Associate Manager – Procurement (Food Categories)

Are you a strategic thinker with an entrepreneurial mindset who thrives on driving value, building strong partnerships, and solving complex business challenges? QSCC is seeking an Associate Manager – Procurement to join our dynamic team and play a critical role in supporting the growth, profitability, and continued success of The Wendy's Company and QSCC Members. In this highly visible role, you'll lead key food categories, helping shape sourcing strategies that ensure a reliable supply of high-quality products while identifying opportunities to optimize cost, improve service, enhance quality, and mitigate risk. Partnering closely with suppliers, distributors, and cross-functional stakeholders, you'll influence business decisions that directly support Wendy's menu innovation and its iconic commitment that "Quality Is Our Recipe®." You'll leverage market insights, industry trends, and strong negotiation skills to secure competitive pricing and create value across the supply chain. Along the way, you'll develop strategic supplier relationships, lead sourcing initiatives, manage category performance, and help ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and brand standards. This is an ideal opportunity for a procurement professional – or an aspiring one – who enjoys balancing strategy and execution, excels at relationship building, and is energized by making a measurable impact on a growing business. Success in this role requires strengths in : Sourcing and category management Business and financial acumen Cost optimization and budget/forecasting Supplier relationship management Negotiation and risk management Problem-solving and project management Cross-functional collaboration and customer service Commodity market knowledge is a plus, but a passion for driving results and continuous improvement is essential. Initiative and quest for learning the QSR industry Join QSCC and help shape the future of Wendy's supply chain while contributing to a culture built on partnership, innovation, and operational excellence. Key Responsibilities Include: Day-to-Day Category Management. Manage assigned categories by building strong, productive relationships with suppliers and serving as a key point of contact for category-related initiatives. Analyze supplier capabilities, market dynamics, operational performance, and business needs to identify and implement opportunities that improve quality, reduce costs, strengthen service levels, and mitigate risk. Collaborate with cross-functional stakeholders to execute category strategies that deliver competitive products, sustainable value, support innovation, and ensure alignment with organizational goals. Structured, Strategic Sourcing. Partner with supervisor to develop structured sourcing strategy and process for assigned categories. Implement and manage sourcing processes for assigned categories to ensure an uninterrupted supply of products and services. Support and participate in negotiation of agreements, contract management for best value and compliance with standard legal and business terms and conditions. Assure Supply. Collaborate with internal project management department, cross-functional stakeholders, Wendy’s QA, Operations, and in some instances Corporate Social Responsibility/Environment, Sustainability, & Governance teams. Collaborate with external supplier community to maintain adequate supply plans, expedite order processing, current and growth capacity, contingency plans, and other risk mitigating activities. Analytics & Administration. Ensure procurement information, including supplier, product, and pricing details, is consistently accurate and up to date, enabling effective category management, reporting, and execution of business objectives. Provide monthly Cost of Goods/Budget updates to finance and support internal pricing system and processes for assigned categories. Continuous Learning & Industry Engagement. Stay abreast of current micro and macro market conditions, industry issues, trends, and innovation by following pertinent industry-related sources of information, conducting at a minimum annual key business review with strategic suppliers, and attending relative conferences and/or continuing education events. Other duties as assigned And Our Ideal Candidate Meets the Following Qualifications: Minimum of three (3) years of experience in Procurement, Supply Chain Management, or related field strongly preferred; experience in food and packaging a plus. Bachelor’s Degree in Business, Supply Chain Management or Logistics (or equivalent combination of education and experience) Understanding of and experience in the food service industry Understanding of the foodservice supplier community preferred. Experience working with external/supplier partners required. Ability to build and maintain strong relationships with internal and external stakeholders. Strong customer service orientation with the ability to influence, collaborate, and drive results in a matrixed environment. Experience working with franchisees is a plus!. Ability to analyze complex data to identify trends to support strategic business decisions. Experience developing meaningful reports, dashboards, and/or presentations that translate data into actionable insights for cross-functional stakeholders. Strong proficiency in Excel and data analysis tools, with the ability to manage multiple data sources, measure key performance indicators (KPIs), and communicate findings clearly to both technical and non-technical audiences. Willingness to embrace challenges, learn from successes and setbacks, and leverage those experiences to identify opportunities for continuous improvement, innovation, and operational excellence. Ability to build collaborative working relationships. Builds a network while being honest, transparent, and responsible in their business dealings to contribute to the long-term success and reputation of themselves and the Wendy’s system. Entrepreneurial mindset. Proactive in seeking out opportunities, flexible and able to adapt to changing circumstances, determined and persistent to push through challenges. Onsite expectation: 4 days per week. Onsite expectations may vary dependent upon business need. In addition to competitive medical, dental, vision and paid time off programs, we offer a Flex Work Program. At QSCC, we believe that our people are the key to our success. We also recognize that in a fast-paced world, supporting our employees as they balance work, personal and family obligations is critical. We offer flexibility in where and when work is completed that can benefit both our employees and the business. As such, we offer both informal and formal arrangements to provide you with more flexibility in your work schedule while allowing teams to maintain productivity and culture. QSCC is committed to employing well-qualified candidates for all open positions and engaging in effective recruitment and selection practices in compliance with all applicable employment laws. We proudly provide equal employment opportunity to all applicants and employees. No third-party solicitation, please!