Senior Buyer, Supply Chain

At Cracker Barrel, our mission is Pleasing People. This is evident from the moment you walk through our doors, with the first smile that greets you, from the items in our retail store to the food on the table, we welcome you home!

The Sr. Buyer, Supply Chain is responsible for managing a portfolio of products and categories related to Packaging and Disposables. They are responsible for developing and executing the category procurement strategies in support of company strategy. The Sr. Buyer should be the company expert and resource for the assigned industries, commodities, products, and suppliers. The primary areas of focus are negotiations, drafting and documenting supply agreements, managing supplier performance and relationships, identifying, and developing sources of supply for new and existing products, analyzing data to include spend and usage, and working with a variety of cross-functional teams. This role will be the primary contact internally and externally for the portfolio of products managed.

• Develop and implement strategies to identify the optimum supplier base, term of agreements, pricing methodologies, and other terms and conditions.
• Negotiate supply agreements, analyze proposals, and provide recommendations in support of approved procurement strategies and the department mission.
• Monitor and proactively communicate changes to existing supplier capabilities, capacities, and distribution to ensure that all quality, cost, and service expectations are met.
• Manage supplier relationships, performance, and adherence to the negotiated supply agreements.
• Establish and maintain deep knowledge of raw material markets, economic trends, and relevant global events/developments in order to present appropriate and timely recommendations.
• Maintain a thorough knowledge of the supplier landscape.
• Work with distributors and internal teams to manage product and inventory rollouts/depletions, and to resolve any issues.
• Support and manage product requests for samples, tests, projects, limited time offers, and the core menu.
• Lead cost savings, optimization, and continuous improvement initiatives for the assigned categories.
• Create and regularly update category and item level cost projections, communicating deflation/inflation expectations and results.
• Work with cross functional teams such as: Supply Chain, Culinary, Quality Assurance, Menu Strategy, and other departments to resolve issues and identify and secure opportunities.
• Some travel may be required.

Experience and Education
• Bachelor’s degree with at least 3-4 years of direct and relevant work experience
• Restaurant industry, packaging/resin/paper industry, Supply Chain, or Project Management experience a plus.
• Prior contract and negotiation experience a plus.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities.

Knowledge and Skills
• Strong analytical, critical thinking, and reasoning skills with a problem-solving and results focused approach.
• Financial acumen and data analysis skills that include cost and inventory projections.
• Ability to develop strong negotiation and contract management skills.
• Comfortable handling and managing through ambiguity.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills.
• Ability to work independently and as a member of a team.
• Must be detail oriented and excel at follow up.

Environment and Working Conditions
• Some travel may be required.

•Hybrid role, onsite 3 days per week