Director of Strategic Sourcing

Job Description:

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Strategic Sourcing serves as a key strategic leader shaping the long‑term direction of Portillo’s supply chain. This role owns the sourcing strategy, supplier ecosystem, and category leadership that ensures every product we serve reflects our uncompromising standards for quality and value. This position will lead a sourcing team responsible for direct spending, strengthen strategic supplier partnerships, mitigate risk, and unlock innovation across our food, packaging, and operational supply categories.

As a trusted advisor to senior leadership, this role drives value creation, innovation, and cross‑functional alignment that enables sustainable growth. This is a role for a leader who thrives in a fast‑growing, high‑energy environment and who wants to shape the future of one of America’s most beloved brands.

This is a player/coach leadership role responsible for setting sourcing strategy while remaining directly involved in key categories, supplier negotiations, and cross-functional initiatives.

This is a hybrid position based at the Portillo’s Restaurant Support Center in Oakbrook, Illinois with on-site presence required Monday through Thursday.

CORE RESPONSIBILITIES:

Enable our Purpose to create lifelong memories by igniting the senses with unrivaled food and experiences:

Family:
Work together to make everyone feel at home, and we step up when someone needs help Greatness:
We’re obsessed with being the best and work hard to continuously improve. Our greatness is rooted in Quality, Service, Attitude and Cleanliness Energy:
We move with urgency and passion, while maintaining attention to detail

Fun:
We entertain our guests, we connect authentically, and we make each other smile

Strategic Leadership Lead and manage the Strategic Sourcing team to ensure successful execution of sourcing priorities aligned with organizational objectives

Own the sourcing strategy across key food, packaging, and ops categories to support long‑term growth and deliver against financial targets

Serve as a strategic supply chain advisor to executive leadership by providing thought leadership on market dynamics, commodity trends, risk, and sourcing opportunities

Build, develop, and inspire a Strategic Sourcing team focused on accountability, continuous improvement, collaboration, and execution

Supplier Relationship Management Lead the supplier relationship management strategy, ensuring the sustained supply of high-quality products and services that meet or exceed company standards

Build long-term, strategic partnerships with key suppliers focused on value creation, innovation, quality, and shared success

Directly own select strategic food and/or beverage categories, acting as the supplier relationship owner and driving alignment with long-term business objectives

Lead the evaluation and performance validation of supplier partners, driving continuous improvement and alignment with company standards

Category Management Provide strategic oversight of category strategies aligned with long-term organizational goals while driving continuous optimization across all categories

Develop and implement commodity risk management frameworks, balancing market trends, supplier capabilities, and cost predictability to achieve competitive advantages and provide input to future spend forecasts

Develop and lead quarterly commodity and market trend reviews for executive leadership in collaboration with Finance Establish and maintain strategic contract management processes, managing pricing agreements and contract terms on a periodic basis, ensuring alignment with financial objectives and market conditions

Establish comprehensive category costing documents, managing updates and ensuring accuracy to support financial planning and analysis

Assess and mitigate risks associated with the supply chain, including compliance issues and financial instability of suppliers

Ensure supply continuity and risk mitigation strategies through proactive risk assessment, contingency planning, and supplier performance monitoring while ensuring readiness in case of supplier disruptions or emerging market challenges

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