ILLES Foods Job Description
Job Title: Sr. Analyst Procurement Analytics & Supply Planning
Reports To: Director of Procurement
FLSA: Permanent, Full Time, Exempt
About Us:
Specializing in custom-crafted culinary solutions—from beverage bases and sauces to marinades and seasonings—ILLES Foods has partnered with food service chains, manufacturers, and retailers across the U.S. since 1927. Our Food Innovation expertise, creativity, and speed to market, combined with a laser focus on customer experience, make us a key partner in product development. As a family-owned, woman-run business, our growth is fueled by deeply held values: operating with integrity, maintaining intentional curiosity, and strong relationship building through the power of partnership. At ILLES Foods, we strive to be the ingredient that elevates food and enriches the lives of our partners, internal and external.
Job Summary:
The Successful candidate supports end-to-end analytics, financial modeling, and performance reporting for the Procurement Team. This role serves as a strategic thought partner by developing insights, models, and tools that optimize supplier economics, inventory management, profitability and supports growth and new business development.
The ideal candidate has a strong foundation in data analytics, is highly skilled in modeling & forecasting, is curious and comfortable tackling abstract problems with minimal direction, translating complex data into actionable recommendations that influence cross-functional decision-making and drive measurable business outcomes. Partner conducts themselves in a manner that is aligned with Illes Foods Core Values: Operate with Integrity, Stay Intentionally Curious, and Believe in the Power of the Partnership.
Key Duties and Responsibilities:
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Leverage analytics and create financial modeling to support procurement processes and new business development to drive efficiency, support growth and enhance decision making.
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Lead the development of tools, reporting and dashboards to support procurement processes and projects. Enhance or replace existing methods to improve inventory levels, availability, and alignment with production minimizing raw material shortages, excess inventory and write-offs.
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Create reporting to highlight supplier performance, spend and volume for business reviews, and annual planning. Develop dashboards to highlight supplier performance metrics, including pricing, supplier quality issues and timeliness. Develop tools for the procurement team to quickly answer inquiries on unique ingredients, raw material exposure, and other requests as needed.
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Own advanced material planning for seasonal demand and new projects ensuring alignment to the commercialization plan, partnering with sales to sync material lead times with customer timelines, and actively tracking and reporting status of material receipt dates.
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Support alternate vendor and raw material initiatives by completing material shortage analysis on finished goods incorporating forecast, demand vs available supply and developing potential allocation strategies to review with cross functional partners.
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Partner with Sales to develop new customer floor-stock agreements and evaluate existing agreements balancing lead times, shelf life, cost, and overall inventory risk.
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Establish a tracking system for contract compliance, balances and expirations to facilitate timely negotiations for contract renewals and annual volume requirements.
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Lead the development of an analytical framework to simplify vendors, materials and sku rationalization incorporating volumes, cost, purchase history, and supply risk to drive efficiency and ensure business continuity.
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Lead user acceptance testing for procurement supporting the roll-out of AI agents, digital tools and process improvements.
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Manage and maintain procurement master data for suppliers and materials by supporting the set-up of new raw materials and vendors, updating pricing and auditing existing data such as lead times, minimum order quantities, pack sizes, freight terms, and supplier information to ensure accuracy and integrity across vendors and systems.
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Perform other duties as assigned with a willingness to support procurement team to create, revise, confirm, and track PO’s; follow up on unconfirmed or past‑due POs as needed.
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5-10 % Travel required
Required Key Skills and Qualifications:
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Strategic Problem Solving & Analytical Thinking: Advanced proficiency in financial modeling, analytics, and business case development with strong quantitative and analytical capabilities. Expert knowledge of SQL, Power Query or Power BI for data extraction, manipulation, visualization and dashboard development
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Negotiation & Supplier Management: Strong understanding of supplier economics, cost structures, inventory management, and supply chain KPIs in a food manufacturing environment.
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Attention to Detail & Compliance: Highly detail orientated and organized with demonstrated ability to manage complex data across multiple systems while maintaining accuracy and consistency
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Cross-Functional Collaboration: Strong communication and presentation skills, with ability to distill complex analytical findings into clear recommendations. Experience designing dashboards, scorecards, and reporting tools that drive operational performance and transparency
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Organization & Adaptability: Manages multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment where ambiguity, complexity and change are constant. Curiosity to leverage AI and digital tools to improve procurement analysis, reporting and decision making
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Flexibility: Comfort operating at both strategic and operational levels, balancing long-term planning with day-to-day analytical support needs; a hands-on mindset with a willingness to proactively solve problems, offer potential solutions and follow up on issues as needed.
Experience & Education:
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Bachelor’s degree required in Business Analytics, Finance, Supply Chain Analytics, or a related field.
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3 – 5 years of relevant experience in forecasting, supply chain analytics, developing financial models, business cases, and cost models to support strategic decision-making and negotiations.
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Demonstrated experience working with ERP/MRP systems, inventory management processes, procurement and supply planning.
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Food industry experience is required particularly with ingredient sourcing and food manufacturing environments.
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Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, with advanced Excel skills, is required. Expert knowledge of leveraging SQL queries and Power BI is preferred.
Working Conditions & Physical Demands:
Ability to bend, stoop, squat, reach above head, lift 50 pounds, sit, walk, or stand for long periods of time, use keyboard and calculator, see, hear, read, learn and speak
What We Offer:
We are a core-value driven, inclusive team that values innovation, growth, and impact. We offer career development, mentorship, competitive pay, and comprehensive benefits—including medical, dental, vision, 401(k) with immediate match, HSA, EAP, life, disability, and more!
Disclaimer:
The job description provides a general overview of the work, not a detailed list of all tasks and skills. Reasonable accommodation is available for individuals with disabilities as required by law. Some requirements may exclude individuals who pose a health or safety risk. Employees must follow job-related instructions and perform additional duties as per federal and state laws. The listed requirements are the minimum needed to perform the job effectively. Employment is “at-will,” meaning it can be terminated at any time. ILLES Foods is an Equal Opportunity Employer. (M/F/D/V)