Livestock Procurement Graduate

Overview:

Contract Type: Full Time/Permanent.

Role Summary:

Dawn Meats is a premium meat processor and supplier of choice for a range of leading supermarket, foodservice and restaurant businesses. Established in 1980, Dawn Meats is an industry leader with annual revenues of over €2bn, employing over 8,000 staff in 15 countries and exporting to over 50 countries.

As a Livestock Procurement Graduate, you will work as part of a dedicated, driven and supportive team. As your skills and knowledge develop over time, you will get involved in all aspects of Livestock Procurement within the business and your responsibility will increase.

About our Brighter Futures Programme:

Experience is the best teacher, which is why at Dawn Meats we like to give you real responsibility at the start. Combined with formal training you will work with passionate, talented people who will provide invaluable training on the job plus:

• Dedicated mentors;
• First class coaching;
• Direct access to senior leaders;
• Opportunities to undertake assignments, secondments and innovative project work across the business;
• Investment in blue chip residential offsite training.

With no pre-conceived ideas and no limit on your career path, your skills and experiences can be uniquely tailored to the multitude of career opportunities within Dawn Meats. We recognise the importance of continuous development and work closely with recognised Management Development Institutes in Ireland and the UK to develop our Graduates as managers of the future.

Responsibilities:

The successful candidate will be based within our Livestock Procurement department at our Slane facility and will be responsible for:

• Familiarising yourself with the organisational structure, particularly within the site where you are based;
• Building and maintaining strong working relationships with the site’s Livestock Procurement team and with the other graduates on the Graduate Programme;
• Gaining a full understanding of production operations is key for a successful career in the Livestock Procurement field, developing a detailed knowledge of the following areas is essential
• Procurement & Supply Chain
• Lairage & Animal Welfare
• Slaughter, Primary Carcass Breakdown & Yields
• Boning/Production
• Customer Specifications
• Stock Rotation (Maturation)
• Production Planning and Food Safety and Quality issues.
• Procuring livestock from farmers via phone calls, visitations to farms, marketing at shows and through livestock markets;
• Liaising with the Procurement Manager on price, daily kill requirements and any issues which may have arisen through the marketing or purchase of livestock;
• Assisting in determining cattle and sheep trends to avoid shortfalls in numbers required;
• Working with continuous improvement mindset across all tasks;
• Ensuring all relevant paper work and records are completed and up to date.

Qualifications:

Your role will see you tackle a wide range of business challenges in a busy Livestock Procurement environment. The ideal candidate will have or demonstrate:

• A relevant degree;
• Excellent communication skills;
• Ability to build and maintain good team and cross functional relationships;
• Demonstrate strong financial understanding and business acumen;
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office;
• Excellent time management;
• Understanding of team dynamics, demonstrating the ability to work as an active and constructive member of a team with a professional enthusiastic attitude;
• The ability to plan, schedule and organise priority tasks as necessary

This is a broad definition of the responsibilities and objectives of this role. It is not an exhaustive list and the job holder will thus be required to undertake any other work that is deemed relevant and within his/her capability.

INDLP