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Location: Plant City, FL
Status: Full-Time, Exempt
Department: Culinary Operations (Partnering with Accounting, Product & Innovation)
Reports To: Director of Culinary Operations
HR Soul is currently recruiting for a Procurement & Inventory Manager on behalf of a Plant City–based client operating in a high-volume, centralized food manufacturing and meal production environment.
This is a hands-on, production-driven procurement role responsible for sourcing raw food ingredients, proteins, produce, packaging, and consumables that support daily batch production, meal assembly, and distribution. This position is best suited for someone who thrives on clarity, accuracy, and accountability and who understands how purchasing decisions directly impact food cost, production flow, and operational readiness.
This is not a retail, front-of-house, menu-driven, or merchandising-focused purchasing role.
In this role, you will serve as the connector between Culinary, Production, and Finance, ensuring predictable purchasing processes, accurate cost data, and proactive communication.
Success is measured by your ability to maintain visibility into theoretical versus actual food costs, manage vendor performance, and ensure all ingredients and materials are available, accurate, and aligned with production needs. Your work will directly support food cost performance, production efficiency, and quality consistency in a manufacturing setting.
Build and maintain strong supplier relationships with distributors and Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs) supporting centralized meal production.
Negotiate pricing and contracts to deliver strong value across quality, consistency, and cost.
Maintain accurate purchase order timelines and proactively communicate risks, delays, or substitutions.
Partner with Culinary and Product teams to source ingredients and materials with defined specifications, yields, pack sizes, and lead times.
Track supplier performance through scorecards and structured reviews.
Manage vendor substitutions with a clear understanding of impacts to recipes, nutrition, labeling, and production flow.
Ensure packaging materials support shelf life, food safety, storage, and distribution requirements.
Maintain accurate ingredient- and packaging-level data tied to recipes, yields, and batch production.
Support visibility into theoretical versus actual food cost and identify variance trends.
Oversee forecasting, ordering, rotation, and inventory controls to minimize waste and ensure production readiness.
Collaborate with Finance to ensure accurate invoice coding, cost validation, and budget alignment.
Partner with Data and Technology teams to maintain clean integrations across purchasing, recipe management, and production systems (ERP, Parsley, or similar).
Provide clear, consistent updates on purchasing trends, risks, and data accuracy.
Lead weekly procurement touchpoints with Culinary, Production, and Finance teams.
Document decisions and action items to ensure follow-through and accountability.
Establish and manage escalation processes for vendor or supply chain issues.
Identify opportunities to reduce manual work and improve accuracy across procurement and inventory workflows.
Apply LEAN principles and continuous improvement thinking to eliminate waste and streamline processes.
Support new product launches by ensuring all sourcing, specifications, and costs are finalized prior to production.
Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
5–8 years of hands-on procurement and inventory experience in 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 ingredient specifications, yields, substitutions, and their impact on food cost, labeling, and production execution.
Comfortable in production-driven environments where predictability, documentation, and accuracy matter more than variety or merchandising.
Proven ability to manage vendors supporting daily production schedules under tight timelines.
Experience with or strong interest in LEAN operating environments and continuous improvement.
Highly organized, detail-oriented communicator who values proactive updates and follow-through.
Collaborative partner who builds trust through transparency and accountability.
Proficiency in Excel and purchasing or inventory systems (ERP, Parsley, or similar platforms preferred).
Accurate, timely cost data supporting food cost targets.
Clear visibility into theoretical versus actual variances with proactive course correction.
Predictable purchasing cadence aligned with production needs.
Strong vendor performance with risks identified early.
Improved accuracy, communication, and accountability across procurement and inventory operations.
Competitive compensation and growth opportunity
Comprehensive health, dental, and vision benefits
Paid time off and holidays
Ongoing professional development
401(k) retirement plan
The opportunity to make a meaningful impact within a growing, purpose-driven organization
Experience limited to retail foodservice, front-of-house operations, convenience stores, travel plazas, or menu-driven purchasing without direct responsibility for sourcing raw ingredients for centralized meal production will not be sufficient for this role.