Inventory Quality Assurance & Procurement Specialist - Midlands

Harvest Hope Food Bank•Columbia, SC

18d

About The Position

Embark on a fulfilling journey at Harvest Hope Food Bank, where your talents play a vital role in our mission to end hunger. As the largest hunger-relief organization in South Carolina, serving 20 counties, we annually distribute 30 million pounds of food across the Midlands, Pee Dee, and Upstate regions. Our dynamic nonprofit values innovation, collaboration, and diversity, offering a uniquely rewarding experience for employees dedicated to making a meaningful difference in their communities. Join our dedicated team in building a hunger-free tomorrow through active engagement with nearly 400 partner agencies. Together, we strive to address food insecurity and positively impact lives across the state. The Food Procurement Specialist is responsible for all direct and indirect food sourcing activity and all food purchasing functions, including the development and maintenance of the overall food bank food source plan to meet the organization's volume requirements and support annual food distribution goals.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree in operations, supply chain/logistics or related.
Five years related experience in customer relations or the food industry.
Minimum 3 years inventory experience.
Excellent understanding of food warehousing and distribution.
Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects at once in fast paced, deadline-driven environment.
Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
Self-starter, strong organizational skills, attention to detail and creative problem solving.
Excellent communications, interpersonal and customer service skills; comfortable with public speaking.
Ability to attend work functions outside of normal work hours, on weekends and evenings, as needed.
Must be able to clearly articulate the mission of Harvest Hope Food Bank.
Ability to relate effectively and professionally with other staff, volunteers, agency representatives and the public.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with food retailers and/or manufacturers and/or wholesalers to coordinate food donations or similar experience preferred.
Purchasing and procurement or related experience preferred.
Experience in NetSuite preferred.

Responsibilities

Implements and maintains a cost effective, network-wide food purchasing program, while identifying new purchasing options and strategies that improve efficiencies.
Uses inventory software to manage point balance and products needed to achieve distribution goals and ensure appropriate quality, quantity, and variety of product on inventory at all times.
Monitors inventory daily to identify product to procure, either through purchase or donation.
Maintains forecasting and tracking tools for purchase program to predict quality, efficiency, and demand and to project, track and document purchasing activities.
Identifies, selects, bids and purchases from vendors to meet needs and optimize purchased product acquisition.
Researches and develops strategies to meet fresh product goals and initiatives.
Evaluates outreach and purchase programs to identify cost effective items.
Maintains documentation and reports on purchases and needs to support operational goals.
Manages the ordering of all USDA commodities, coordinating purchase and ensuring timely distribution.
Maintains a balanced inventory of nutritional and needed food items that meet HHFB program requirements at a competitive cost.
Works closely with federal, state, and local governmental and non-governmental agencies, and other food banks to benchmark and improve efficiencies and cost saving measures.
Manages several budget lines for procurement of food and nonfood resources to support our programs and member network.
Ensures food is procured in compliance with requirements of our various funding streams.
Monitors sales trends and availability of product; analyze and project demand weeks to months ahead to safeguard product inventory.
Other duties as assigned.