Director of Procurement & Sustainable Sourcing

Culver City, CA - Concept Team

Reports to: Vice President of Supply Chain & Sustainability

As the Director of Procurement & Sustainable Sourcing, you will lead a mission driven procurement team, coach your team through rapid growth, and do this in the face of headwinds in a fast-paced and ambiguous environment. Your leadership chops should include the ability to be a long-term systems thinker, a solid negotiator, a superb project and process manager, and an inspiring leader who can hold all parties accountable to the desired outcomes. Experience owning a vast network of supply partners and commercialized foodservice solutions is a huge plus.

The Director of Procurement & Sustainable Sourcing has five key performance objectives: 

• Build a scalable, new approach to sourcing our delicious, healthy, sustainable and transparent food
• Champion the “Five Rights” of Supply Chain Optimization
• Improve our ingredient quality and Food & Grower Ethos metrics by upholding our  “Win, Win, Win” Core Value
• Negotiate and enhance our national supplier contracts as we continue to scale
• Manage the food cost sourcing strategy to achieve the budgeted COGS

How to Build our Supply Network

Build a scalable, new approach to sourcing our delicious, healthy, sustainable and transparent food

• Build a long-term ingredient sourcing model, including the commercialization strategy, to scale the production of strategic ingredients
• Create a cost-benefit analysis to support short, medium, and long-term sourcing and commercialization strategies
• Assign the appropriate resources (people, processes, systems) to support a commercialized supply chain, including differentiating ingredients sourced from value chain versus value-add suppliers
• Lead the cross-functional collaboration with Food Safety/Quality Assurance and Operation Services teams

Champion the “Five Rights” of Supply Chain Optimization

• Product: revolutionize how sweetgreen sources and creates its product as we grow rapidly in size and enter new markets
• Quality: confirm that the product meets the specifications provided by the Food and Operation teams. Support any food safety risk assessments, vendor standards, or recalls
• On-Time Delivery: monitor inbound logistics to the first receiver to optimize inventory and supply
• Quantity: coordinate Supply Planning’s forecast with key suppliers
• Price: establish and manage all pricing contracts in a systematic manner

Improve our ingredient quality and Food & Grower Ethos metrics by upholding our  “Win, Win, Win” Core Value

• Assess new producers using our internal Food Ethos rating system’s pillars: healthy, sustainable, and transparent
• Enhance sweetgreen’s sustainability and ethos goals and then achieve those goals, even as we scale
• Expand the reach and capacity of our internal vendor assessment tools
• Manage our product innovation pipeline from ideation to the initial rollout stages

Negotiate and enhance our national supplier contracts as we continue to scale

• Manage our tech systems used to house, monitor, and update our regional and national contracts
• Build supplier resiliency for all critical regional and national items
• Work closely with the Value Chain team to enhance our local and sustainable offerings
• Fight for national and regional producers that you believe in!

Manage the food cost sourcing strategy to achieve the budgeted COGS

• Carefully balance the improvement of our ingredient quality and Food Ethos with achieving our budgeted COGS
• Unbundle the components of the contracted landed costs to improve previously undiscovered inefficiencies
• Leverage our growth and buying power where appropriate
• Integrate inbound logistics solutions where needed to create faster, more efficient and cost effective freight options for sweetgreen nationally

Desired Traits

• Uphold a commitment to building a more sustainable food system
• Champion a team first attitude ahead of individual accolades 
• Value feedback of all types in an effort to evolve
• Demonstrate resilience by leaning into crises while applying the appropriate pressure in the right places in order to get the necessary outcome
• Hold proficient time management, task management, and project prioritization skills
• Lead by example with a continuous passion for learning
• Known for honesty, integrity, self-awareness, and a solid work ethic
• Analytical mindset for value chain model planning
• Comfortable compiling, interpreting, and presenting the financial components of strategic sourcing 

Desired Experience

• Have 7-10 years experience in Procurement, Food Systems, Supply Chain Management and Sustainability
• Familiarity and experience working with a broad array of producers and distributors within the foodservice arena
• Bachelor's or Master’s degree with technical background in Business, Environmental Health, Food Science, Agriculture, or Supply Chain related course of study
• Familiarity with food-related certifications and the requirements for a grower, producer, or distributor to achieve various certifications

NOTE: Candidates must be willing to relocate to the Greater Los Angeles area. Restaurant experience or similar industry, supporting a dynamic food supply chain is desired.

What you'll get:

• Three different medical plans to suit your and your family's needs
• Dental and Vision insurance
• Flexible PTO plan
• 401k; company match of 50% up to 3% of employee contribution
• 5 months paid family leave; we believe in fully supporting new parents
• Employee HSA and FSA
• Complimentary greens
• An opportunity to make a real impact on the people around you, both by growing them and by connecting them to real food
• To live the sweetlife and celebrate your passion + purpose
• A collaborative family of people who live our core values and have your back
• A clear career path with opportunities for development, both personally and professionally
• Free sweetgreen swag

Come join the sweetlife!

About sweetgreen

sweetgreen is on a mission to build healthier communities by connecting people to real food. We passionately believe that real food should be convenient and accessible to everyone. Every day in each sweetgreen, our 3,500 team members make food from scratch, using fresh ingredients and produce delivered that morning. And in our local communities, we’re committed to leaving people better than we found them. We’re in the business of feeding people, and we’re out to change what that means.

sweetgreen provides equal opportunities for everyone that works for us and everyone that applies to join our team, without regard to sex or gender, gender identity, gender expression, age, race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, any service, past, present, or future, in the uniformed services of the United States (military or veteran status), or any other consideration protected by federal, state, or local law.

sweetgreen participates in the federal government's E-Verify program to determine employment eligibility. To learn more about the E-Verify program, please click here.