Food Category Manager

Talent Solutions Partners; Overland Park (KS); On-site; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Healthcare plan with premiums paid

401(k) with company match

Untracked PTO

Results-over-hours culture

Job summary

Talent Solutions Partners seeks a Food Category Manager to own sourcing, procurement, distribution and supplier performance for the food category across restaurant clients.

Lead RFPs, supplier evaluations, pricing, onboarding, and contract execution, while coordinating with logistics and supplier quality as the business scales.

Requirements: 2+ years in sourcing or related supply chain; Bachelor’s or associate degree; solid Excel skills. Preferred: 5+ years in procurement or restaurant supply.

Qualifications

• 2+ years of sourcing, purchasing, distribution, or related supply chain experience.
• Strong planning, organization, and communication skills.
• Solid analytical skills, including working proficiency in Excel.
• Bachelor's or associate degree

Responsibilities

• Lead RFPs, supplier evaluation, and selection.
• Manage product samples, pricing, and cost analysis (landed cost, annual projections).
• Visit suppliers to assess capabilities.
• Onboard new suppliers and maintain supplier and product data.
• Support contract negotiation and execution.
• Build order guides covering products, services, and pricing.
• Help design ordering, inventory, and invoice approval processes and systems.
• Identify and resolve procurement issues.
• Track and communicate market intelligence on cost and lead times.
• Resolve distribution issues between manufacturers, distributors, and stores.
• Manage product setup and distribution inventory.
• Support distributor sourcing and distribution scheduling.
• Identify and resolve supplier performance issues.
• Lead supplier performance reviews, inspections, and certification reviews.
• As the organization scales, contribute to logistics and transportation programs, supplier quality and recall programs, demand and supply planning for key products, and ad hoc supply chain analysis.

Skills

Sourcing & Procurement

Planning & Organization

Analytical skills

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor's or Associate degree

Tools

Excel

Job description

Location: Overland Park, KS
Reports to: Vice President of Supply Chain
Department: Sourcing & Procurement
Search type: Retained, confidential

About Our Client

Our client is a full-service, outsourced supply chain management provider for restaurant companies. They run their clients' supply chains so restaurant operators can focus on running their business, delivering results that go straight to the bottom line.

The Opportunity

The Food Category Manager owns sourcing, procurement, distribution, and supplier performance for the food category. You will execute strategies that optimize supply chain performance, protect continuity of supply, reduce cost, and maintain product quality across a portfolio of restaurant clients.

What You Will Do

Sourcing

• Lead RFPs, supplier evaluation, and selection
• Manage product samples, pricing, and cost analysis (landed cost, annual projections)
• Visit suppliers to assess capabilities
• Onboard new suppliers and maintain supplier and product data
• Support contract negotiation and execution

Procurement

• Build order guides covering products, services, and pricing
• Help design ordering, inventory, and invoice approval processes and systems
• Identify and resolve procurement issues
• Track and communicate market intelligence on cost and lead times

Distribution

• Resolve distribution issues between manufacturers, distributors, and stores
• Manage product setup and distribution inventory
• Support distributor sourcing and distribution scheduling

Supplier Performance

• Identify and resolve supplier performance issues
• Lead supplier performance reviews, inspections, and certification reviews

Additional Support Areas

As the organization scales, you will also contribute to logistics and transportation programs, supplier quality and recall programs, demand and supply planning for key products, and ad hoc supply chain analysis.

What You Bring

Required

• 2+ years of sourcing, purchasing, distribution, or related supply chain experience
• Strong planning, organization, and communication skills
• Solid analytical skills, including working proficiency in Excel
• Bachelor's or associate's degree

Preferred

• 5+ years of procurement or supply chain experience
• Foodservice or restaurant supply chain background
• Experience building and managing supplier and distributor RFPs
• Experience negotiating with suppliers

Why This Role

• Healthcare plan with 100% of premiums paid
• 401(k) with company match
• Untracked PTO
• A results-over-hours culture that takes family and work-life balance seriously