Purchasing and Inventory Manager (on-site)
7 days ago
Plant City
Job Description Location: Plant City, FL Department: Culinary Operations (Partnering with Accounting, Product & Innovation) Reports To: Director of Culinary Operations Status: Full-Time – Exempt About Fitlife Foods At Fitlife Foods, we feed people’s journey through fresh, chef-crafted prepared meals that fuel performance in every part of life. We’re the largest omnichannel prepared meals company in the Southeast, serving customers through our retail stores, home delivery, and wholesale channels, all powered by our Culinary Center in Plant City, FL. We’re a fast-moving, growth-minded team of 150 people who believe in our values of winning, curiosity, ownership, gratitude, and purpose. As a LEAN operating environment, we’re continuously looking for ways to improve how we work. We seek individuals who embrace curiosity, take initiative to learn, and apply LEAN thinking to drive accuracy, efficiency, and continuous improvement across every process. Now we’re looking for a hands-on Procurement & Inventory Manager who thrives on clarity, communication, and accountability and who brings cost awareness and accuracy to our purchasing process. You’ll take ownership of Fitlife’s procurement, vendor relationships, and inventory alignment to ensure every ingredient and material supports quality, consistency, and operational readiness. This role is based in a high-volume food manufacturing and meal production environment, sourcing raw ingredients, proteins, produce, packaging, and consumables used in daily batch production. Your Mission You’ll be the connector between Culinary, Production, and Finance, ensuring smooth purchasing operations, cost accuracy, and proactive communication. Your success will be measured by your ability to maintain predictable, transparent purchasing processes that balance cost accuracy, quality, and operational readiness while providing visibility that supports the Culinary Operations in managing overall food cost performance. This position requires direct experience in food manufacturing and centralized meal production as it is responsible for sourcing raw food ingredients and packaging materials that support daily batch production, meal assembly, and distribution. This is a production-driven procurement role. This is not a retail, front-of-house, convenience, or menu-driven purchasing position. Key Responsibilities Procurement & Vendor Management • Build and maintain strong supplier relationships across distributors and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) that supply raw food ingredients, proteins, produce, dry goods, and packaging materials used in centralized meal production., • Negotiate pricing and contracts to secure best-in-class value in quality, consistency, and cost., • Maintain accurate purchase order timelines and proactively communicate delays, substitutions, or risks., • Partner with the Executive Chef and the Product Team to source ingredients and materials with defined specifications, pack sizes, yields, and lead times that align with new menu launches and brand standards and support production execution and food cost targets., • Track supplier performance through structured scorecards and quarterly reviews., • Manage vendor selection and substitutions with a clear understanding of how ingredient changes impact recipes, nutritional, labeling, and production flow., • Ensure packaging materials align with shelf life, storage, food safety, and distribution requirements.Inventory & Cost Coordination, • Support visibility into theoretical vs. actual food costs by maintaining accurate data tied to recipes, yields, and batch production, helping identify variance trends., • Oversee ingredient and packaging forecasting, ordering, and rotation to minimize waste and ensure production readiness., • Collaborate with Finance to verify accurate invoice coding, cost confirmation, and budget alignment., • Partner with Data & Technology teams to maintain clean, timely data integration between recipe management, purchasing, and production reporting systems (Parsley, ERP, or similar)., • Provide clear weekly updates on purchasing trends, potential risks, and data accuracy to support informed cost decisions., • Maintain ingredient-level visibility tied to recipes, yields, and batch production rather than menu or location-based purchasing., • Understand how procurement decisions impact prep loss, waste, production efficiency, and theoretical vs. actual food cost in a manufacturing setting.Cross-Functional Communication, • Lead weekly procurement touchpoints with Culinary, Production, and Finance to review open orders and priorities., • Document and distribute action items to ensure accountability across departments., • Create and maintain a simple escalation process for vendor or supply issues, ensuring swift resolution and full transparency.Operational Strategy & Process Improvement, • Identify and implement process improvements that reduce manual work and increase accuracy., • Apply LEAN principles and curiosity-driven problem solving to streamline workflows, eliminate waste, and enhance efficiency across manufacturing-focused procurement and inventory processes., • Champion proactive cost awareness and continuous improvement through data-driven insights., • Support new product launches by ensuring all materials and costs are finalized ahead of test weeks or production.Who You Are, • Bachelor's degree in business, Supply Chain, or related field (or equivalent experience)., • 5–8 years of hands-on procurement and inventory experience within food manufacturing, commissary, or centralized meal production environments., • Direct experience sourcing raw food ingredients and packaging materials used in daily batch production., • Strong understanding of how ingredient specifications, yields, and substitutions impact recipes, food cost, labeling and production execution., • Comfortable operating in a production-driven environment where accuracy, documentation, and predictability matter more than variety or merchandising., • Proven ability to manage supplier relationships supporting daily production schedules and keep multiple moving parts aligned under tight timelines., • Experienced or eager to learn within a LEAN operating system, applying continuous improvement principles to enhance accuracy and efficiency., • Curious and self-driven, you seek better ways to work, learn fast, and take initiative to improve processes., • Detail-oriented communicator who thrives on follow-through, documentation, and proactive updates., • Highly organized and comfortable balancing competing priorities in a fast-paced environment., • Collaborative partner who builds trust across departments through transparency and accountability., • Proficient in Excel and purchasing or inventory software (experience with Parsley, ERP, or similar systems preferred).Success Looks Like, • Accurate and timely cost data support the Culinary Operations in meeting food cost goals., • Clear visibility into theoretical vs. actual variances, with proactive communication on drivers and needed corrections., • Zero missed communication on key supply items., • Predictable purchasing cadence supporting Culinary and Production needs., • Reliable vendor performance with visibility into risks before they become issues., • Continuous improvement of workplace culture, grounded in accuracy, communication, and accountability.What You’ll Gain, • Competitive compensation and growth potential, • Comprehensive health, dental, and vision coverage, • Paid time off and holidays, • Continuing education and professional development, • 401(k) retirement plan, • The opportunity to make a measurable impact in a growing, purpose-driven company Important Note: Experience limited to retail foodservice, front-of-house operations, convenience stores, travel plazas, or menu-driven buying without direct responsibility for sourcing raw ingredients for centralized meal production will not be sufficient for this role.