Senior Manager, Global Procurement - Footwear

Job description

**ABOUT QUINCE** Quince is a destination for builders, creators, innovators, and operators who want to come together and challenge the status quo. Our mission is simple: make really high quality essentials for really low prices, fairly and sustainably. We deliver on that mission through a unique manufacturer-to-consumer (M2C) model eliminating the layers of traditional retail that add cost and result in consumers paying more than they need to. We find, build relationships with, and work directly with the manufacturing partners behind some of the world’s finest products. From there, our teams design smart, efficient operational processes and build and deploy proprietary technology, AI, and analytics to help us scale fast. What began with a small assortment of elevated basics has quickly grown into a cross-category brand spanning apparel, accessories, home goods, and more. Today, tens of millions of people across a growing number of countries come – and return – to Quince because they trust us to deliver. **OUR CULTURE** Quince is a culture built for builders by builders. Our way of working starts with a blank sheet of paper. We question conventional thinking, use technology and data to uncover new opportunities, and move quickly to turn ideas into reality. We aren’t interested in replicating how others do retail. We’re building a better way – at a speed and scale unlike anything that’s been done before. - We dream big and chase the hard problems others shy away from. Rejecting long-held assumptions is part of our company's DNA. Where conventional wisdom says you have to choose – soft or durable, speed or rigor, quality or price – we ask why that trade-off has to exist in the first place. - Our pace is fast and the bar is high because our customers expect a lot from us and we refuse to let them down. We believe the best results come from challenging ourselves, learning from one another, and building on each other's strengths. - Here, responsibility is not determined by role, tenure, or seniority. Every team member - no matter their level - has the opportunity to drive our business and shape our trajectory. If you’re someone who likes to imagine new possibilities and build better systems rather than plug-in to outdated ones, Quince is the place for you. We are looking for an exceptional **Senior Manager, Global Procurement** for **Footwear** Category. You will own and drive cost structures and savings. This role is critical to our goal of delivering the highest quality products, at radically low prices, done right. Reporting to the Head of Procurement, the ideal candidate will leverage their deep expertise in commodity costing, clean sheet, manufacturing excellence & efficiency (consumption,C&M excellence), harvest timing, raw material availability to craft a competitive costing environment where major T1 and T2 suppliers are being challenged to provide transparent and competitive pricing to achieve a win win supply chain for both Quince and our partners. Success in this role means achieving product cost at or near should-costing, securing supply continuity, and contributing to product excellence by aligning material procurement processes with the company’s innovation and sustainability goals. This role offers the opportunity to make a significant impact on our business, contribute to company growth, and shape the future of our global sourcing strategy. **Responsibilities** - **Procurement Category Strategy:** Define and execute the commercial roadmap and vendor distribution strategy for assigned categories to improve margins as Quince scales. Establish short- and long-term procurement targets aligned to business growth. - Consistently deliver exceptional product cost without sacrificing product quality or ESG considerations, including Procurement. - Partner with the technology team to embed procurement capabilities and playbook into the Vendor Portal and Product Catalog tools. - Identify and deliver 700 bps product cost reductions over the next 12 months. - **RFP Ownership & Execution:** Structure and run competitive, end-to-end bidding processes to secure optimal cost and commercial terms with manufacturing partners. Own the full lifecycle from vendor identification through award. - Deliver immediate, best-in-class product cost savings through rigorous negotiation, while simultaneously institutionalizing repeatable negotiation frameworks to build long-term category maturity and sustainable competitive advantage. - Build AI agent to help us run RFP systematically in 2026 with the capability to build scenario analyses. - **Clean Sheet & Buy Plan Approvals:** Create and utilize component-level “clean sheets” to drive pricing transparency; review, approve, and solution to optimum cost for all buy events within your categories. - Current mature / scale categories: Ensure scale / cleansheet costing with Finished Goods Manufacturers / Negotiate upstream of Finished Goods to secure best pricing and availability of (inputs (e.g. fabrics, yarns, fibers, commodities, trims) new categories & new products - Lead Buy Plan margin review to govern company margin targetPartner with material sourcing team to ensure transparent, competitive pricing from all key material suppliers (we own material, we own costing) - Negotiate reasonable launch costing and set schedule (monthly, quarterly, at trigger points) to renegotiate for scale pricing as the business grows - Support merchandising team by providing scale costing targets (i.e. what cost is achievable at scale) - **Upstream Sourcing:** Partner directly with the Material Manager, Sourcing Teams and Tier 1 and Tier 2 vendors to align on, and implement, material benefits into finished goods costing. - Collaborate with cross-functional teams to integrate upstream material availability into product design and development cycles, ensuring early-stage cost optimization and seamless material-to-finished-good transitions. - **Value Creation:** Identify and execute on opportunities to reshape the supply chain and extract new financial value beyond traditional sourcing boundaries, including verticalization and volume consolidation plays. - e.g. How do we become a market maker for Cashmere, Silk, etc? Could we sell cashmere and silk to other retailers? How can we partner with other mills or manufacturers to build a verticalized supply chain for critical materials, like linen, from French/Belgian farms and scutchers to linen mills? How do we buy/sell commodities to manage price fluctuations (e.g. gold pricing, Cashmere pricing)? **Qualifications** - 8+ years of experience in global procurement, sourcing, or supply chain management in retail apparel environment - Proven track record running competitive RFP processes with international manufacturing partners - Hands-on experience building and leveraging clean sheets for cost negotiation - Strong analytical skills and comfort with data-driven decision making - Experience working cross-functionally with merchandising, materials, and production teams - Technical aptitude for leveraging AI-powered platforms (e.g., LLMs) to conduct scenario analysis and automate complex procurement tasks - Excellent negotiation skills and commercial acumen - Experience in apparel, soft goods, or home goods strongly preferred - Bachelor’s degree required; MBA or advanced degree a plus **WHY QUINCE?** Joining Quince means being part of a mission-driven team reshaping retail. You will work alongside talented colleagues, tackle meaningful challenges, and contribute to building a more sustainable, accessible future for customers and partners alike. **EQUAL OPPORTUNITY & HIRING INTEGRITY** Quince provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applications for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran or military status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state, or local laws. Quince is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities. If you need a reasonable accommodation to complete your application or to perform the essential functions of a role at Quince, please let us know by completing [this accommodation form](https://forms.gle/DpJ11jHa1WbqfUWB9). We review all requests individually and will work with you to determine appropriate accommodations on a case-by-case basis. Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check. Quince will conduct background checks in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. *Security Advisory: Beware of Frauds* At Quince, we're dedicated to recruiting top talent who share our drive for innovation. To safeguard candidates, Quince emphasizes legitimate recruitment practices. Initial communication is primarily via official Quince email addresses and LinkedIn; beware of deviations. Personal data and sensitive information will not be solicited during the application phase. Interviews are conducted via phone, in person, or through the approved platforms Google Meets or Zoom—never via messaging apps or other calling services. Offers are merit-based, communicated verbally, and followed up in writing. If personal information is requested to initiate the hiring process, rest assured it will be through secure and protected means.