Sr. Director - Supply Chain Procurement

Sr. Director - Supply Chain Procurement

Job Description

Steak n Shake's Sr. Director - Supply Chain Procurement will lead all purchasing, commercialization, and strategic sourcing for Steak 'n Shake's roughly 375 restaurants. This includes Food & Beverage, National Services, and Smallwares. Through strategic relationship building and strong business acumen, this role will enable informed decision-making and provide complete transparency into our Cost of Goods.

Department: Supply Chain

Reports to: VP Supply Chain

Direct reports: 1 Direct Report

FLSA: Exempt

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

1. Strategic Sourcing & Category Management

a. Direct category management across food, packaging, equipment, and indirect spending.

b. Lead one additional Category Manager as the only direct report to this role.

c. Identify cost optimization opportunities while maintaining quality, food safety, and brand standards.

d. Drive supplier consolidation and strategic reviews to improve overall Supply Chain efficiency.

e. Monitor commodity markets to proactively adjust sourcing strategies and pricing formulas.

2. Procurement & RFP Leadership

a. Oversee end-to-end procurement lifecycle, including supplier selection, contract negotiation, and performance management.

b. Lead RFP process, including development, evaluation, and award decisions to maintain competitiveness within supplier base.

c. Establish standardized procurement processes, tools, and governance to ensure consistency and compliance.

d. Negotiate favorable pricing, rebates, and service-level agreements.

e. Ensure contracts align with regulatory, food safety, and company compliance requirements.

3. Supplier Relationship Management

a. Build and maintain strategic relationships with key suppliers and distributors.

b. Partner with suppliers to drive innovation, product development, and samples for ideation testing.

c. Lead executive-level supplier reviews and business planning sessions.

d. Maintain rapid and continuous communication to avoid supply or quality disruptions.

4. Inventory Management & Supply Planning Collaboration

a. Partner with internal Distribution and Logistics team to maintain supply levels.

b. Implement strategies to balance Supply Chain spend with product availability across the network.

c. Lead product transitions for LTO and new menu item launches through data driven analysis eliminating excess or obsolete inventory.

d. Team leader within Arrowstream to control Supply Chain of Data and continuously improve data quality.

5. Cross-Functional Leadership & Collaboration

a. Serve as a key leader within the supply chain organization, collaborating with operations, culinary, finance, marketing, and quality assurance teams.

b. Partner with product development leaders to source new ingredients and support menu innovation.

c. Align with finance on budgeting, cost savings targets, and financial forecasting.

d. Support operations teams by ensuring consistent product availability and quality across all locations.

e. Influence executive stakeholders and contribute to overall supply chain and business strategy.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS: Position's key contacts and relationships.

• Leadership Team
• Operations Team
• Finance Team
• Marketing Team
• Distribution Centers
• Manufacturing Partners
• Various other Support Center Employees

Required Education and Experience:

• 10+ years of progressive procurement or Supply Chain leadership, preferably within a national Food Service Brand
• Experience managing national scale supplier networks and distribution models
• Experience partnering with key business partners such as finance and operations teams
• Bachelor's degree in supply chain management, finance, or economics
• Master's Degree or additional certifications preferred
• Experience monitoring and enhancing a data supply chain to support reporting, modeling, and forecasting
• Strong user of supply chain software program, such as Arrowstream, Armada, etc…
• Vision to improve processes
• Team Leadership and Composure
• Strong Presentation Skills
• Strong Relationship Management
• Strategic & Critical Thinking
• Teamwork & Collaboration

Note: This is not an exhaustive list of roles, activities, requirements, efforts, or working conditions associated with the position. This description is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current position. Steak n Shake reserves the right to revise the position or to require that other or different activities be performed when circumstances change with or without notice.