Vice President Supply Chain

Newman’s Own® – the brand of great-tasting food made with great ingredients – has a greater purpose: helping kids in need. Our delicious, high-quality food and beverage products include salad dressings, frozen pizzas, cookies, pasta sauces, salsas, refrigerated lemonades, popcorn and olive oil – as well as dog treats. Newman’s Own Foundation uses 100% of the profits and royalties it receives from the sale of these products to help kids in need. Learn more at NewmansOwn.com.

JOB SUMMARY

The Vice President, Supply Chain is Newman’s Own’s senior manufacturing and supply chain leader, responsible for ensuring the company can reliably, efficiently, and safely produce and deliver high-quality products across a complex network of co-manufacturers, suppliers, and distribution partners. This includes managing distinct supply chains across nine categories spanning ambient, frozen and refrigerated products.

This leader will have deep food or beverage manufacturing expertise, with hands-on experience in co-manufacturing, as well as overall supply chain experience. The VP Supply Chain will be accountable for strengthening manufacturing capability, improving service and cost performance, protecting continuity of supply, and building supplier accountability.

The role reports to the President and CEO and leads the entire Supply Chain function including manufacturing, supply planning, transportation and distribution, customer service, and food safety, quality & regulatory execution. The VP Supply Chain will partner closely with Marketing (including R&D), Sales, Finance, and the entire Executive Leadership Team.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Co-Manufacturing Leadership – Serve as the company’s senior co-manufacturing expert, leading the strategy, performance management, and operating discipline of Newman’s Own’s co-manufacturing network. Ensure manufacturing partners have the capability, capacity, quality systems, cost structure, and execution discipline required to support current business needs and future growth.
• Multi-Category Supply Chain Management – Lead supply chain strategy and execution across Newman's Own's nine product categories spanning ambient, frozen, and refrigerated products. Manage the unique manufacturing, logistics, shelf-life, forecasting, and quality & regulatory requirements of each category while maintaining enterprise-wide service, cost and inventory performance.
• Supplier Identification, Qualification, Governance, and Performance Management – Lead the identification, assessment, onboarding, governance, and ongoing management of co-manufacturers, and other critical supply partners. Establish clear expectations, scorecards, operating reviews, corrective action processes, and escalation routines to drive accountability for service, cost, quality, responsiveness, and continuity of supply.
• Procurement, Cost, and Productivity – Oversee procurement strategy for finished goods, ingredients, packaging, and critical materials. Lead supplier cost planning, negotiations, productivity initiatives, margin improvement opportunities, and supplier risk mitigation in partnership with Finance.
• Supply Planning and Inventory Execution – Lead supply planning execution to ensure products are produced, positioned, and available to meet customer demand while managing inventory levels, aged inventory, service levels, and working capital.
• Transportation, Distribution, and Network Optimization – Oversee transportation and distribution performance, including 3PL distribution centers, inbound and outbound freight, network optimization, freight and DC cost management, contract compliance, and service performance.
• Customer Service and Order Fulfillment – Ensure accurate, timely, and efficient customer order processing, invoicing, communication, broker coordination, and issue resolution. Drive service levels, transactional accuracy, customer responsiveness, and cross-functional communication with Sales and Operations.
• Food Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Oversight – Ensure food safety, quality, and regulatory requirements are effectively embedded across co-manufacturers, suppliers, distribution centers, and internal supply chain processes. Partner with FSQRA leadership to maintain compliance, complaint management, traceability, recall readiness, and corrective action discipline.
• Operational Risk Management and Continuity of Supply – Identify and mitigate risks related to manufacturing capacity, supplier concentration, raw materials, packaging, quality, logistics, inventory, commercialization, and business continuity. Develop contingency plans and escalation processes to protect customer service and brand trust.
• Leadership, Talent, and Operating Cadence – Lead, coach, and develop the Supply Chain organization. Establish KPIs, operating routines, scorecards, management reports, and business reviews covering service, cost, quality, inventory, productivity, supplier performance, logistics performance, customer service, and regulatory risk.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

The successful candidate must bring deep, practical co-manufacturing experience and the ability to diagnose, challenge, and improve performance inside co-manufacturing operations as well as be a supply chain generalist.

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• 15 years of progressive supply chain, co-manufacturing, manufacturing, procurement, or operations leadership experience in CPG food and beverage.
• Deep food manufacturing expertise required, including direct experience with plant operations, contract manufacturing, production scheduling, continuous improvement, quality systems, cost control, and supplier accountability.
• Significant experience managing outsourced manufacturing, co-manufacturing, supplier, and 3PL networks.
• Strong procurement and supplier management experience, including RFPs, supplier qualification, supply agreements, cost negotiations, productivity programs, and supplier scorecards.
• Proven success leading manufacturing and supply chain operations across complex, multi-category food and beverage portfolios, including frozen, refrigerated, and ambient products with diverse manufacturing technologies, shelf-life requirements, and distribution models.
• Strong understanding of food safety, quality, regulatory, GMP, FDA/USDA, FSMA, HACCP/PCQI, recall, traceability, and supplier verification requirements.
• Strong understanding of supply planning, S&OP, inventory management, service level management, transportation, distribution, customer fulfillment, and logistics cost structures.
• Proven ability to manage operating budgets, supplier costs, productivity initiatives, inventory targets, and supply chain financial performance.
• Strong cross-functional leadership skills with the ability to influence Commercial, Finance, Marketing, R&D, Technical Services, Legal, and external suppliers.
• Strong analytical, problem-solving, communication, negotiation, and executive presence skills.
• Hands-on, practical, urgent, and detail-oriented operating style; able to move quickly from strategy to execution.
• High degree of personal accountability for delivering planned business results.
• Values-driven leader who builds strong teams, develops talent, and operates consistent with Newman’s Own’s mission and culture.

WHAT WE OFFER

• Competitive base salary and annual performance-based incentive compensation. There is no long-term incentive plan at Newman’s Own.
• Generous benefits package (Medical, Dental, Life Insurance, Long Term Disability, Vision insurance, Wellness Reimbursement, 401k match, tuition reimbursement)
• Meaningful work that directly helps kids in need through Newman’s Own Foundation.
• Collaborative, entrepreneurial and mission-driven culture.

OUR COMMITMENT

Newman's Own is committed to creating an inclusive workplace where all employees can contribute their best work. We are an equal opportunity employer and welcome applications from candidates of all backgrounds who share our passion for making a positive impact helping kids in need.

TRAVEL & WORK LOCATION

This position requires regular travel to co-manufacturers, suppliers, distribution centers, customers, and other business partners, including overnight travel as needed. Given the manufacturing-centered scope of the role, travel should be expected to be greater than a typical office-based supply chain leadership role. This is a Westport, CT based position that requires working in the office 4 days per week when not traveling.