Strategic Sourcing Manager

Vibrant Ingredients•Lake Mary, FL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

Vibrant Ingredients is a leading provider of natural, clean label ingredients and systems that power extraordinary food and beverage experiences. The company’s broad portfolio — including natural flavors, botanical extracts, functional nutrition, cold brew coffee, tea essences, and food protection solutions — enhances taste, texture, color, shelf life, and performance across a wide range of applications. Vibrant operates four state-of-the-art facilities across the United States and works with leading brands, manufacturers, and foodservice operators. With vertically integrated capabilities and a proven track record of innovation and execution, Vibrant helps customers accelerate to market without compromise. As a Strategic Sourcing Manager, you will be responsible for developing and executing enterprise-wide sourcing strategies for key ingredients and packaging materials to support business growth while driving cost efficiencies, supply continuity, and continuous improvement. This role leads local, regional, and international sourcing initiatives to deliver long-term competitive advantages across the organization. This is a high-impact leadership role that drives strategic decision-making and executes dynamic change transformation, strategic decisions and implements continuous improvements. The Strategic Sourcing Manager plays a critical role in supplier strategy, risk mitigation, innovation enablement, creative solutioning for continuous supply and contract management. Working closely as a strategic partner with cross-functional leadership, R&D, plant operations, quality, sales, commercialization, supply chain, procurement, finance and IT, you will be a key contributor to cost savings and margin enhancement.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Administration, Management, Economics, Engineering, or related discipline
Minimum of 8–10 years of experience in procurement and strategic sourcing, with strong category management expertise
Highly preferred experience identifying, selecting and sourcing agricultural products, food & beverage ingredients, and packaging materials
Ideal category experience includes Tea, Coffee, Botanicals, Fruits & Vegetables and Functional
Strong financial and business acumen, including PPV management, P&L impact, cash flow optimization, spend analysis,
Demonstrated ability to build, evaluate, and manage a reliable global supplier network
Proven success in complex contract negotiations & multi-source qualification and supplier accountability performance management.
Strong leadership and team-building capabilities, with the ability to coach and mentor
Ability to influence stakeholders, manage ambiguity, and demonstrate resilience
Strong project management skills supporting cross-functional initiatives
Data-driven decision-maker capable of analyzing complex data sets quickly
Excellent interpersonal, conflict management, communication, and presentation skills
Proficiency in ERP systems (e.g., Microsoft Business Central, Great Plains, or similar platforms)
Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel
Ability to travel up to 15% or more as required

Nice To Haves

Master’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business Management, Administration, Economics, Engineering, or related discipline
6+ years of experience sourcing Tea, Coffee, agriculture driven, Fruits & Vegetables; 8+ years of experience sourcing packaging materials
10+ years of experience in food & beverage manufacturing environments
10+ years of experience working in or with foodservice organizations
10+ years of experience working in or with consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies
Professional certification such as Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM) or Certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.) designation, now called the Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)
Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP)

Responsibilities

Develop and implement category strategic sourcing strategies that ensure consistent supply, timely delivery, and high-quality materials aligned with business requirements
Act as lead strategist to leverage enterprise scale and drive cost efficiencies across spend categories with a continuous improvement mindset
Achieve competitive pricing advantages through market intelligence, including domestic and international macroeconomic factors
Proactively identify and capitalize on opportunistic market conditions within assigned categories
Identify, evaluate, and execute sourcing opportunities while mitigating supply risk and ensuring supply chain stability & longevity
Serve as Supplier Relationship Manager (SRM), fostering strong partnerships across the local and global supply base.
Act as the primary key interface between Vibrant Ingredients and assigned suppliers
Optimize the supply base to support continuity, scalability, innovation, and long-term growth
Lead negotiations for long-term supply agreements that deliver sustainable competitive advantages.
Develop & manage multi-year contracts and master supply agreements, ensuring compliance with pricing, quality, and delivery requirements
Collaborate with Suppliers and R&D to drive creative innovation thru ESI
Work closely with Quality to identify, qualify, and approve new materials, technologies, and suppliers.
Ensure sourced ingredients meet all product specifications, quality standards, regulatory requirements, and customer-specific needs
Conduct supplier performance evaluations and drive improvement initiatives across the supply base and award new business based on highest performance supplier(s)
Partner cross-functionally to support evolving business needs and strategic initiatives