Director, Vendor Negotiations & Commercial Strategy

** This role is hybrid based at our Support Center in Irving, Texas**

The Director - Vendor Negotiations & Commercial Strategy is a critical leadership role within the Merchandising organization, responsible for maximizing enterprise value through strategic vendor partnerships, best-in-class negotiations, and innovative commercial frameworks.

This leader partners closely with Merchandising, Planning, Finance, and Supply Chain to shape vendor strategies that drive margin expansion, product differentiation, speed to market, and customer relevance. The role goes beyond cost negotiation serving as a commercial architect who aligns vendor relationships with brand positioning, assortment strategy, and long-term growth.

The ideal candidate is a sophisticated negotiator, retail merchant thinker, and enterprise influencer capable of operating at both strategic and tactical levels.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Negotiation Strategy

• Develop and execute negotiation strategies across national brands, private label suppliers, and strategic vendor partners.
• Lead complex, high-value negotiations including cost of goods, margin structures, markdown funding, exclusivity, marketing support, supply commitments, and joint business plans.
• Establish standardized negotiation frameworks aligned with merchandising calendars and seasonal buying cycles.
• Drive continuous improvement in commercial terms across categories while protecting brand equity and product quality.

Merchandising Partnership & Commercial Leadership

• Act as a strategic partner to Merchandising leaders to influence assortment decisions through financial and vendor insights.
• Support category strategies by aligning vendor economics with growth opportunities, trend investments, and innovation initiatives.
• Collaborate on product lifecycle profitability, pricing architecture, and promotional funding strategies.
• Enable merchants to negotiate from a position of data, clarity, and strategic alignment.
• Demonstrated success negotiating with national brands and strategic suppliers.
• Deep understanding of retail financial drivers: margin, inventory turns, GMROI, and promotional economics.
• Proven ability to influence senior merchandising and executive leadership.
• Experience operating in fast-paced, multi-category retail environments.

Margin Expansion & Value Creation

• Identify and unlock sustainable margin opportunities beyond initial cost negotiations, including:
• Vendor-funded marketing and customer acquisition programs
• Inventory risk-sharing models
• Exclusive product development
• Improved payment terms and cash flow optimization
• Build multi-year value creation roadmaps with top vendor partners.

Strategic Vendor Partnerships

• Establish executive-level relationships with key brands and suppliers.
• Lead joint business planning processes to align vendor investment with company growth priorities.
• Balance collaborative partnership with disciplined commercial accountability.
• Serve as senior escalation point for complex negotiations or performance issues.

Data-Driven Negotiation Excellence

• Leverage analytics including sell-through, inventory productivity, pricing elasticity, and competitive benchmarking to inform negotiation positions.
• Partner with Planning, Pricing and Finance to model negotiation outcomes and margin impact scenarios.
• Introduce negotiation scorecards and performance dashboards across vendor portfolios.

Governance, Risk & Contract Leadership

• Oversee commercial contract structures in partnership with Legal.
• Ensure consistent governance around vendor terms, compliance, and performance accountability.
• Reduce supply, margin, and operational risk through proactive negotiation structures.

Team & Capability Development

• Elevate negotiation capability across the merchandising organization through coaching, tools, and structured preparation processes.
• Develop negotiation playbooks and training programs for merchants and category leaders.
• Foster a culture of disciplined preparation, fact-based negotiation, and enterprise thinking.
• Champion professional development by mentoring team members to enhance skills and career growth
• Set clear expectations, priorities, and performance standards across the team

Success Measures

• Gross Margin dollar improvement
• Vendor investment growth (marketing funds, exclusives, partnerships)
• Improved inventory productivity, supply chain efficiencies and risk mitigation
• Stronger strategic vendor alignment
• Increased negotiation capability across merchant

Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required or equivalent experience
• 10+ years in retail merchandising, sourcing, buying, or commercial negotiations.

Core Leadership Competencies

• Merchant mindset with strong commercial acumen
• Advanced negotiation and deal architecture
• Executive influence and stakeholder alignment
• Financial and analytical rigor
• Vendor partnership leadership
• Strategic decision-making under ambiguity

Leadership Profile

• Thinks like a merchant, negotiates like a strategist
• Balances partnership with disciplined commercial rigor
• Influences without authority across complex organizations
• Data-driven but relationship-centered
• Comfortable challenging the status quo to unlock value