The Food Purchasing Manager leads the planning, sourcing, and purchasing of food products in support of NTFB programs and the partner distribution network. As a member of the Food Sourcing team, this position is equipped with knowledge of food donations and optimizes funding to offer a variety of nutritious foods within budgets. This role collaborates cross-functionally to help achieve process improvement and operational efficiency as it relates to purchased food.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Education:
• Bachelor’s degree in business, supply chain, agricultural business, or related field is preferred, or an equivalent combination of education and experience
Special Knowledge/Skills/Abilities:
• Ability to identify, gather and analyze the data necessary to inform food sourcing and purchasing decisions
• Able to present findings and recommendations to leadership to support timely decisions
• Experienced in developing and running RFP/RFQs, negotiating favorable pricing, vendor sourcing and management and developing/maintaining vendor scorecards
• Must have excellent verbal and written communication skills and be comfortable build relationships with all levels of the organization, external partners, vendors, etc.
• Experience with ERP software (e.g., CERES, SAP), proficient in Excel and PowerPoint; Power BI and/or Jet Reports experience a plus
• Relationships with food suppliers, manufacturers, retailers, producers, growers and packers a plus
Experience:
• Five years in sourcing and purchasing; food and/or fresh produce a plus
• Supply chain/operations experience a plus
PRINCIPLE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Drive strategic efforts, internally and externally, to improve purchased food planning, sourcing, procurement and fulfillment processes
• Evaluating inventory levels and projected inbounds/outbounds, develop recommended monthly purchasing plan to support forecasted volume and spend for Director approval
• Manage and execute competitive bid/purchasing processes for approved monthly purchasing plan
• Improve cost/pound sourced through competitive bid process, product evaluation, and selection
• Work with the Finance team as needed to improve payment terms and/or establish vendor agreements
• Develop weekly stakeholder communication of projected purchased food availability, including USDA
• Lead weekly cross-functional calls to review purchased food sourcing plan and ensure Operations support
• Manage and continually evaluate vendors; identify and onboard new vendors
• Manage USDA, Feeding America, and Collaborative for Fresh Produce planning, ordering, receiving and invoicing processes
• Support accurate receiving of purchased items
• Support invoice reconciliation and resolution
• Perform other tasks and duties as assigned