Buyer, Indirect Procurement

Bagel Brands•Minneapolis, MN

3d•$64,946 - $108,243

About The Position

The Buyer, Indirect Procurement manages assigned indirect categories, including furniture, fixtures, and equipment (FF&E), smallwares, store supplies, packaging, and services. The role ensures reliable supply, competitive total cost, and effective supplier performance by executing category sourcing strategies, leading competitive bid, quote, and proposal processes, supporting contract negotiations, and coordinating delivery for new store openings, remodels, replacement needs, and ongoing operations. The Buyer owns day-to-day supplier and category execution and works with Product, Direct Sourcing, Support Operations, Supply Chain, Quality Assurance, Facilities, Real Estate and Construction, Finance, and Legal. The role provides category data and recommendations, coordinates stakeholder requirements, supports business cases and contract development, monitors supplier performance and risk, and drives approved sourcing initiatives through implementation. The position also leads indirect procurement work for new store openings across business channels, supports store and Facilities needs, manages packaging requirements and regulatory changes, and partners with innovation and operations teams to source and evaluate new equipment and smallwares. Success is measured by savings and cost avoidance, reliable product and service availability, supplier performance, timely store openings and remodels, effective risk mitigation, clear stakeholder communication, and compliant implementation of category and packaging changes.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in supply chain, business, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
At least five years of progressive experience in sourcing, procurement, supply chain, or category management within retail, restaurant, foodservice, hospitality, or another multi-unit environment.
Experience supporting supplier negotiations and managing indirect categories.
Ability to build trusted relationships and influence leaders, peers, suppliers, and cross-functional partners to align on requirements, sourcing decisions, timelines, and issue resolution.
Clear communication skills, including explaining tradeoffs among cost, service, quality, risk, and timing and transparently sharing decisions, risks, and outcomes.
Ability to develop and present data-driven recommendations using spend analysis, supplier performance, demand forecasts, total cost of ownership, and financial impact.
Working knowledge of strategic sourcing, supplier relationship management, competitive bidding, contract terms, negotiation, risk management, and project management.
Ability to use procurement, contract-management, spreadsheet, and reporting tools to analyze spend and demand, track savings and supplier performance, and produce dashboards.
Ability to proactively identify supply risks, cost pressures, and improvement opportunities, with a results-oriented focus on continuous improvement.
Ability to prioritize the guest, team, and operator experience when establishing plans and making decisions.
Ability to meet the physical requirements of sitting, standing, bending, reaching, lifting up to 50 pounds, and moving intermittently, with or without reasonable accommodation.

Nice To Haves

Experience with new store openings, remodels, or introducing new products or equipment.
Experience with FF&E, smallwares, restaurant equipment, facilities services, vendor-managed inventory, distribution partners, or store development procurement.
CPSM, CSCP, Lean, Six Sigma, or project management certification.

Responsibilities

Develop and maintain category strategies and the Indirect Procurement supplier matrix using market trends, cost drivers, supplier capacity, lead times, continuity risks, regulatory changes, and innovation opportunities.
Plan and execute competitive bid, quote, and proposal processes, including requirements gathering, supplier outreach, bid analysis, supplier evaluation, award recommendations, stakeholder approvals, and implementation planning.
Facilitate contract management and negotiate new and renewing contracts with Legal, Finance, and business stakeholders.
Manage category spend against operating-plan targets and deliver documented value through savings, cost avoidance, rebates, demand management, specification improvements, and total-cost-of-ownership initiatives; maintain savings forecasts and results with Finance.
Manage supplier performance using scorecards and service-level measures; lead periodic business reviews and track corrective actions to completion.
Contribute category data, supplier insights, cost models, savings opportunities, risk assessments, and ESG considerations to strategic sourcing and annual and long-range planning.
Lead the Indirect Procurement workstream for new store openings, ensuring products, equipment, and services are sourced, delivered, installed, and ready on schedule and within budget.
Represent Indirect Procurement on the new-store-opening cross-functional team, from requirements and supplier selection through purchasing, installation, startup, and post-opening issue resolution.
Onboard new store operator partners to Caribou’s Indirect Procurement model, including establishing operator-vendor relationships.
Prevent or resolve supply, service, capacity, or installation issues to minimize disruption to operators and guests.
Support store and Facilities needs, including replenishment of packaging and store supplies, replacement of FF&E and smallwares, and supplier service and warranty management.
Manage vendor relationships, multi-channel forecasts, demand signals, and stock levels to maintain availability at acceptable cost and service levels.
Manage the packaging category, coordinating specifications, supplier qualification, artwork changes, and material or supplier transitions with Marketing, Quality Assurance, and Operations.
Monitor packaging regulations and sustainability requirements, including extended producer responsibility, PFAS restrictions, compostability, and recycled-content rules; partner with Legal and other teams to evaluate and implement compliant alternatives.
Partner with Product Innovation, Support Operations, Production, and Quality Assurance to source equipment and smallwares for new product and operations platforms from discovery through prototyping, in-store testing, and procurement.
Evaluate equipment and smallwares for total cost of ownership, operational efficiency, guest and team experience, reliability, food safety, serviceability, supplier capacity, and scalability; develop recommendations and support approval, contracting, and rollout.