Head - Sourcing & Procurement (Food Staples)

Hiring for our client

Location: Gurugram Office, with frequent travel to agri-producers, processors and vendors across IndiaReports to: Co-Founder(s)Type: Full-time, founding team.About the companyWe're building a premium Indian food company, starting with the staples every kitchen uses daily: oils, grains, ghee, honey and spices.

Our ambition: to become the name India's most discerning households, at home and abroad, rely on every day. Staples are where we start, not where we stop. India grows some of the world's finest food. Very little of it reaches the households that would value it most, in a form they can recognise and rely on. We're building the brand, the supply chain and the standards to change that. Over the next few years, that means a growing range across categories, our own sourcing and processing capability, and a presence with Indian households worldwide. The people who join now will shape the company for the next decade.Founding team. Tier 1 Pedigree Founders from technology, consulting and agriculture, with a well-known figure from Indian cinema as co-founder.Stage: Founder-funded and preparing to launch, with an institutional round in progress.The roleYou'll get us to market fast without compromising on quality. At launch, we'll source finished and semi-finished products from the best producers and processors in India, and pack through trusted co-packing partners. You'll find them, qualify them, negotiate with them and hold them to our standard.What you'll ownSupplier base: Find and qualify producers, processors, mills and co-packers across oils, grains, ghee, honey, jaggery and spices.Co-packing: Set up and manage co-packing and contract-manufacturing partners: specs, trials, capacity, contracts and audits.Packaging procurement: Source packaging materials and printing to spec, cost and lead time.Commercials: Costing, negotiation and contracts; landed cost and margin by product.Quality: Work with Quality on specs, vendor audits and incoming checks. Quality signs off every vendor and batch independently.Supply planning: Match purchasing to the demand plan, and manage inventory, lead times and working capital.Vendor records: Keep every vendor contract, specification and record in company systems, never in personal relationships.Range expansion: Source new products as we move into new categories.You'll likely haveBuilt and run a supplier and co-packer base for a food or FMCG brand, ideally in staples.Strong commercial skills: costing, negotiation and contracts.Working knowledge of food specs, FSSAI requirements and lab testing.Packaging procurement experience.