations in Maharashtra.

- Develop and execute procurement strategies to achieve daily, monthly, and annual milk collection targets.

- Ensure adequate milk availability to meet plant and business requirements.

- Monitor procurement volumes, collection trends, seasonal variations, and supply gaps.

- Identify new procurement areas and opportunities to expand the milk collection network.

- Ensure timely collection and transportation of milk from collection points to processing facilities.

Farmer & Society Relationship Management:

- Build and maintain strong relationships with farmers, dairy cooperatives, milk societies, collection centers, and procurement partners.

- Develop long-term engagement strategies to strengthen farmer loyalty and improve milk availability.

- Address farmer and society concerns related to pricing, quality, collection, payments, and operational issues.

- Work closely with field teams to improve farmer engagement and retention.

- Identify and onboard new farmers and procurement partners in potential sourcing areas.

Milk Quality Management:

- Ensure adherence to prescribed milk quality standards at collection points.

- Monitor parameters such as fat, SNF, adulteration, temperature, and other applicable quality indicators.

- Establish controls to minimize quality deviations and rejection of milk.

- Coordinate with quality and plant teams to resolve recurring quality issues.

- Conduct regular reviews of quality performance across procurement locations.

Procurement Planning & Business Alignment:

- Prepare regional procurement plans based on business and processing requirements.

- Forecast milk availability considering seasonality, local market conditions, and historical procurement trends.

- Align field procurement activities with plant capacity and daily milk requirements.

- Monitor procurement performance against targets and take corrective action wherever required.

- Track competitor procurement activity and local market developments affecting milk availability and pricing.

Team Leadership:

- Lead, mentor, and manage large field procurement teams across Maharashtra.

- Set clear performance targets for procurement officers, supervisors, collection teams, and field representatives.

- Monitor team productivity, procurement performance, farmer coverage, and collection efficiency.

- Conduct regular performance reviews and provide coaching to improve field effectiveness.

- Build a strong, accountable, and farmer-focused procurement team.

Cost & Commercial Management:

- Monitor procurement costs and ensure operations remain aligned with approved budgets.

- Support procurement price decisions through market intelligence and local competitive analysis.

- Negotiate effectively with procurement partners and societies while maintaining sustainable supplier relationships.

- Identify opportunities to improve procurement efficiency and reduce operational leakage.

Reporting & Governance:

- Prepare regular reports on milk procurement volumes, quality, procurement costs, farmer coverage, and regional performance.

- Present procurement performance and key operational insights to senior management.

- Identify risks affecting procurement volumes, quality, or supply continuity and implement mitigation plans.

- Ensure compliance with company procurement policies, quality standards, and operational processes.

Required Qualifications & Experience:

- 10 - 12 years of overall experience in the dairy industry, with significant experience in milk procurement.

- Strong hands-on experience managing milk procurement operations across a large geographic region.

- Proven experience managing relationships with farmers, milk societies, cooperatives, and procurement partners.

- Experience leading large field teams and geographically distributed procurement operations.

- Strong understanding of milk procurement processes, collection systems, quality parameters, and dairy supply chains.

- Strong knowledge of the Maharashtra dairy procurement market will be preferred.

- Fluency in Marathi is mandatory.

- Strong negotiation, problem-solving, stakeholder management, and decision-making skills.

- Willingness to travel extensively across Maharashtra as required.