Senior Buyer

Water Lilies Food, LLC.; Bay Shore (NY); On-site; USD 100,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Water Lilies Food, LLC. in Bay Shore, NY is seeking a Senior Buyer, Contracted Ingredients to lead procurement of proteins, flours, oils, and other key ingredients across two production sites.

You will own category strategy, supplier negotiations, and contract management while ensuring accurate cost postings and inventory levels. You will collaborate with R&D, Production, Logistics, QA, and Finance to apply data-driven analysis, monitor markets, and drive cost savings.

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years in ingredient buying and commodity procurement.
• Deep category knowledge in proteins, flours, or oils with contract negotiation experience.
• Proficient in ERP purchasing, inventory, and financial reconciliation; Aptean a plus.
• Advanced Excel skills for spend and inventory analysis.
• Experience supporting multi-site procurement and inventory management.
• Familiar with import procurement, landed cost, and tariff management.
• Background in Asian cuisine ingredients or frozen food manufacturing.
• Experience collaborating with R&D on new product development.
• Knowledge of food safety regulations and supplier qualification processes (SQF, BRC).

Responsibilities

• Own and execute procurement strategy for assigned ingredient categories across two sites.
• Source, negotiate, and contract proteins, flours, oils and related materials.
• Lead PO and transfer orders in Aptean ERP; manage deliveries and pricing.
• Monitor inventory safety stock, aging, and cycle counts; coordinate with teams.
• Lead month-end close, reconcile POs vs invoices, report spend and variances.

Skills

Ingredient buying

Commodity procurement

ERP systems

Excel Pivot tables

Data modeling

Multi-site procurement

Import procurement

Tariff management

R&D collaboration

SQF/BRC knowledge

Tools

Aptean ERP

Job description

The Senior Buyer, Contracted Ingredients leads procurement of the company's highest-volume, highest-dollar raw materials, including proteins, flours, oils, and other key ingredients, across two production locations. This role owns category strategy, supplier negotiations, contract management, and day-to-day purchasing execution for assigned categories. The Senior Buyer is also accountable for inventory management, end-of-month reconciliation, and the financial accuracy of their raw material positions. Working closely with R&D, Production, Logistics, QA, and Finance, this role applies data-driven analysis and commodity market.

Category Strategy and Procurement

• Own and execute procurement strategy for assigned categories.
• Source, negotiate, and execute contracts for all assigned materials across both production locations
• Develop and maintain a forward-looking buying calendar.
• Actively pursue price reduction, cost avoidance, and total cost of ownership improvements.
• Monitor commodity markets daily.
• Support SKU rationalization initiatives by evaluating ingredient.
• Travel to relevant tradeshows and supplier sites as needed (approximately 10% travel)

Purchase Order and Transfer Order Execution

• Place purchase orders and transfer orders? daily in Aptean ERP.
• Confirm order acknowledgments, delivery windows, and pricing accuracy with suppliers.
• Coordinate inbound delivery timing with the logistics and production teams.
• Manage order amendments, cancellations, and expedites as supply or demand conditions change

Inventory Management

• Review on-hand inventory levels daily across both facilities.
• Maintain raw material safety stock levels by category.
• Monitor and manage slow-moving, aged, or at-risk inventory.
• Use data analytics and ERP reporting to balance physical inventory levels.
• Coordinate with the warehouse and production teams on cycle counts, physical inventory discrepancies, and receiving accuracy

End-of-Month Reconciliation and Financial Reporting

• Lead end-of-month close activities for all assigned raw material categories.
• Reconcile purchase orders against invoices and receipts to ensure accurate cost of goods posting in Aptean ERP
• Investigate and resolve price variances, quantity discrepancies, and invoice disputes.
• Provide monthly category spend reports, contract utilization summaries, and cost vs. forecast variance analysis.
• Support annual budget preparation by providing historical spend data, forward price projections, and category-level cost assumptions

Core KPIs (supported And Influenced By This Role)

• Raw material in-stock rate versus production schedule (target: 100%)
• Cost savings and cost avoidance versus budget by category
• Contract coverage rate for assigned categories
• Aged and excess inventory value as a percentage of total raw material inventory

Requirements / Competencies:

• Minimum 10 years of experience in ingredient buying, commodity procurement.
• Deep category knowledge in at least one of the following: proteins, flours, or oils, with demonstrated ability to negotiate contracts and manage commodity price exposure
• Proficiency with ERP systems for purchasing, inventory management, and financial reconciliation (Aptean experience a plus)
• Strong Excel skills including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and data modeling for spend and inventory analysis
• Experience supporting multi-site procurement and inventory management
• Familiarity with import procurement, landed cost calculations, and tariff management
• Background in Asian cuisine ingredients or frozen food manufacturing
• Experience collaborating with R&D on new product development and ingredient qualification
• Knowledge of food safety regulations and supplier qualification processes (SQF, BRC, or similar)

Work Environment And Schedule

Onsite role based in Bay Shore, NY, five days per week

Approximately 10% travel for tradeshows, supplier visits, and multi-site coordination