Job Description
About Albert Uster Imports Albert Uster Imports, Inc. (“AUI”) is a privately held gourmet food company headquartered in the Washington, DC area (Gaithersburg, MD) with warehouse locations in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gurnee and Gaithersburg. AUI falls under the Vestar Capital Partners portfolio with affiliate organization, Roland Foods, LLC.
Founded in 1968, the company offers over 1,400 products from around the world. We serve leading hotels, restaurants, casinos, cruise lines, airlines, and manufacturers with innovative, high quality products and solutions to their most demanding culinary challenges. We operate a network of distribution centers across the U.S. and serve select international markets as well. AUI has a national direct selling organization of over 60 sales professionals and a staff of culinary experts (chefs and food scientists) adept at custom product solutions.
About The Role AUI Fine Foods is seeking an experienced and strategic
Director, Global Logistics and Purchasing to lead and oversee our company's purchasing function. As the Director, you will be responsible for developing and executing procurement strategies, managing supplier relationships, and optimizing purchasing processes. Your primary goal will be to ensure the availability of products while driving cost savings and operational efficiency. The ideal candidate will have a deep understanding of procurement best practices, inventory control, international import and domestic logistics, strong negotiation skills, and a proven track record of successfully managing purchasing operations. The Director will report to the Senior VP, Operations and play a key role in the future growth of the company.
This position is expected to report to AUI Fine Foods’ Gaithersburg, MD headquarters. As a response to the pandemic, Albert Uster Imports office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in-person Monday through Wednesday, with the option to telework on Thursday and Friday each week. Due to the collaborative, cross-functional nature of the organization, employees at the Gaithersburg office are required to work in-person for the abovementioned days, outside of any People & Culture-approved disability accommodation request. Responsibilities - Strategy Development: Develop and implement procurement strategies that align with the company's objectives. Identify cost-saving opportunities, evaluate market trends, and establish long-term supplier relationships to enhance procurement effectiveness
- Supplier Management: Assist the Innovation team in the supplier selection process, negotiate contracts, and manage relationships with key suppliers. Evaluate supplier performance and develop supplier scorecards to ensure quality, reliability, and competitive pricing. Implement supplier development programs to drive continuous improvement
- Purchasing Operations: Develop purchasing strategies, including purchase requisitions, order placement, import (ocean), and domestic logistics and contract management. Work closely with the Purchasing team to implement best practices and standard operating procedures to streamline processes, reduce lead times, and ensure compliance with internal policies and regulations.
- Cost Savings: Drive cost savings initiatives through strategic vendor management, value engineering, and contract negotiations. Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify cost-reduction opportunities, evaluate alternative suppliers, and implement cost-effective solutions without compromising quality or service
- Risk Management: Assess and mitigate risks associated with purchasing and global logistics activities, such as supply disruptions, quality issues, or supplier financial stability. Develop contingency plans and implement risk mitigation strategies to ensure continuity of supply
- Team Leadership: Provide strong leadership and guidance to the purchasing and global logistic teams. Foster a collaborative and high-performance culture, promote professional development, and ensure effective communication and coordination across all purchasing and global logistic functions
- Stakeholder Collaboration: Collaborate closely with cross-functional teams, including innovations, operations, and finance, to align purchasing and global logistics strategies with business objectives. Build strong relationships with internal stakeholders to understand their needs, provide timely support, and contribute to the overall success of the organization
- Be a thought partner to senior leadership to help drive innovation and value creation
- Other activities or initiatives at the direction of the Senior VP, Operations
Required QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS - 8+ years of progressive management-level operational experience
- Demonstrated working knowledge of supply chain logistics processes including transportation and logistics planning, inventory control, inventory management, and demand planning
- Proven ability to execute high-complexity projects on schedule and within budget
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Preferred - Ocean import experience is a plus
- Experience with Business Central is a plus
- Ability to build cross-functional partnerships, and engage in and lead cross-functional teams and initiatives
- Strong ability to develop and deploy quantitative analysis for business improvement; record of accomplishment of KPI-driven and data-driven leadership
- Comprehensive business process and systems knowledge, and the ability to identify and implement best practices
- Transformative change management skills and self-awareness to take varying approaches with a dynamic set of stakeholders
- A strong record of accomplishment of talent recognition and development- finding and building future leaders for the organization
- Bilingual English/Spanish is a plus
SALARY RANGE Albert Uster Imports hires exceptional people to perform a wide variety of important functions that contribute to the success of the Company. One of the ways AUI does that is through a competitive compensation package. The base salary for this role will be $135,000 - $165,000.
This role will be bonus eligible. Based on your qualifications, previous experience, and transferrable skills, the Company will determine at its sole discretion, the salary offered.
Founded by immigrants, AUI & Roland Foods knows that diversity is the spice of life. We believe in the power of food to open minds, spark adventure, and bring diverse people together. All are welcome at our table! We know the transformative value of food in individual lives and communities. Because of this, we insist on obtaining the highest-quality ingredients and talent!
AUI is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We do not discriminate in hiring or any employment decision based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information, veteran status, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, or other applicable legally protected characteristic. AUI considers qualified applicants with criminal histories, consistent with applicable federal, state and local law. AUI is also committed to providing reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities and disabled veterans in our job application procedures. If you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at peopleandculture@rolandfood.com.
Please read Albert Uster Import’s California Job Applicant Privacy Policy here.
Job Tags
Contract work, Work at office, Local area, Remote work,