Project Lead - Procurement (OLIO Pizza)

Job description

Curefoods is scaling its footprint aggressively across cloud kitchens, dine-in/QSR formats, and multi-brand food courts. The Head – Real Estate & Partnerships will own the real estate charter end-to-end from an expansion standpoint — building a strong developer and landlord ecosystem, driving high-quality site acquisition at speed and at the right economics, and forging strategic co-location and channel partnerships that unlock new formats and markets. This is a high-ownership, build-from-the-ground-up role for someone who thinks like an operator and negotiates like a dealmaker. **Role Summary** We are looking for a Procurement Manager with dedicated experience in the pizza/Italian QSR segment to own sourcing, vendor management, and cost optimization for a brand operating at 200+ locations. The person will be responsible for negotiating best-in-class rates across cheese, sauces, dough/flour, toppings, and packaging, while ensuring supply continuity, quality consistency, and compliance across a distributed kitchen network. **Key Responsibilities** **Category Sourcing & Cost Management** • Own end-to-end procurement for pizza-specific raw materials: mozzarella/cheese blends, tomato bases and sauces, dough/flour, processed meats, vegetable toppings, and packaging (boxes, liners). • Negotiate best-in-class rates leveraging volume aggregation across 200+ outlets; run competitive bidding (RFQ/RFP) and structured vendor negotiations. • Track and benchmark input costs (especially cheese and wheat, which are volatile) against market indices; build hedging or rate-lock strategies where feasible. • Drive year-on-year cost savings targets without compromising recipe specifications or food safety standards. **Vendor Management** • Develop and manage a vetted vendor panel per category to de-risk single-source dependency across regions/kitchens. • Conduct vendor audits (quality, hygiene, capacity, financial stability) and formalize rate contracts/SLAs. • Resolve quality escalations, short supply, and rejection issues in coordination with QA and kitchen operations teams. **Supply Planning & Continuity** • Partner with planning team to forecast consumption basis outlet-level sales trends, new launches and peak days. • Ensure zero stockouts of P0/critical SKUs (mozzarella, dough, sauce) through proactive PO planning and buffer norms. • Work with logistics to optimize lead times and last-mile delivery to kitchens across Tier-1/Tier-2 cities. **Cross-functional & Systems** • Collaborate with Finance on cost sheets, price variance analysis, and budget adherence. • Work with culinary/R&D on vendor trials for new product launches and recipe cost-outs. **Must-Have Qualifications** • 8+ years of procurement experience, with a specific stint in the pizza/QSR/bakery segment (mandatory) - direct exposure to cheese, dough, and sauce sourcing required. • Proven track record of negotiating and delivering best-in-class rates at multi-outlet/multi-city scale (100+ locations ideal). • Strong understanding of commodity price cycles (dairy, wheat, tomato) and contract structuring (fixed vs. floating rate contracts). • Experience managing vendor panels across geographies, not just single-city sourcing. • Existing vendor relationships in the pizza/cheese/dairy ecosystem.