Strategic Sourcing Manager (New York)

Barnes & Noble is the worlds largest retail bookseller and the leading retailer of content, digital media and educational products. We operate over 600 Barnes & Noble bookstores in 50 states and one of the webs premier e-commerce sites, bn.com. Our Nook Digital business offers a lineup of popular NOOK tablets and eReaders and an expansive collection of digital reading content through the NOOK store.

Were proud to be an industry leader, consistently recognized for excellence in quality and customer service in our stores and online at bn.com.

You have a can-do attitude and are willing to jump in to help wherever possible to solve a gap or need in the business. You are not afraid to ask questions, roll up your sleeves and dig where needed. You thrive on encouraging responsible spending, sourcing products needed by the business and overall process improvement across multiple areas of indirect procurement.

The Strategic Sourcing Manager as part of the Indirect Procurement team is responsible for sourcing for our Stores, Home Office and Distribution Centers. You will lead initiatives including vendor selection, onboarding and ongoing management, offboarding, RFPs, contract negotiations, pricing updates and rebate management, quarterly vendor and product reviews, and own the annual budgeting for the areas within your responsibility including fixtures, furniture & equipment (FF&E), office, DC and store supplies, and facilities & maintenance items.

Essential Functions :

Category Strategy & Roadmap : Create and maintain multiyear sourcing strategies and roadmaps for FF&E, store supplies, home office and DC consumables, and facilities materials to meet store growth, remodel, repairs and operational needs.

Sourcing & Supplier Selection : Lead RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluation, and onboarding of new or replacement products. Identify alternative supplies and new product categories to improve performance and availability.

Contract Negotiation & Management : Negotiate commercial terms, SLA expectations, lead times, warranty and service commitments; manage contract execution, amendments, renewals and compliance tracking.

Pricing, Rebates & Catalog : Maintain, negotiate and update vendor pricing, manage rebate programs and reconciliations, ensure catalog accuracy across all systems with the purchasing team, coordinate pricing updates with internal partners.

Vendor Performance & Reviews : Conduct quarterly business reviews and scorecards covering spend, on-time and in full delivery, quality, cost savings realization, sustainability, and continuous improvement initiatives.

Cross Functional Partnership : Partner with store operations, store planning & design, facilities, construction, DC operations & logistics, finance and creative to align specs, timing and commercial terms with business needs.

Risk & Compliance : Monitor supplier risks, ensure regulatory & safety compliance for products and installations, implement mitigation actions when needed.

Continuous Improvement : Drive sourcing process improvements, supplier consolidation where appropriate, green initiatives, and adoption of category specific best practices and e-sourcing tools.

Skills & Behaviors :

Negotiation & Commercial Acumen : Strong negotiator with the ability to structure complex commercial arrangements, rebates, and performance-based contracts.

Analytical & Financial : Able to build TCO models, budgeting & usage forecasts, and supplier scorecards while delivering clear, data driven recommendations.

Vendor Relationship Management : Skilled at building collaborative, professional supplier partnerships and holding suppliers accountable to KPIs.

Project Management : Able to manage multiple, time-sensitive initiatives and capital projects with disciplined follow-through.

Communication : Clear written and verbal communication for stakeholder meetings, executive updates, and RFP documentation.

Influence & Cross Functional Collaboration : Proven ability to influence stakeholders across design, operations, construction, facilities and finance to align on sourcing decisions.

Documentation Maintenance : Captures processes in a clear & concise manner and is able to share with stakeholders at any time when requested.

Troubleshooting : Looks for opportunities to assist with troubleshooting with partners when needed.

Flexibility : Jumps into projects when needed and provides updates to senior leadership.

Qualifications :

Bachelors degree, specialized training or equivalent work experience.

Minimum three years of combined business, procurement, project management, team leadership and retail operations experience required.

Experience in indirect procurement specializing in strategic sourcing

Experience managing projects end to end with strong organizational and multitasking abilities

Excellent written and verbal communication skills.

Experience meeting deadlines and being an independent worker

Ability to learn proprietary software programs

Ability to accomplish department objectives by meeting work standards

Ability to work and lead cross-functional teams

Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Exceptional expertise in Excel for data analysis and reporting.

Knowledge of Smartsheet, Service Channel or other ticketing & supply channel software

Experience with projects in multiple technologies, functions, and industries.

Able to travel up to 30%.