Director of Procurement and Merchandising

Company Overview

A privately held, growth-oriented distributor and manufacturer serving the foodservice and consumables market. The company offers a broad portfolio of products through a combination of strategic sourcing, purchasing, and manufacturing, with a strong focus on customer service, operational excellence, and entrepreneurial growth.

Position Summary

The Director of Merchandising & Procurement is responsible for leading product assortment strategy, sourcing, supplier management, and category performance across a diverse portfolio of products and materials. This role owns commercial results including margin, inventory productivity, supplier performance, and category growth, while leading a team of product and procurement professionals.

Responsibilities

Merchandising & Category Strategy

• Develop and manage a profitable, customer-focused product portfolio.
• Drive category performance through assortment optimization, pricing, inventory management, and lifecycle planning.
• Identify new product opportunities, market trends, and sourcing strategies to support growth.
• Partner cross-functionally with Sales, Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to align demand, inventory, and profitability objectives.
• Support new product development and commercialization initiatives.

Procurement & Supplier Management

• Lead supplier selection, negotiations, contracts, and purchasing programs.
• Manage RFP, RFQ, and sourcing processes to balance cost, quality, service, and risk.
• Build and maintain strategic supplier relationships while ensuring performance against service, quality, and cost expectations.
• Partner with S&OP and supply chain teams to improve forecasting, inventory levels, and supply continuity.

Leadership & Team Development

• Lead and develop a team of buyers, category managers, analysts, logistics, and compliance professionals.
• Establish KPIs for category profitability, supplier performance, inventory health, and cost savings.
• Drive accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement across the organization.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of leadership experience in procurement, sourcing, merchandising, category management, or supply chain.
• Experience managing product portfolios, supplier relationships, commercial negotiations, and inventory performance.
• Strong background in strategic sourcing, supplier contracting, competitive bidding, and total cost analysis.
• Proven success leading cross-functional teams and delivering margin improvement, cost savings, and inventory optimization initiatives.
• Industry experience within foodservice, packaging, disposable products, consumer goods, industrial products, or related distribution/manufacturing environments preferred.
• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Ideal Candidate Profile

• Commercially minded leader with a strong merchant mentality.
• Skilled negotiator with exceptional supplier management capabilities.
• Data-driven decision maker with strong analytical and financial acumen.
• Effective people leader who can influence across functions and drive change in a growing organization.
• Comfortable balancing strategic planning with hands-on execution.

Location & Travel

• Based at company headquarters in the New York metropolitan area.
• Occasional travel to manufacturing facilities, suppliers, and key business partners.

If interested, please apply and a recruiter will reach out!