Procurement Specialist
(2000483794)
Overview
Reference
2000483794
Salary
ZAR/month
Job Location
South Africa -Kwazulu-Natal -Tongaat
Job Type
Permanent
Posted
17 July 2026
Closing date
31 Jul 2026 22:59
OPERATING CENTRE: Voermol Feeds
DEPARTMENT: Raw Materials
JOB GRADE: DL
CLOSING DATE: 31 July 2026
Context and Scope
Tongaat Hulett boasts a proud 134-year history and a strong socio-economic legacy in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, extending into sub-Saharan Africa. Our Technical Operations comprise:
- Four sugar manufacturing mills located along the North Coast of KwaZulu-Natal, stretching from Tongaat through to Empangeni.
- A sugar refining operation based at South Coast Road, Durban.
- An animal feed manufacturing plant situated in Tongaat, alongside the Maidstone Sugar Mill.
- Technical operations support, consisting of specialists providing high-level assistance to operations both within South Africa and internationally.
The Company’s current priority is to improve overall business performance in the medium to long term, with objectives to operate strategically, sustainably, efficiently, and profitably. Tongaat Hulett focuses on re-energising assets to be cash-generative and exploring new customer segments.
Looking ahead, the Company is committed to leveraging our value chain and creating a platform for long-term growth, while maintaining strong relationships with key stakeholders.
Dimensions
a) Compliance
- Execute procurement in line with Tongaat Hulett policies.
- Maintain audit-ready records and ensure compliance.
- Align with Group contracts and sourcing mandates.
b) Process Complexity
- Manage a diverse raw materials portfolio.
- Balance cost, availability, and quality.
- Mitigate procurement risks through effective sourcing strategies.
Purpose of Role
The Procurement Specialist is a site-based role located at Voermol Feeds. This role is responsible for sourcing, purchasing, and managing raw materials, packaging, and services critical to Voermol Feeds’ animal feed manufacturing operations. The incumbent will ensure cost-effective, compliant, and reliable supply to support production continuity and business objectives. The role requires procuring all raw materials necessary for Voermol, ensuring cost competitiveness, quality compliance, and continuity of supply within the Tongaat Hulett governance framework.
Key Accountabilities
1. Procurement Financial and Commercial Applications
- Manage procurement costs against approved budgets and prevailing market conditions, with particular focus on agricultural commodity price volatility (e.g. maize, molasses, protein meals, and other feed raw materials) influenced by weather patterns and global commodity markets.
- Support Voermol’s working capital objectives and demand forecasting by ensuring procurement planning aligns with financial targets, cash flow requirements, and the cyclical nature of raw material availability.
2. Demand Planning and Sourcing
- Align procurement activities with production and operational requirements across Voermol Feeds, ensuring timely availability of raw materials, additives, and packaging to prevent production downtime.
- Identify, onboard, and manage suppliers of agricultural commodities and feed ingredients in line with the Company’s sourcing and procurement standards, ensuring supplier capability, capacity, and compliance with feed safety and quality standards that meet current and future business needs.
- Build strategic relationships with various stakeholders to secure consistent supply.
3. Execution and Contract Management
- Execute day-to-day purchasing activities through SAP, ensuring accuracy, compliance, and efficiency in transaction processing, aligned with Tongaat Hulett group procurement policies and systems.
- Manage supplier contracts from negotiation through to execution, including forward contracts and hedging arrangements common in commodity procurement, and monitor ongoing supplier performance against contractual terms, delivery schedules, and quality specifications.
4. Procurement Support
- Provide procurement support across packaging (bags, bulk packaging materials), SHEQ, and engineering-related purchasing, with a strong awareness of feed safety, biosecurity, and regulatory compliance requirements applicable to the animal feed industry (e.g. Act 36 of 1947 - Fertilisers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act).
- Offer limited support for capital expenditure (CAPEX) and services-related procurement as required by the business, including maintenance and engineering spares.
5. Relationship Management
- Build and maintain strong working relationships with suppliers, including commodity traders, ingredient manufacturers, and packaging suppliers, ensuring reliable service delivery and favourable commercial terms.
- Proactively identify and communicate procurement-related risks to management, including commodity price fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, and quality or compliance risks, enabling timely decision-making and risk mitigation.
- Liaise with internal stakeholders including production, SHEQ, and technical teams to ensure procurement supports operational and quality requirements.
6. Reporting and Administration
- Maintain accurate and up-to-date procurement records in line with governance and audit requirements, including Tongaat Hulett group reporting standards where applicable.
- Compile and provide regular reports on procurement performance, supplier risks, commodity market trends, and related metrics to support informed management decision-making.
Qualifications and Experience Required
- Relevant tertiary qualification in Procurement or Supply Chain Management.
- Minimum of 10 years’ experience in procurement.
- Essential experience within the feed or agriculture industry.
- Strong commercial acumen with expertise in SAP or similar ERP systems.
- Understanding of agricultural commodity markets and feed raw materials.
- Knowledge of relevant regulatory and compliance requirements in the animal feed industry.
- Proficient computer skills.
- Strong analytical capabilities.
- Excellent communication skills.
- Assertiveness and confidence in stakeholder engagement.
- Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to build effective relationships.
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