Strategic Sourcing Manager

Food & Service Innovation Strategic Sourcing Manager Reports To: Director Food & Service Innovation Direct Reports: Product Innovation Specialist, Product Innovation Coordinator Job Status: Full Time, Permanent, Salaried Work Hours: Monday–Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm, with flexibility as required Work Location: Hybrid (Onsite two to three times per week) Compensation: $85,000-$90,000 commensurate with experience About Real Food For Real Kids: Real Food for Real Kids (RFRK) is a growing company on a mission to make real food the standard rather than the exception. A multiple award-winning company recognized for excellence and innovation, we’re a leading healthy catering company for child care centres, schools and camps. RFRK proudly serves nutritious meals and snacks to thousands of children throughout the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area every day. We’re well-positioned for growth into new markets and planning for significant expansion over the coming years. We are looking for a food-obsessed, forward-thinking sourcing leader who hears 'we have always done it this way' and asks, 'how might we do it better?' If you are excited by the opportunity to make an immediate impact on the real-food landscape and help build what comes next for a mission-driven food company, keep reading to see if this rewarding role is right for you! The Opportunity As the Strategic Sourcing Manager at Real Food for Real Kids, you will shape and execute the strategy behind off-the-shelf food, raw ingredients for RFRK-made recipes and products, packaging, and white-label products made with external co-manufacturers. You will connect culinary imagination with commercial strategy, creating sourcing plans and agreements that bring exciting new products to life, drive exceptional customer satisfaction, uphold our Real Food Promise, and align with RFRK's financial targets, KPIs, and strategic priorities. You will challenge the status quo and look beyond the usual vendor list to hunt for standout ingredients, products, packaging ideas, and partners; support RFx processes and negotiations; evaluate the vendor landscape and develop optimized vendor-network strategies; and build decision-ready analysis for the Senior Leadership Team. The right answer may include distributors, GPOs, local suppliers, co-manufacturers, or direct sourcing - the goal is the mix that best drives cost improvement, client satisfaction, and operational efficiency. Supply Chain will lead daily purchasing, inventory, and operational continuity; you will bring the strategic category, market, and supplier lens. If you bring an appetite for possibility, a nose for finding and adding value, and the drive to find a better way, this is your opportunity to make an immediate impact on the real-food landscape and help build what comes next. What You Will Bring to the Table Portfolio Strategy and Discovery Set bold, multi-year strategies across off-the-shelf food, raw ingredients, packaging, and white-label or co-manufactured products. Balance spend, culinary and quality needs, growth plans, market conditions, and operational fit - then challenge the status quo when a better path is possible. Turn recipe and product briefs, specifications, and forecasts into clear sourcing criteria and implementation plans. Think outside the box - sometimes literally - to find ingredients, products, packaging, and sourcing models that improve quality, value, or operational fit across direct, distributor, GPO, local, and co-manufacturing routes. Commercial Sourcing and Value Support creative, well-structured RFx activity - including market scans, RFIs, RFQs, and RFPs - from supplier and co-manufacturer discovery through due diligence, evaluation, negotiation, recommendation, and implementation. Negotiate agreements covering pricing, indexation, minimums, lead times, service levels, quality, change control, renewal, and exit terms. Evaluate the current and future vendor landscape and develop optimized vendor-network strategi…

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