Purchasing & Inventory Lead

Alert Venture Foundry; Concord (NH); On-site; USD 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Georgie's Kitchen, a high-growth food venture of AVF, is seeking a Purchasing & Inventory Lead to keep operations stocked, organized, and accurate on site.

The role starts with receiving, counts, and inventory records, with future ownership of supplier management, forecasting, pricing, and cost control as volumes grow. You will work closely with kitchen leadership to optimize waste and costs.

Qualifications

• 2+ years in purchasing, inventory, food operations, or supply chain.
• Experience in food industry preferred.
• Strong Excel skills and data-driven approach.
• Excellent attention to detail and organizational abilities.

Responsibilities

• Purchase ingredients, packaging, and kitchen supplies based on production requirements and forecasted demand.
• Analyze product usage, anticipated production volumes, and other business needs to support purchasing forecasts and appropriate inventory levels.
• Manage supplier relationships, delivery issues, credits, replacements, and product availability.
• Support supplier evaluation, pricing negotiations, cost management, and purchase price variance tracking.
• Develop knowledge of key food and packaging markets to support informed purchasing decisions.

Skills

Purchasing

Inventory management

Data analysis

Excel skills

Attention to detail

Organization

Problem solving

Education

High School Diploma or equivalent

Associate's degree or related field

Tools

Excel

Job description

Georgie's Kitchen is a high-growth food venture of Alert Venture Foundry (AVF) that delivers chef-crafted, premium chilled meals through proprietary dispensing technology.

Job Summary

The Purchasing & Inventory Lead is responsible for keeping Georgie's Kitchen stocked, organized, and operationally accurate. This is a hands-on, site-based role that will initially focus heavily on receiving deliveries, inventory counts, stock organization, and maintaining accurate purchasing and inventory records.

As production volumes and the business grow, the scope of this role is expected to expand into greater ownership of purchasing and supplier management, including forecasting demand, evaluating suppliers, negotiating pricing, monitoring purchase price variance, and developing knowledge of key food and packaging markets.

This role is ideal for someone who enjoys being close to the operation, has strong food knowledge, is highly organized and accurate, and is comfortable helping build processes and systems as the business grows. We're a growing team and value an individual who enjoys staying close to the work and pitching in with broader kitchen operations when needed.

Duties / Responsibilities

• Purchase ingredients, packaging, and kitchen supplies based on production requirements and forecasted demand
• Analyze product usage, anticipated production volumes, and other business needs to support purchasing forecasts and appropriate inventory levels
• Manage supplier relationships, delivery issues, credits, replacements, and product availability
• Support supplier evaluation, pricing negotiations, cost management, and purchase price variance tracking
• Develop knowledge of key food and packaging markets to support informed purchasing decisions

Goods Receiving & Inventory

• Receive and inspect deliveries for quality, quantity, and accuracy, resolving shortages or product issues as needed
• Maintain organized inventory and appropriate stock rotation, including FIFO practices
• Conduct regular cycle counts and lead periodic physical inventory counts; investigate and resolve discrepancies

Data & Systems

• Maintain accurate purchasing, inventory, waste, and pricing records
• Maintain purchasing and inventory information using Excel-based tools while we identify and implement a longer-term inventory management system
• Help build practical purchasing, inventory, and reporting processes that can scale with the business

Operational Support

• Partner with kitchen leadership, Finance, and other team members to improve inventory accuracy, reduce waste, and manage costs
• Live AVF core values
• Perform other duties as assigned

Qualifications / Experience

• 2+ years of experience in purchasing, inventory, food operations, supply chain, or a related area
• Food industry, restaurant, food manufacturing, distribution, or commercial kitchen experience strongly preferred
• Strong food knowledge and an interest in ingredients and product quality
• Experience with inventory management, receiving, purchase orders, and/or supplier coordination
• Strong Excel skills and comfort working with data and numbers, with the ability to analyze inventory usage, purchasing trends, pricing, and other operational data
• Excellent attention to detail, organization, and follow-through
• A proactive, practical approach to solving problems and getting things done
• Comfortable working in a hands-on, fast-paced environment where processes and systems are still being built
• Knowledge of food safety compliance, storage, sanitation, and temperature-control requirements preferred

Minimum Education | Preferred Degree or Type

• High School Diploma or equivalent required
• Associate's degree or additional education/coursework in supply chain, business, culinary arts, food service management, or a related field preferred

Working Conditions

This is an on-site, hands-on role that combines time on the kitchen floor and in receiving/storage areas with computer-based purchasing and inventory work.

The position requires:

• Regular standing and walking throughout the shift
• Ability to lift and move up to 50 pounds
• Bending, reaching, and occasional work in refrigerated or cold-storage areas
• On-site presence at the Concord, NH commissary kitchen, Monday through Friday

AVF is an Equal Opportunity Employer. AVF does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or any other protected class.

Disclaimer:

This job description does not constitute a "contract" between the employee and the employer. Job description duties may change at the employer's discretion, and the employer may request that the employee perform duties not listed in the job description.