Creative Retail Sourcing Specialist

Sheridan College

• $97K *
Retail & Consumer Goods
5 - 7 years of experience
Job Overview by Ladders

Qualifications

  • 3-year Diploma or Degree in Purchasing, Retail, Merchandising, Business, Marketing, Finance, Accounting, or related field
  • 5+ years experience in retail math, merchandising, and procurement in post-secondary or public sector
  • Strong understanding of supplier relations and retail strategy
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills
  • Problem-solving and conflict resolution skills

Responsibilities

  • Execute purchasing activities for diverse range of products including apparel, kits, and general merchandise
  • Manage inventory control, stock replenishment, markdowns, and customer service inquiries
  • Perform visual merchandising and optimize product displays
  • Identify sales opportunities and conduct floor plan evaluations
  • Attend vendor meetings and trade shows to stay updated on trends and build relationships

Benefits

  • Paid time off and flexible work hours
  • Professional development opportunities within the college
  • Collaborative and inclusive work environment
  • Access to retail discounts and campus amenities
Full Job Description
Job Title:

Creative Retail Sourcing Specialist

Location:

Oakville, Ontario, Canada

Application Deadline:

September 30, 2026

Job Number:

J0926-0594

Pay Range:

$ 97,550 including benefits

Preference will be given to qualified employees, as defined in the Full-Time Support Staff Collective Agreement. Should a suitable candidate not be found, external candidates will be considered.

Reporting to the Operations Manager, Campus Services, the Creative Retail Sourcing Specialist is responsible for executing sourcing strategies to reduce costs and analyzing vendor spend. The incumbent has strong knowledge of retail math, plays a key role in shaping the unique identity of the Campus Store by curating and sourcing a diverse range of fashion, lifestyle, art supplies, gift products, course-required supplies, kits, uniforms, as well as general supplies, and general merchandise that resonate with our student body, campus community, and brand values. This role blends trend awareness, supplier relations, and retail strategy to ensure an engaging, on-brand, and dynamic product assortment. The incumbent will work closely with merchandising, marketing, and store operations teams to bring in high-quality, sustainable, and locally relevant products that enhance the overall retail experience.
Collaborating with various departments and faculty, the incumbent will ensure the timely execution of orders. The incumbent ensures the availability and accuracy of inventory for sale in the Campus Store and the online retail platform. The incumbent assists with sales and merchandising strategies such as setting up displays, creating and executing promotional plans and shipping and receiving procedures.

What You'll Be Doing
  • Executing the purchasing activities of all Campus Store general merchandise, apparel, art supplies, kits, and uniform requirements for all college programs by:
    • Creating an ongoing schedule of activities and tasks to meet deadlines and handling pricing, inventory management, stock replenishment, returns, markdowns, and customer service concerns;
    • Processing adoptions into store inventory management system and troubleshooting as required while preparing and maintaining a master list of supplies, kits, and uniform adoptions, and following up with departments regularly to ensure adoption submissions are received on time;
    • Reviewing enrollment statistics and historical sell-through data to ensure cost- effective purchasing and researching market pricing, product specifications, and availability of stock, and updating the inventory management system accordingly;
    • Communicating any necessary updates to program coordinators and faculty with strong analytical skills and a deep understanding of retail math to drive profitability and optimize inventory performance;
    • Being accountable for inventory control, returns, markdowns, and write-offs etc. to effectively manage inventory levels, executing receiving functions and solve any shipping discrepancies that might arise;
  • Executing Visual Merchandising, Planograms and Promotion in-store and online by:
    • Maintaining proper merchandise signage and ticketing for store shelves by observing displays of company products;
      • Removing damaged or freshness-dated products;
      • Tidying store shelves;
      • Providing optimum display of products;
    • Maximizing sales by identifying sales opportunities and promotions;
      • Studying product turnover;
      • Evaluating and redesigning floor plans and flow strategies;
      • Recommending liquidations;
      • Maintaining assortment and replenishment profiles;
      • Auditing buyer decisions;
  • Event planning and vendor relations:
    • Attending vendor meetings and trade shows to stay apprised of current trends in the college retail sector, and establish relationships with vendors;
  • Performing other related duties as assigned.


About You

You have the skills and knowledge to work with an increasingly diverse student and staff
population as well as a proven commitment to anti-oppression, equity, and inclusion.

You have a client service focus with an aptitude to make connections, support others, provide excellent customer service and might identify as a community builder.

You demonstrate excellent judgement, creative problem-solving skills and conflict resolution skills.

You have excellent written and verbal communication skills, and ability to present to diverse audiences and communities.

The successful candidate will also meet the following requirements:
  • 3-year Diploma or Degree in Purchasing, Retail, Merchandising, Business, Marketing Finance, Accounting or related field;
  • At least 5 years of experience with retail math, merchandise, retail procurement in a college, retail, or public sector environment;
    • Experience with other roles in a retail environment, such as sales, merchandising, or retail management;
    • Effective communication and interpersonal skills;
    • Demonstrates creativity, initiative, analysis, problem solving and organization skills.


Other Details
Department: Facilities and Campus Services
Primary Work/Campus Location: Trafalgar (may be assigned activities at any Sheridan campus)
Work Categorization: Resident Position | Fully on-site 5 days/week
Reference #: J0926-0594
Employee Group: Support Staff - Permanent
Type of Vacancy: This is a replacement position
Payband: G
Hourly Range: $35.29 - $40.73
Hours/Week: 37.5 hours
Hours: 8:30 am - 5:00 pm
Application Deadline: September 30, 2026

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