Foodservice Procurement Strategist

FoodServiceIQ; United States; On-site; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading food procurement company is seeking a Foodservice Procurement Strategist to enhance procurement strategies. The role focuses on analyzing purchasing agreements to identify savings for clients. Candidates should have substantial experience in foodservice procurement, proven success in negotiations, and a robust network in the industry. This full-time position offers the opportunity to impact independent restaurants' procurement costs significantly.

Qualifications

• 5–7+ years of experience in foodservice procurement, sourcing, or distribution management.
• Proven success with broadline distributors.
• Strong understanding of GPOs and their impact on pricing.

Responsibilities

• Analyze invoice and SKU-level pricing to identify margin leaks.
• Prepare detailed savings reports outlining financial impact.
• Institutionalize knowledge and frameworks for scalability.

Skills

Foodservice procurement expertise

Negotiation skills

Data analysis

Strong industry network

Tech-savvy

Job description

MUST READ - IMPORTANT NOTE FOR ALL APPLICANTS:

Applicants are required to submit an introductory video to the FoodServiceIQ Hiring Team to be considered for the position. Please send a 3-minute Loom video with subject line “Foodservice Procurement Strategist” covering the following topics to [e-mail] :

• Tell us about yourself and your past work experience.
• Tell us why you would be the best fit for the role.

Skills & Qualifications Required

• 5–7+ years of experience in foodservice procurement, sourcing, or distribution management.
• Proven success working with broadline distributors such as Sysco, US Foods, PFG, GFS, Shamrock, or equivalent.
• Demonstrated expertise leading RFPs and complex contract negotiations.
• Strong understanding of GPOs (Group Purchasing Organizations) and their impact on pricing and supply strategy.
• Experience negotiating with manufacturers across multiple foodservice categories.
• Strong network of contacts within the foodservice manufacturer community.
• Tech‑savvy, with the ability to leverage technology and data to drive procurement efficiency and strategic decisions.
• Comfortable analyzing purchasing data and engaging directly with independent and emerging restaurant brands, including owners and operators.
• Bonus: Experience managing $100M+ in annual foodservice spend.

Company Description

FoodServiceIQ helps independent restaurants reduce their food procurement costs by exposing hidden distributor margins and negotiating enterprise‑level pricing—without changing vendors or SKUs. We combine deep industry expertise and hands‑on negotiation to deliver measurable savings for independent restaurant groups. Our goal is to become the trusted partner for independent restaurant operators nationwide, helping them navigate rising costs, complex distributor relationships, and changing market dynamics.

About the Role

We’re hiring a Foodservice Procurement Strategist to help us take our procurement strategy and client delivery to the next level. This person will serve as a high‑level procurement strategy expert—working alongside our leadership team to analyze independent restaurant food procurement agreements and purchasing strategies to identify savings opportunities for our clients.

This role is ideal for a highly experienced professional from the food distribution and/or GPO world. You should be deeply familiar with how restaurants buy food, distribution prime vendor agreements, and how manufacturers structure pricing agreements. You’ll need to bring the expertise and industry intuition required to identify better deals and drive measurable impact for our clients.

Key Responsibilities

Client Savings Analysis

• Analyze invoice and SKU‑level pricing to identify margin leaks, excessive markups, and hidden profit opportunities.
• Evaluate and compare pricing structures and terms across procurement agreements to ensure optimal client savings.
• Identify SKU substitutions and recommend alternative products that improve cost efficiency without compromising quality or service.
• Prepare and deliver detailed savings reports—both internal and client‑facing—that clearly outline financial impact, sourcing improvements, and ongoing opportunities for cost reduction.
• Strategize about and lead negotiations.
• Establish and manage broad food industry relationships.

Pricing Strategy & Benchmarking

• Maintain a deep understanding of real‑time pricing benchmarks across key categories.
• Collaborate with our internal team to flag anomalies and outliers in client purchasing data.
• Help standardize our internal playbook for pricing analysis and savings documentation.

Leadership & Process Development

• Institutionalize knowledge, frameworks, and relationships to ensure scalability beyond any one individual.

Seniority level: Mid‑Senior level

Employment type: Full‑time

Job function: Business Development and Sales

Industries: Hospitality

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