Procurement Manager

AppleOne Employment Services; Monrovia (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 135,000; Full time

Job summary

AppleOne Employment Services is seeking a hands-on Procurement Manager with leadership experience to forecast, source, and purchase raw proteins, ingredients, packaging materials, and operational supplies for production in a USDA-regulated environment.

The ideal candidate will manage supplier relationships, drive cost savings, and partner with senior leadership to implement strategic sourcing initiatives that support manufacturing goals and business growth.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in related field required or equivalent experience.
• 5+ years progressive procurement in food manufacturing or packaging.
• Experience purchasing proteins, ingredients, and packaging in manufacturing.

Responsibilities

• Forecasts, sources, and buys raw proteins, ingredients, packaging, and supplies.
• Develops sourcing strategies with senior leadership.
• Negotiates pricing, contracts, and terms to achieve cost savings.
• Manages supplier relationships, POs, and vendor performance.
• Monitors KPIs and food safety compliance to reduce risk.
• Collaborates with operations and quality to align procurement with demand.

Skills

Procurement experience

Protein purchasing

Financial analysis

ERP/MRP systems

Excel/Office proficiency

Negotiation

KPIs & supplier scorecards

Analytics

Time management

Cross-functional collaboration

Professionalism

Customer service

Education

Bachelor's degree in Business Administration or related field

Tools

Canopy ERP

ERP/MRP systems

QuickBooks

Microsoft Excel

Job description

The Procurement Manager is a hands-on leadership role responsible for forecasting, sourcing, and purchasing raw proteins, ingredients, packaging materials, and operational supplies to support production. The ideal candidate will have significant hands-on experience purchasing proteins within a meat or food manufacturing environment, along with direct plant-level procurement experience in a USDA/FSIS-regulated meat or poultry further-processing facility. This position is responsible for managing supplier relationships, controlling costs, ensuring supply continuity, and partnering with senior leadership to develop and execute strategic sourcing initiatives that support operational and business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Develops and manages procurement activities for raw proteins, ingredients, packaging materials, and operational supplies to ensure uninterrupted production, competitive costs, and on-time supplier performance.
• Develops and executes sourcing strategies in partnership with senior leadership to improve supply security, reduce costs, and support business growth.
• Negotiates pricing, contracts, payment terms, rebates, and supplier agreements to achieve cost savings while maintaining quality, service, and delivery expectations.
• Identifies and implements cost reduction initiatives, supplier consolidation opportunities, and process improvements that enhance procurement efficiency and supplier value.
• Manages supplier relationships, purchase orders, and vendor performance to ensure quality, responsiveness, service levels, and on-time delivery.
• Evaluates supplier performance using key performance indicators (KPIs), including quality, delivery, pricing, service, responsiveness, and food safety compliance, while developing contingency plans to reduce supply chain risk.
• Monitors protein commodity markets, packaging trends, and supplier conditions to proactively manage pricing, availability, and supply continuity.
• Develops alternate suppliers and sourcing strategies to minimize business interruption and strengthen supply chain resiliency.
• Leads procurement planning through demand forecasting, production scheduling, inventory analysis, and market trend evaluation to maintain optimal inventory levels while minimizing shortages, excess inventory, and waste.
• Collaborates with Operations, Production, Quality Assurance, Sales, Customer Service, and Finance to align procurement activities with production schedules, customer demand, inventory objectives, and company budgets.
• Supports new product development and customer programs by sourcing ingredients, packaging, and materials that meet quality, cost, and customer specifications.
• Ensures all purchased materials comply with applicable food safety, USDA, regulatory, customer, and quality requirements, including approved supplier and documentation programs.
• Maintains accurate purchasing specifications to ensure raw materials and packaging consistently meet company and customer quality standards.
• Utilizes ERP/MRP systems, QuickBooks, and purchasing analytics to support procurement planning, inventory control, supplier performance measurement, and purchasing decisions.
• Maintains purchasing records, supplier files, contracts, pricing agreements, cost analyses, and inventory data.
• Reviews inventory levels, aging inventory, and slow-moving materials to maximize inventory performance and minimize waste.
• Drives continuous improvement initiatives that reduce procurement costs, improve inventory turns, strengthen supplier performance, and increase operational efficiency.
• Maintains professionalism, confidentiality, and integrity in all procurement activities.
• Promotes a safe, clean, and organized work environment in accordance with company policies, GMPs, and food safety requirements.
• Maintains professionalism and high ethical standards at all times while representing the company.
• Maintains a clean, safe and unobstructed workspace.
• These duties are not exclusive and with consideration of the job requirements and other skills, the job description can be added to or taken away from at the discretion of the employee’s immediate supervisor.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Supply Chain Management, Accounting, Operations Management, or a related field required; an equivalent combination of education and directly related experience may be considered.

Required Skills

• Minimum of 5 years of progressive procurement, purchasing, or supply chain experience, preferably within food manufacturing, meat processing, proteins, prepared foods, or packaging industries.
• Experience purchasing raw proteins, food ingredients, packaging materials, and operational supplies in a manufacturing environment.
• Strong financial acumen with experience analyzing material costs, purchase price variances, inventory valuation, margins, and cost reduction opportunities.
• Demonstrated experience with Canopy ERP or comparable ERP/MRP systems to support demand forecasting, inventory planning, purchasing decisions, and inventory optimization.
• Proficiency with ERP/MRP systems, QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook.
• Excellent negotiation, communication, and relationship management skills with the ability to build strong partnerships internally and externally.
• Experience evaluating supplier performance using KPIs and supplier scorecards.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, and decision-making skills with the ability to interpret data and translate findings into actionable procurement strategies.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills with the ability to prioritize multiple projects and meet deadlines in a fast-paced manufacturing environment.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across all departments.
• Demonstrates professionalism, integrity, sound judgment, and confidentiality in all business matters.
• Positive attitude with a commitment to teamwork, continuous improvement, and customer service.
• Regular, timely attendance.

Preferred Skills

• Knowledge of protein commodity markets, agricultural supply chains, or food ingredient sourcing preferred.
• Working knowledge of USDA regulations, GMPs, HACCP, SQF, or other food safety and quality systems preferred.