US Strategic Sourcing Lead

US Strategic Sourcing Lead

Location: NYC, SF, LA, CHI or MIA - Full-time (remote)

The mission

Build the most differentiated grocery range in London, sourced from the best of America. This is a rare zero-to-one role: you'll spot the next trending brand before anyone else, win it, and own the commercial relationship behind it. You'll then run the physical journey of goods from the US to our UK distribution centre, covering freight forwarding, warehousing, import compliance and relabelling, and turn what you've built into a repeatable, efficient operation as the range grows. You're a self-starter who is equally comfortable spotting the next trending brand and unblocking a stuck shipment, and you'd rather build alongside us than inherit a finished machine.

About Zapp

Zapp is London’s leading premium convenience retail platform. Founded in 2020, our vision is to disrupt the multi-trillion dollar convenience retail market, currently dominated by major players, by developing best-in-class customer-centric technology and fulfilment solutions. Zapp partners with some of the world’s leading brands to deliver an exclusive range of hand-picked products 24/7, delivered in minutes.

Key Responsibilities

• The brand pipeline. Scout, shortlist and sign US brands, from first conversation to terms and exclusivity.


• The network. Build a named circle of founders, buyers, distributors, brokers and investors who bring us brands first.


• The point of view. Set our view on what's next in food, drink, wellness, beauty and gifting, and present it to commercial leadership each quarter.


• The numbers. Model landed cost and margin for every brand before we sign, and walk away from deals that don't clear them.


• The route to London. Run freight, warehousing, customs, import compliance and relabelling, working with our forwarding and customs partners.

Requirements

• Someone who lives the category: you shop at the best stores in your city, and you notice what's new there first.


• Experience in buying, category management or supply chain, ideally in food, grocery or FMCG.


• Ideally, a track record of building or running international supply chains; US-to-UK import experience (freight forwarding, customs, labelling) is a strong advantage.


• Commercial instinct: confident sourcing brands, negotiating terms and building supplier relationships from scratch.


• Strong analytical skills: comfortable using data to forecast demand, build business cases and drive decisions.


• High-energy self-starter who thrives in ambiguity, makes decisions with imperfect information and spots problems before they upscale.


• Tenacious communicator who influences internally and externally, pushes back when needed and always finds the route through.


• Willingness to travel throughout the US and to London when needed.

Benefits

• Competitive salary.


• Equity package, depending on experience.