Purchasing Director (Food Industry)

RPL International; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

A national organization is seeking an experienced Purchasing Director to lead procurement strategy and execution. The role requires advanced Excel skills and over 8 years of purchasing experience in food-related industries. This position oversees sourcing, vendor performance, and cost control across multiple locations. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment and possesses strong analytical skills to drive purchasing decisions and inventory management.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of purchasing/procurement experience within food-related industries.
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing a purchasing/procurement function.
• Strong understanding of perishables, cold-chain supply, and vendor management.
• Proven success driving cost savings through strategic sourcing and negotiations.
• Advanced Excel required for data analysis, reporting, and forecasting.

Responsibilities

• Lead purchasing strategy and procurement operations for food, beverage, ingredients, packaging, and supplies.
• Develop national sourcing programs to ensure cost efficiency, quality consistency, and uninterrupted supply.
• Negotiate pricing, contracts, rebates, and service agreements with vendors.
• Build and maintain vendor scorecards and KPI reporting.
• Monitor commodity trends and pricing fluctuations to support budgeting.
• Oversee inventory strategy to reduce spoilage and stockouts.
• Standardize SKUs and purchasing practices across multiple sites.
• Lead purchasing team performance, training, and process improvements.

Skills

SUMIFS

COUNTIFS

IF statements

Power Query

Data analysis

Reporting

Forecasting

Tools

NetSuite

SAP

Oracle

Dynamics

Job description

Onsite Purchasing Director (Food Industry | Advanced Excel Required)

Role Summary

We are seeking an experienced Purchasing Director with food industry experience and advanced Excel skills to lead procurement strategy and execution for a national organization. This onsite leadership role will oversee sourcing, vendor performance, cost control, and supply continuity across multiple locations, while building data-driven reporting to support forecasting, spend visibility, and margin improvement.

The ideal candidate is highly analytical, thrives in a fast-paced environment, and can leverage Excel to drive smarter purchasing decisions, improve inventory management, and optimize vendor programs.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead purchasing strategy and procurement operations for food, beverage, ingredients, packaging, and supplies
• Develop national sourcing programs to ensure cost efficiency, quality consistency, and uninterrupted supply
• Negotiate pricing, contracts, rebates, and service agreements with vendors, brokers, and distributors
• Build and maintain vendor scorecards and KPI reporting (fill rate, OTIF, pricing accuracy, quality issues, credits/claims)
• Monitor commodity trends and pricing fluctuations to support budgeting and forecasting
• Partner with Operations, Culinary/R&D, Finance, and QA to ensure product specs and standards are met
• Oversee inventory strategy to reduce spoilage, shrink, and stockouts while improving inventory turns
• Standardize SKUs and purchasing practices across multiple sites to improve consistency and control spend
• Lead purchasing team performance, training, and process improvements
• Support new site/store openings and expansion initiatives with vendor readiness and supply planning
• Maintain accurate purchasing data in ERP/procurement systems and ensure pricing integrity

Advanced Excel Responsibilities (Required)

• Create and maintain purchasing dashboards for spend, savings, usage trends, and vendor performance
• Perform detailed spend analysis and margin impact reporting
• Build forecasting models for demand planning, ordering, and cost projections
• Use advanced Excel tools to automate and streamline reporting (reduce manual work)
• Reconcile pricing discrepancies and identify cost anomalies through data analysis

Advanced Excel Skills Needed

• SUMIFS, COUNTIFS, IF statements
• Power Query (preferred)
• Ability to work with large datasets and multiple data sources

Qualifications

• 8+ years of purchasing/procurement experience within food-related industries (restaurant groups, commissary, food manufacturing, food distribution, hospitality, CPG, etc.)
• 3+ years of leadership experience managing a purchasing/procurement function
• Strong understanding of perishables, cold-chain supply, and vendor management
• Proven success driving cost savings through strategic sourcing and negotiations
• Advanced Excel required (data analysis, reporting, forecasting)
• Experience with ERP/procurement systems (NetSuite, SAP, Oracle, Dynamics, etc.)
• Strong communication skills and ability to work cross-functionally