Associate Supplier Relationship Manager

About the role

The Associate Supplier Relationship Manager – Projects is a combined purchasing and project-support role that keeps PetIQ-Omaha's innovation pipeline moving on schedule. Working alongside the existing innovation project role, this position serves as the primary point of contact for supplier calls and alignment on innovation projects and manages purchasing for assigned suppliers and items as they move from development to launch. This individual prepares and supports Innovation meetings, owns recurring project-status communications to cross-functional partners and leadership, and provides surge capacity as new projects enter the queue so that intake is not gated by existing team bandwidth.

PetIQ's mission is to become the most trusted ally for pet parents and a leading authority in pet health and wellbeing. The company promises to deliver smarter health and wellbeing solutions that are innovative, accessible, educational and always effective. PetIQ’s core values are: Pet Parent Focused, Results Oriented, Humble and Hungry, Adaptive & Agile, and Stronger as a Pack.

Responsibilities

• Owns end-to-end sample processing and tracking for active innovation projects, including receiving, logging, and coordinating internal evaluation of supplier and product samples across concurrent projects.
• Updates the supply chain team on item development, including dielines, costing, launch timing and lead times.
• Serves as the point of contact for supplier calls on innovation projects, keeping suppliers aligned to project status, timelines, and requirements, and flagging risks such as schedule slippage, missed samples, or quality issues early.
• Issues and manages purchase orders for raw materials, primary and secondary components, packaging, and finished goods for assigned suppliers and new items, ensuring on-time delivery at the correct quantity and cost.
• Monitors supplier performance (on-time delivery, lead time, quality), expedites orders as needed, and resolves pricing, receipt, and invoice discrepancies with suppliers and internal departments.
• Prepares and supports Innovation meetings, including materials, agendas, logistics, updates, and follow-up actions.
• Updates the Asana board for team visibility to the progress of tasks.
• Owns recurring project-status communications to cross-functional partners and leadership, keeping stakeholders informed of project status, risks, and changes across the innovation portfolio.
• Participates in project and NPD meetings and supports launch readiness by setting up and maintaining new items, supplier data, and lead times in