Strategic Category Leader – Ingredients & Growth

American International Foods, Inc.; Grand Rapids (MI); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

American International Foods, a leading wholesale ingredient supplier, seeks an on-site Strategic Buyer to drive category strategy and supplier partnerships. You will act as the CEO of your category, sourcing new ingredients, negotiating terms, and coordinating with Sales, Quality, Logistics, and Finance to accelerate growth.

The role emphasizes proactive, commercial, and analytical thinking, with responsibility for resiliency, cost control, and value creation across multiple supply chains from

Qualifications

• 7+ years in sourcing, purchasing, procurement, or supply chain.
• Experience in food ingredients, food manufacturing, chemicals, or commodities preferred.
• Proven success building supplier strategies and partnerships.
• Strong negotiation and analytical skills, including landed cost and risk.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, organized with good PM skills.

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute category strategies to drive revenue and margin.
• Negotiate supplier agreements to improve margin and competitiveness.
• Lead trading, PO timing, and hedging based on analytics and trends.
• Identify new ingredients, private-label opportunities, and alternatives.
• Resolve cost, quality, and delivery issues via CAR process.
• Build strong supplier partnerships through regular reviews.
• Coordinate supplier RFQ processes including terms and logistics.
• Maintain supplier database with terms, certifications, and products.
• Partner with Sales to identify high-potential ingredients and campaigns.
• Track category performance to meet top-line goals and balance inventory.

Skills

Negotiation

Analytical thinking

Project management

Communication

Leadership

Education

Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain/Business/Finance/Operations/Logistics

Tools

Microsoft Excel

Business systems

Job description

American International Foods, a leading wholesale ingredient supplier, seeks an on-site Strategic Buyer to drive category strategy and supplier partnerships. You will act as the CEO of your category, sourcing new ingredients, negotiating terms, and coordinating with Sales, Quality, Logistics, and Finance to accelerate growth.

The role emphasizes proactive, commercial, and analytical thinking, with responsibility for resiliency, cost control, and value creation across multiple supply chains from