Inventory Manager

Inventory Manager, Part Time 

About The Position 

Do you walk into a store picking up every package with excitement in understanding all of the ingredients,  their stories, and what it took to get them in your hands? If so, we’d love love meet you! Ayo West African  Foods is a fast-growing start-up, committed to sharing the goodness of West African flavors and ingredients to  disrupt grocery as we know it. We’re seeking an enthusiastic Inventory Manager to join our team who is  working hard to build a more representative food culture! 

This critical role will be a key role in our inventory management practice and be a key thought partner in  developing our sustainable sourcing network. You’ll own crop planning and global procurement, and on site  inventory management at our production facility. Working alongside our co-founders, operations, and culinary  teams, this role will be vital in building the foundation of a best-in-class sourcing team. 

This is a Chicago-based role that will primarily sit on-site at our production facility in the South Suburbs of  Chicago, IL for approximately 20 hours per week. 

Job tasks will include: 

• Manage end-to-end transportation of all raw and finished goods, sourcing and negotiating all  freight/warehousing contracts in partnership with co-man 

• Designing and implementing an inventory tracking system for optimized inventory control procedures • Manages inventory tracking system to record deliveries, shipments and stock levels. • Evaluates and creates reporting for deliveries, shipments and product levels to improve inventory  control procedures. 

• Analyzes daily product and supply levels to anticipate inventory problems and shortages. • Identify new strategic sourcing partners 

• Build meaningful relationships with all partners in our supply chain through strategic and collaborative  communication 

Education & Experience: 

• 5+ years experience leading or managing operations and supply chain for a growing food / CPG  company (startup experience strongly preferred)  

• Bachelor’s or associate’s degree in business, logistics, systems engineering, supply chain management or similar 

• Experience working with inventory management software and forecasting strategies (e.g. Microsoft  Office, QuickBooks or NetSuite) 

• Experience conducting tracking and data analysis 

• Product and inventory management certification a plus

Skills/Abilities: 

• Motivated self-manager who takes initiative and can deliver on high expectations  • Excitement and understanding of Ayo West African Foods mission, vision + values • Strategic, confident communicator both verbal and written 

• Strong collaborator, skilled at building trusting relationships, getting buy-in and advocating for the  company's needs and priorities 

• Culture fit: Naturally Curious, Straight Shooter, Highly Collaborative and Adaptable, Can laugh at  yourself when needed - After all, our name does mean joy!