Senior Vendor Manager, WWGS Private Brands

The Senior Vendor Manager serves as the product owner and internal champion for our Worldwide Grocery Store Private Brand business, focusing on our food categories. In this role, you will own managing, developing, and improving the structural profitability of our private brand assortment across our Amazon and WFM-branded products with guidance. This role is responsible for improving the structural profitability of our private brand assortment across both Amazon and Whole Foods Market (WFM) branded products. The Sourcing Manager role is unique in that it spans Food categories with a supply chain serving all Grocery channels including WFM Stores and online. You will work backwards from customer needs to develop and execute a comprehensive sourcing strategy that delivers exceptional products while meeting financial guardrails and targets across all channels. You will support our category teams across Grocery channels and develop your expertise in your owned category. As you manage supplier relationships in your categories, you will partner with senior team members on negotiations and optimize partnerships over time to meet the needs of our customers. As this role manages both Whole Foods Market and Amazon Private Brands, you must be a strong champion for both brands' distinct missions and values. This means being passionate about WFM's commitment to nourishing people and the planet, while embracing Amazon's mission to make delicious food accessible and affordable for everyone. Key job responsibilities Product Strategy & Development Own the end-to-end product lifecycle for assigned categories, working backwards from customer needs to develop a compelling product roadmap from concept through successful launch Partner with senior team members to develop compelling business cases and annual roadmaps based on market analysis and customer insights Create and maintain detailed product requirement documents, PRFAQs, and six-pagers to articulate product vision and strategy Become the subject matter expert on their categories within the private labeling space, understanding the supplier landscape and optimizing our portfolio Drive both new product creation and renovation of existing products to ensure the total portfolio is optimized to support business objectives Identify opportunities to fill the innovation pipeline through customer insights, market research, and cross-functional collaboration Partner with Product Commercialization, R&D, Legal, and Quality Assurance to bring products to market efficiently while managing risk Establish and track meaningful metrics to measure product performance and customer satisfaction Business Ownership & Analytics Own the P&L for your product portfolio with guidance from senior team members, ensuring delivery of financial targets and growth objectives Conduct weekly, monthly and quarterly business reviews with data-driven insights and root cause analysis Understand the critical Ps of Product, Price, Placement, and Promotion working with their partner teams to ensure their products are brought to life effectively for our customers. Make data-informed decisions by leveraging both qualitative and quantitative customer insights Collaborate with NA Category Merchant stakeholders across multiple teams (e.g. WFM Stores, Amazon.com, Amazon Fresh) on achieving financial plans and category objectives Sourcing Excellence Learn your category to become the subject matter expert, including industry knowledge and supplier landscape Develop and nurture strategic supplier partnerships to drive innovation and operational excellence Champion Organics, Fair Trade, Animal Welfare, Sustainability and Quality Standards to advance the mission of Whole Foods Market Partner with Global Purchasing Teams, Distribution, and Regions to ensure alignment to category strategy Product Experience Optimization Drive packaging innovation that enhances customer experience while supporting sustainability goals Influence product placement decisions through data-driven insights and customer decision tree methodology Collaborate with Pricing team to ensure products meet target price positions while maintaining margin requirements Balance customer value proposition with profit targets to deliver on our Conscious Capitalism principles Communicate, represent, and uphold Whole Foods Market core values and leadership principles Demonstrate bias for action, ownership mentality, and customer obsession in all activities A day in the life Your day might begin with analyzing market trends and customer feedback to identify new product opportunities. You'll collaborate with cross-functional teams to advance various products through different development stages - from ingredient sourcing to packaging design. You'll participate in product tasting sessions, review production specifications, and work with suppliers to ensure quality standards. Regular meetings with stakeholders will keep projects on track, while you simultaneously monitor the performance of existing products and adjust strategies accordingly.