About the Position:The Director of Vendor Engagement is responsible for defining and leading the enterprise vendor engagement strategy across The Fresh Market. This role shifts vendor management from a transactional function to a strategic capability focusing on
joint business planning, negotiation excellence, supplier segmentation, and partnership development.
You will own the vendor lifecycle while building scalable processes, tools, and capabilities that enable best-in-class vendor partnerships and negotiations.
What You'll Do:- Develop and implement a comprehensive vendor engagement strategy aligned with merchandising and enterprise priorities
- Establish vendor segmentation (strategic, core, emerging) and differentiated engagement models
- Define and standardize vendor processes, tools, and playbooks across the organization
- Lead enterprise-wide joint business planning processes focused on a set of strategic vendors, ensuring alignment on growth, funding, innovation, and performance goals
- Partner with merchants and vendors to build mutually beneficial strategies that drive sales, margin, and differentiation
- Create visibility and accountability for vendor performance vs. agreed plans and financial commitments
- Facilitate strategic business reviews with top vendors to identify opportunities for growth and improvement
- Elevate negotiation capabilities across merchandising through tools, training, and frameworks
- Partner with merchants to structure deals that maximize value (cost, funding, innovation, supply reliability)
- Integrate insights (e.g., commodities) into negotiations to strengthen outcomes
- Establish KPI frameworks, scorecards, and reporting to track vendor performance
- Monitor vendor performance against financial commitments and business objectives
- Identify opportunities for vendor consolidation, optimization, and cost savings in partnership with Cencosud
- Partner with Merchandising, Finance, Supply Chain, and Operations to ensure alignment on vendor strategies
- Collaborate with internal stakeholders to ensure vendor strategies support assortment, pricing, promotions, and operational execution
- Build vendor engagement capabilities across the organization, including negotiation, analytics, and partnership development
- Develop training, tools, and processes to enable merchants to manage vendors more effectively
- Foster a culture of collaborative partnerships vs. purely transactional relationships
- Vendor relationships are structured, strategic, and consistently deliver mutual value
- Joint business plans are established and tracked across key vendors
- Negotiation outcomes improve (margin, funding, cost transparency)
- Vendor performance is transparent, measurable, and actively managed
- Merchants are equipped with the tools and capabilities to engage vendors effectively
Qualifications:QUALIFICATIONSAt a minimum, what you'll need:- 8-12+ years of experience in merchandising, vendor management, procurement, or retail partnerships
- Proven experience in vendor negotiations, joint business planning, or strategic partnerships
- Strong analytical and financial acumen with ability to translate insights into action
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives in a complex retail environment
- Exceptional communication, influence, and stakeholder management skills
Preferred qualifications:- Experience in grocery, food retail, or consumer packaged goods
- Exposure to vendor performance management, supplier segmentation, or procurement strategy
- Experience building new capabilities, processes, or operating models within merchandising organizations
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