Jitka Vallová   Role: Procurement Business Partner Confectionary CEE Area: Purchasing, FMCG Employer: Nestlé, Brenntag, Zentiva,   What can I help my mentee with?  negotiations, project management basics of team leadership, motivation an overview of the corporate environment orientation in supply chain positions

After graduating from UCT in 2004, Jitka was looking for a job where she could use her knowledge in chemistry and English. She knew she didn't want to work in the scientific field, so she looked for interesting trainee positions. She chose Brenntag's annual trainee programme, which took one candidate from each country in Central and Eastern Europe. Based in Vienna, she tried out different positions in the company in several European countries, and before she could complete the program, the CEO offered her a permanent position as head of the food commodities department. "At that time, the skills I gained at our university - logical thinking, being able to piece together information, where to find it quickly, how to apply it in practice - helped me a lot." Through this position, she found that she really enjoyed the procurement field and wanted to stay in it. After four years, she joined Zentiva for a year and then received an offer from the company Nestlé, where she has worked ever since, for more than 10 years.

Her first position in Nestlé was as a tactical buyer. After two years there, she was offered her first managerial position, head of the raw material and packaging purchasing department, which had five employees, and Jitka continued working there until her maternity leave. During that time, she still worked part-time; for example, leading a project to transfer a part of the operational processes to a shared services centre in Ukraine. After several successful projects, Jitka was offered to take over the management of the entire purchasing team.

"In my opinion, purchasing is for people who are multifunctional, like variety and don't need a precise template for everything. It's very much about the creativity you need to bring to the job." Currently, Jitka is in charge of a team of 5 purchasing specialists in 3 countries, each covering purchasing for one manufacturing plant. The job involves, of course, trying to buy materials of the right quality at the best possible price, as well as the logistics part - getting the materials to where they need to go on time, communicating with the development department, the quality department, etc.

In addition to the corporate environment, Jitka also knows the non-profit sector well. She felt the need to balance the large company environment with something different, smaller, and therefore worked for ten years for a non-profit organization dedicated to creating events based on the principles of experiential pedagogy for adults. She wanted to become a mentor because, as she says, UCT is still a matter of the heart for her. In addition, in the past she had her own mentor who helped her a lot.