Procurement Manager

ILLES Foods Job Description

Job Title: Procurement Manager

Reports To: Procurement Director

FLSA: Permanent, Full Time, Exempt

Schedule: Monday-Wednesday onsite, Thursday-Friday WFH

Specializing in custom-crafted culinary solutions—from beverage bases and sauces to marinades and seasonings—ILLES Foods has partnered with food service chains, manufacturers, and retailers across the U.S. since 1927. Our Food Innovation expertise, creativity, and speed to market, combined with a laser focus on customer experience, make us a key partner in product development. As a family-owned, woman-run business, our growth is fueled by deeply held values: operating with integrity, maintaining intentional curiosity, and strong relationship building through the power of partnership.

At ILLES Foods, we strive to be the ingredient that elevates food and enriches the lives of our partners, internal and external.

The Successful candidate is responsible for managing and executing procurement strategies that support business growth, cost optimization, and supply continuity across raw materials. This role partners cross functionally with R&D, Quality, Finance, Operations, and Materials Handling to ensure reliable supply, competitive cost structures, and data driven sourcing decisions.

The ideal candidate brings deep procurement and supply chain expertise within the food manufacturing industry, and has a strong foundation in strategic sourcing, category and supplier management, and data analytics

All partners conduct themselves in a manner that is aligned with our Core Values:
We Operate with Integrity, Stay Intentionally Curious, and Believe in the Power of the Partnership

• Lead and support procurement initiatives across business units, including alternative sourcing, continuous improvement, risk mitigation, and continuity‑of‑supply efforts.

• Support new business development by leading procurement work streams such as advanced material planning & ordering, pricing & terms negotiations for new suppliers and materials and coordinating supplier participation in product development by managing samples, specifications, COAs, allergen documentation, and regulatory data for R&D, Culinary, and FSQR teams.

• Develop and execute simplification & rationalization strategy initiatives focusing on vendors, materials and finished products. Partnering with R&D, FSQR, Finance, and Operations assess opportunities to consolidate spend and drive continuous improvement.

• Assist with RFP sourcing activities for existing and new materials by evaluating contract balances, inventories, and supplier quality alerts. Identify qualified suppliers based on technical, quality, regulatory, and cost criteria, and award recommendations.

• Lead the procurement weekly project management (PM) meetings for current & new customers and alternate materials & suppliers to address unique raw material needs, supply risks, and purchasing requirements. Enter and maintain procurement properties and parameters in Product Vision to support accurate costing, commercialization, and production planning. Conduct material planning analysis as needed to assess risk and allocation as needed.

• Partner with FSQR on Supplier Quality. Develop, maintain, and evaluate supplier relationships, including performance monitoring, issue resolution, and continuous improvement initiatives. Proactively monitors and resolves supplier quality issues, raw material complaints, returns, and credit requests in coordination with Quality and Operations teams.

• Provide technical material or category support as needed in leveraging supplier relationships and expertise to facilitate new business development and problem solving as needed.

• Act as the primary…