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Purchasing Manager

Thistle

Thistle

Burlington, NJ, USA
Posted on Thursday, January 19, 2023
Who we are:
Founded in 2013, Thistle is a leading tech-enabled food and nutrition company that delivers ready-to-eat meals right to your doorstep. We empower our customers to get and stay healthy while improving the sustainability of our food system. Thistle began as a single pop-up location in San Francisco, going from selling cold-pressed juices to delivering nearly 15 million delicious, healthy, plant-forward meals, organic cold-pressed juices, and snacks
About the Role:
Thistle is looking for a Purchasing Manager to join our Procurement team and report directly to our Senior Procurement Manager. We are looking for someone who can help scale our Order Management strategy, including everything from selecting the best quality suppliers to getting the excellent quality product delivered so that Thistle can continue to grow. You will join a strong team at an exciting time in Thistle’s story!
This role is 100% onsite and based in our brand-new Burlington production facility.

What you’ll do:

  • Own all fundamental order execution processes, from sourcing support to purchase, including supplier research, qualification, selection, and negotiation
  • Play a crucial role in Order Management, prioritizing workload and improving efficiencies to meet the demands of the order process
  • Negotiate the bids based on the analysis models and competitive bid comparisons, which form a data-driven approach to getting the best deal from the selected vendor
  • Manage the ordering process of top food categories (protein, produce, specialty foods) plus related materials (packaging, food prep supplies, equipment)
  • Evaluate suppliers and own vendor KPI management to achieve cost-effective deals and maintain trust relationships
  • Lead sourcing of high-quality, sustainable, transparent food, packaging, and other materials. Partner with R&D and FSQA to source new ingredients that push the boundaries of our cuisine while ensuring our cost, nutrition, sustainability, and food safety guidelines are met
  • Manage daily cross-functional collaboration with production operations, Facilities, and the rest of the Procurement team.
  • Conduct significant analytical and quantitative “deep dives” into supply chain data to help drive improvements across different categories
  • Follow well-defined procedures as outlined by Best Practices, SOPs & work instructions and take direction from the head of the department regarding daily duties

What you’ll bring:

  • 3+ years of directly relevant business experience with a track record of measurable success in one or more of our top food categories (protein, produce, specialty foods) plus related materials (packaging, food prep supplies, equipment)
  • Culinary knowledge and experience with high-volume fresh food production preferred
  • Familiarity with food- and sustainability-related certifications and the requirements for a grower, producer, or distributor to achieve various certifications
  • Analytical and skilled in data analysis: know what questions to ask and how to access the data to validate or disprove hypotheses, build a strategy and roadmap, and convince the immediate team and senior leadership of the right path
  • Exceptional relationship-building skills with a strong ability to influence others. Organizational agility and leadership ability to shepherd projects through the organization across the supply chain
  • Passion for food systems and sustainability; evangelist for Thistle, its products, and its mission to build a healthier and more sustainable food system
  • Ability to both work effectively in a team and independently
  • Attention to detail and willingness to re-prioritize according to production flow
  • Ability to take the initiative, stay organized, and thrive in a fast-paced environment
  • Tech-savvy approach with everyday tasks and communication; comfortable with various technology platforms, including, but not limited to G-Suite(specifically Google Sheets), Asana, and Slack
Diversity, equity, and inclusion are essential values at Thistle. We know we do our best and most impactful work when we feel we are represented and belong. We're proud to actively recruit and hire talented people from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. We do not discriminate based on race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, or disability status.