Strategic Sourcing Associate

The Strategic Sourcing Associate, 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, RFQs, contract negotiations, pricing updates and rebate management, quarterly vendor and product reviews. You will work with several key vendors, managing them end to end keeping Barnes & Noble’s strategic sourcing initiatives in front of mind.

You will also be the point of contact for sourcing needs of one to two internal partner teams.

You demonstrate a proactive, solution-oriented mindset and a strong willingness to support the business wherever needs arise. You take initiative, ask thoughtful questions, and are comfortable diving into complex challenges to identify and address gaps. You are energized by promoting responsible spending practices, sourcing critical goods and services, and driving continuous process improvements across multiple areas of Indirect Procurement.

• Category Strategy &
  
  Roadmap:
  
  Assist in the creation and maintenance of multiyear sourcing strategies and roadmaps for your key suppliers.
• Sourcing & Supplier Selection:
  Assist in 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:
  Assist in the negotiation of 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 your assigned internal team 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:
  Assist in driving sourcing process improvements, supplier consolidation where appropriate, green initiatives, and adoption of category specific best practices and e-sourcing tools.
• 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.

• Bachelor’s degree, specialized training or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum one year of combined business administration, procurement, project management, and retail operations experience required.
• Experience in indirect procurement specializing in strategic sourcing.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication…