Food Procurement Manager

Manna Food Center - Food Procurement Manager Job Description

Position Title: Food Procurement Manager

Reports to: Director of Logistics

Direct Reports: Shipping & Receiving Coordinator

Employment Status: Full Time, Exempt

Work Schedule : 40 hours per week

Incumbent:

Salary: 65K – 69K (Annually)

Job Summary

The Food Procurement Manager (FPM) is responsible for planning, sourcing, purchasing, and securing all food entering Manna Food Center, including donated, purchased, rescued, and partner-sourced food. This role ensures that Manna procures the right food, at the right price, in the right quantities, aligned with program needs, nutrition standards, and budget parameters. The FPM serves as the primary owner of food procurement strategies, vendor management, pricing analysis, and purchasing integrity. This role works in close coordination with the Director of Logistics and Senior Manager of Logistics (distribution and production execution), the School-Based Coordinator/Logistics, and the Programs team, ensuring procurement decisions directly support operational and programmatic needs. The FPM directly supervises the Shipping & Receiving Coordinator, ensuring inventory accuracy, timely data entry, and system integrity within Fishbowl. This role is critical to maintaining accurate inventory, financial accountability, and transparent vendor relationships.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Food Procurement & Sourcing

Lead and manage all food sourcing activities, including purchased food, donated food, rescued food, and CAFB sourcing.
Execute Manna’s food procurement strategy aligned with organizational goals, budget, nutrition priorities, and distribution volume.
Serve as the primary point of contact for all food vendors, wholesalers, supermarkets, and food bank partners.
Manage competitive bid processes, vendor selection, and pricing reviews to ensure best value and cost effectiveness.
Conduct ongoing market and pricing analysis to prevent overreliance on limited vendors and ensure pricing competitiveness.
Ensure procurement decisions are data-driven, transparent, and free from conflicts of interest.

Vendor Management & Compliance

Create and maintain a centralized vendor database, including pricing history, contracts, delivery schedules, and performance metrics.
Coordinate onboarding of all new food vendors in collaboration with Finance, ensuring compliance with purchasing policies.

Inventory Oversight & Supervision

Directly supervise the Shipping & Receiving Coordinator, with clear expectations that this role prioritizes:
- Timely and accurate Fishbowl data entry
- Inventory reconciliation
- Poundage, source, and product tracking
Ensure inventory data integrity supports procurement planning, production forecasting, and distribution needs.
Collaborate with the Senior Manager of Logistics/Director of Logistics to translate inventory data into actionable production plans and successful distribution.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

Work closely with:
- Senior Manager of Logistics/Logistics Team – to align procurement with production and distribution schedules
- School-Based Coordinator/Logistics Team – to align procurement with school markets and school bags menus.
- Programs & Food Resources – to integrate farm-sourced food offered by Manna’s Program Team into Manna’s procurement strategy and adjust wholesale purchasing accordingly .
Participate in regular planning meetings to align procurement volumes with operational capacity.

Nutrition & Strategic Planning

In collaboration with the Director of Logistics and VP of Operations, ensure all inbound food aligns with Manna’s Nutrition and Food Vision.
Support development of the annual food acquisition plan, including metrics, targets, and reporting.

CORE COMPETENCIES

Strategic and analytical thinking
Strong financial and pricing acumen
High integrity and ethical judgment
Collaborative, cross-functional mindset
Operational discipline and attention to detail

QUALIFICATIONS & SKILLS

Bachelor’s degree or minimum 3 years of procurement experience (for-profit or nonprofit)
Demonstrated experience in purchasing, vendor negotiations, or supply chain
Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel required)
Experience with inventory systems (Fishbowl preferred)
Valid driver’s license; ability to travel between Manna sites
Fluency in English required, Spanish a plus

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear. The employee frequently is required to stand, walk, stoop, kneel, crouch, and/or crawl. The employee is occasionally required to sit, climb, or balance. The employee must regularly lift and/or move objects up to 50 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move objects that weigh more than 75 pounds. The employee must be able to stand continuously for up to 3 hours at a time. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.

Environmental Conditions

While picking up and distributing food, the employee will be exposed to a wide array of environmental conditions, including extreme heat and cold, rain, snow, and ice. The employee must be able to work in these conditions for up to 3 hours at a time.

Why Choose Manna?

It takes all types of people to make Manna great. We seek a diverse and committed group of individuals who are eager to engage in service to the community while enabling their own personal growth and professional development. One of our core priorities is to enable our employees to live a well-balanced life and career, and our benefits are an important extension of that philosophy. As such, we offer a competitive suite of benefits, including:

Participation in Manna’s comprehensive Health Benefits Plan.
Eleven paid holidays + your birthday! Two weeks paid vacation, which increases with tenure, 10 paid sick days to start, and 3 personal days per fiscal year.
Free Short-Term Disability Insurance.
Generous retirement benefits.
New parents leave.

Our Culture

At Manna, our core values are passion and determination, relationships built on respect, resourcefulness, community involvement, and adaptability and ingenuity. Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion is a top priority that enables us to find excellent teammates and creates an environment where all types of people can belong and thrive.
Manna is participant-centered and data-driven. Our people do meaningful work in an environment where they feel a genuine sense of community and connectedness to Manna’s mission.
Manna relies on problem-solving and solution creation from all levels.
Working at Manna is a dynamic experience with the opportunity to take ownership and make a difference.
Our work is strengthened by the voices of people with lived experience of food insecurity.

Racial Equity Statement

Manna Food Center is committed to serving as an ally for racial justice and is proud to be an equal-opportunity employer. We are fully committed to equity and believe deeply in diversity of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, political opinion, and national origin. Applicants with lived experience of our service area are encouraged to apply.

Disclaimer

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Manna has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications, and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment. Manna reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.

Manna is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Similar jobs