Director, Supply Chain

Responsibilities

• Develop and execute supply chain strategies aligned with business objectives, customer requirements, and margin targets.
• Drive accountability and continuous improvement in the supply chain, planning, and procurement teams that focus “on time, in full”.
• Partner cross-functionally with Operations, Quality, R&D, Sales, Finance, and Food Safety to ensure alignment from demand through fulfillment.
• Lead supplier selection, negotiations, and ongoing relationship management.
• Establish procurement strategies that optimize total cost, quality, delivery, and reliability while supporting operational urgency and business growth.
• Track and manage purchasing performance KPIs, including supplier on-time delivery and purchase price variance.
• Proactively identify supply risks, constraints, and market changes; develop mitigation and recovery plans to prevent disruptions to operations.
• Partner with plant-level purchasing teams on day-to-day execution.
• Improve production planning processes supporting batch manufacturing, frequent changeovers, and customized production runs.
• Optimize raw material/ingredients and finished goods inventory while minimizing waste, shrink, and obsolescence.
• Establish planning tools and KPIs to improve throughput, yield, and schedule adherence.
• Own demand forecasting and Sales & Operations Planning (S&OP) processes for both branded and customer-specific products.
• Translate forecast demand into executable production, procurement, and inventory plans.
• Balance service levels, capacity constraints, and inventory risk across multiple SKUs and formulations.
• Utilize advanced Excel and analytical tools to model demand, capacity, inventory, and cost scenarios.
• Develop dashboards and reporting to track KPIs such as service level, inventory turns, forecast accuracy, and cost per unit.
• Support ERP and planning system enhancements and data integrity initiatives.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives across the supply chain using Lean, Six Sigma, or similar methodologies.
• Ensure compliance with food safety, regulatory, and customer audit requirements.
• Identify and implement best practices to support scalability and operational excellence.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Operations, Business, Engineering, or related field (MBA preferred)
• 10+ years of progressive supply chain experience, with leadership responsibility
• Direct experience in multi-unit manufacturing preferably with expiring food ingredients/products
• Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, advanced formulas, scenario modeling, data analysis)
• Experience with ERP systems (e.g., Dynamics, SAP, Oracle, JD Edwards, or similar)
• Demonstrated ability to enhance collaboration and execution across cross-functional teams
• Data-driven strategic decision maker with exceptional analytical skills
• Pioneered negotiation and supplier management capabilities
• Effective communicator across operations, commercial, and executive teams