Vendor Operations Lead – Raw Materials

Do you have strong knowledge of production, Raw Materials, and manufacturing, with experience managing vendor relationships with previous operations or project management experience? Do you have strong communication skills, a knack for leading and participating in cross-functional initiatives, and driving critical vendor onboarding? If so, we’d like to hear from you!
Our client offers a hybrid working environment of 3 days in-office and 2 remote days. This is 1-year contract with chance for extension and potential permanent hire pending performance and approval of business needs.

Who – The Company: 
A local Vancouver success story with global operations and an impeccable reputation.
What- The Role:
As part of our client’s Global Sourcing team, the Vendor Operations Lead is primarily responsible for the end-to-end management of the new vendor approval process, reporting on progress and risks, taking actions to solve issues and remove blockers, and developing and implementing continuous improvement actions along the way. This job requires a strategic operator that, both independently and by way of cross-functional influence, drives critical vendor onboarding and initiatives that support our client’s vendors and internal Product and Supply Chain teams.

• Manage end-to-end new vendor approval process (NVAP) for the exploration, assessment, setup and onboarding of new Raw Material parent vendors and facilities
• Track onboarding progress and prepare and deliver status updates and progress reports to key stakeholders
• Develop, publish and maintain dashboards and reporting on key vendor NVAP metrics and updates
• Partner closely with Global Sourcing teams to drive seamless onboarding of new vendors to support growth plans and business strategy
• Establish, optimize and sustain the processes and tools for the exploration, approval, setup, onboarding, update, and divestment of vendors, as well as special vendor approvals for new products, materials and categories
• Manage cross-functional meetings, lead conversations with cross-functional teams to gain alignment and move work forward towards target season deadlines
• Communicate directly with vendors, troubleshoot issues and connect in with cross-functional partners as required
• Lead and participate in cross-functional initiatives to support with implementation of new tools, systems, and processes that impact our vendor base
• Identify process improvement opportunities and partner with cross-functional teams to design, document, implement and continuously improve systems, tools and processes to reduce complexity, improve efficiency and unlock capacity across the organization
• Ensure vendor and facility data is complete and accurate across tools and systems, and develop and maintain vendor-facing documentation and shared site content (e.g. NVAP Portal)
• See the bigger picture and understand the up and downstream impacts of changes to vendor data, tools, systems, and processes

 Who – The Candidate:

• 5+ years’ experience in project management, operations, or other related field, preferably in a vertical apparel retail environment
• Strong knowledge of production, Raw Materials, and manufacturing, with experience managing vendor relationships
• Advanced knowledge of Microsoft Office tools (Excel, PowerPoint, Visio, etc.). Experience with Smartsheet and Power BI is an asset
• Experience managing multiple projects and priorities with a variety of different stakeholder groups, working in a high-pressure environment and delivering under tight timelines
• Ability to interface with leadership, subject matter experts, vendors, and internal teams to solve complex business problems
• Demonstrated experience with identifying, documenting and driving process improvements
• Experience in building and maintaining reports and dashboards
• Exceptional analytical skills with the ability to collect, organize, analyze, and disseminate significant amounts of information to solve complex problems
• Able to work cross-functionally with different departments and at different levels within an organization to enroll and influence decision-making
• Self-motivated, passionate, detail oriented, solutions focused, critical thinker, intellectually curious, and ability to work independently
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to work collaboratively to move work forward
• A team player that truly believes they are successful when the organization is successful

How much:
$35-36/hr commensurate with experience + 4% vacation pay
Where:
Vancouver
When & How To Apply: 
Swim Recruiting has been engaged as a trusted recruitment agency partner on this important search. If you are interested and already have a Recruiter at Swim, please reach out very soon.

Category

Operations and Logistics