Supply Chain Manager - Maternity Cover
Vegetarian Express · Watford, Hertfordshire
Our estimate of how close this role sits to decisions about what gets sourced, specified, bought and served. How we score
Why this role matters
Where the work sits relative to real sourcing and menu decisions.
Vegetarian Express exists to get plant-based ingredients onto menus at scale — supplying over 4,000 chefs and major contract caterers like Compass and Baxterstorey, whose menus feed millions of people. This particular seat is an operational one: you'd own stock health, wastage and inventory strategy, and be the escalation point when supply issues threaten availability, working alongside Procurement and reporting to the Purchasing and Supply Chain Director. It won't put you in the room deciding what goes on the menu, but keeping a plant-based supplier reliable and well-stocked is part of what makes plant-forward catering commercially viable at this scale, and doing that job well builds real fluency in food supply chains inside a business whose whole model is shifting volume away from meat and dairy. That operational credibility, plus exposure to how a plant-based foodservice business runs commercially, is a genuine stepping stone toward category or sourcing roles with more direct influence over the protein mix later on.
About the role
Vegetarian Express, a certified B Corporation supplying plant-based ingredients to more than 4,000 chefs across the UK foodservice sector (customers include Compass, Baxterstorey and CH&Co, plus events such as the Chelsea Flower Show, Wimbledon and Wembley Stadium), is hiring a Supply Chain Manager on a 12-month fixed-term contract to cover maternity leave, starting October 2026. The role owns end-to-end supply chain performance: demand planning, stock health, inbound logistics and supplier performance, including developing forecasting tools and ways of working for the Supply Chain Planner and wider team, working closely with Procurement and Operations. The postholder will line-manage the Supply Chain Planner (setting objectives, reviewing performance, building capability), own availability, stock health and wastage targets, act as escalation point for supply issues needing cross-functional or supplier-level resolution, own supplier delivery performance strategy alongside the Procurement Manager, set inventory strategy (stock holding, MOQ negotiations, stock day targets), drive continuous improvement in forecasting, planning tools and process automation, and represent supply chain in wider business planning during a period of operational change as the company scales. The role reports to the Purchasing and Supply Chain Director. Requirements: 4+ years' experience leading a supply chain function, ideally within food; previous line management experience with a proven track record of developing others; strong stakeholder management and cross-function matrix working; comfortable managing a complex product range at pace through change; strong analytical skills with intermediate Excel essential; and confident communication with the ability to influence and lead at all levels. Experience supporting teams through change is noted as an advantage. The role is based in Watford on a hybrid basis (office days flexed around business needs), 40 hours per week, Monday to Friday, with a competitive salary dependent on experience. Benefits include 25 days holiday plus public holidays (option to purchase up to 3 additional days), a cash health plan, life assurance (4x salary), staff discount on all products, and a pension (3% employer, 5% employee contribution).
This is an extract. Read the full advert on the employer's site.
Key terms to include in your CV and cover letter
What this employer asks for, in their own words. Applications are often screened by software matching exact phrases, so where these genuinely describe your experience, use their wording rather than your own.
- supply chain management
- demand planning
- inventory strategy
- stock health management
- wastage reduction
- supplier performance management
- line management
- team development
- stakeholder management
- cross-functional working
- forecasting tools
- process automation
- continuous improvement
- MOQ negotiation
- Excel (intermediate)
- change management
How to position yourself
The language that lands with hiring managers in this kind of role.
Frame your interest around supply chain resilience and continuity of supply for a fast-growing plant-based foodservice business — reducing wastage, hitting stock-day targets, and building forecasting tools that scale with demand are the levers that matter here. Since this is an operational role, emphasise line management and cross-functional delivery experience, and if you're building toward category or sourcing influence, look for opportunities to build commercial fluency in plant-based ingredient sourcing and food-service menu economics alongside the day job.
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