Sr. Director Merchandising – Local and Emerging Brands

The Senior Director of Local and Emerging Brands is a visionary and transformational leadership role that embodies and elevates the role of local and emerging brands at Whole Foods Market (WFM) and in the food industry. This leader is accountable for creating the strategic direction for local and emerging brand development in support of Whole Foods Market and Merchandising strategies.*This role is based in Austin, TX, with an expectation of five days per week in the Store Support office. Domestic travel up to 25%. 

This role will lead a team of foragers focused on finding local and emerging growth brands and supporting community connections through taste of place. Success is measured by creating a locally relevant customer experience and successfully establishing an emerging brand pipeline. This leader will play a leading role within the industry and supplier community to amplify Whole Foods Market status as the growth destination for founders and early-stage brands. This role will engage with the local and emerging supplier community through various platforms including trade-show supplier summits, as well as the Local and Emerging Accelerator Platform (LEAP). This role will identify and develop partnership opportunities with industry organizations in support of brand incubation, business development, and brand development through development stages. This role will be an industry change agent who fosters community to support the emerging brand ecosystem. This leader will support their team to nurture relationships by meeting suppliers where they are and providing the right tools for brand growth, development, and Local advocacy. 

As the leader of the team, this role is responsible for identifying roadblocks to advancing the Local and Emerging program and securing the necessary resources to develop merchandising solutions. This leader partners cross-functionally with Merchandising, Marketing, and Operations to integrate Local and Emerging Brands team outputs into broader team efforts in areas of supplier engagement, assortment activation, product discovery, supplier storytelling, and store level execution. 
 

Reporting to the Vice President of Merchandising – Center Store, this role is pivotal in advancing Whole Foods Market's mission to nourish people and the planet through meaningful and value-driven supplier partnerships.  

Leadership Capabilities:

This purpose driven leader will excel at driving results, leading change, influencing stakeholders, and developing high-performing teams by fostering trust, mentoring talent, and empowering collaboration.   

  

*This role is based in Austin, TX, with an expectation of five days per week in the Store Support office. Domestic travel up to 25%. 

Responsibilities:

• Create the strategic direction for Local and Emerging (L&E) brands in support of WFM and Merchandising strategies. 

• Establish success metrics for Local and Emerging Brands programming initiatives. 

• Identify a focused framework and use it to prioritize investment in which categories Local and Emerging Brands matters most to customers. 

• Ensure that Whole Foods Market's customers have an unparalleled locally relevant experience by supporting relevant brands and surfacing geographical taste preferences. 

• Lead and develop a team of foragers for team and individual growth through goal establishment, personal growth plans, coaching & mentoring, and succession planning. 

• Coach Foragers to tailor partnership and negotiation approaches by supplier. 

• Create the strategy and support the facilitation of LEAP (Local & Emerging Accelerator Program). 

• Create a Team Member facing curriculum for program engagement, including culture champion program and new Team Member onboarding. 

• Partner cross-functionally with Merchants, Marketing, and Retail/Regional Operations to drive speed to market, strong execution in stores, and storytelling. 

• Foster a culture of collaboration and accountability within cross-functional teams, ensuring alignment between supplier strategies and broader organizational objectives. 

• Design and implement a comprehensive supplier engagement roadmap, supplier education, supplier success planning, supplier summits, and industry events. 

• Support the development of local and emerging suppliers to onboard, activate and grow including quality standards compliance, distribution, promo planning, demo activation, and marketing support. 

• Set new suppliers up for success by leading a team to provide onboarding resources and support. 

• Work with a bias for action to identify high potential suppliers for accelerated scaling opportunities. 

• Draft and oversee supplier communications for critical updates, programmatic changes, and newsletters. 

• Engage in industry-facing platforms like panels, speaking engagements, and PR opportunities. 

• Identify partnership opportunities with brand incubators, incubator kitchens, distributor partners, operating partners, and ad agencies. 

• Stay informed on emerging industry trends and best practices to enhance supplier engagement capabilities. 

Qualifications: 

• BA/BS degree and 8+ years relevant merchandise experience OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 6+ years of proven success in leadership in merchandising, supplier or founder role.
• Demonstrated ability to craft and execute visionary plans that drive organizational success. Proven history of inspiring and leading teams, motivating them to achieve exceptional results. 
• Able to shift comfortably between big picture strategic thinking and the tactics required to achieve outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to drive cultural transformation and operational excellence through innovative supplier strategies. 
• Experience in designing and facilitating strategic engagement roadmaps. 
• Track record of recruiting top talent and cultivating a high-performing team. Skilled in identifying and attracting exceptional candidates. 
• Proven success in mentoring and developing high-performing teams through servant leadership principles. 
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams in dynamic, high-pressure environments to deliver measurable business outcomes. 
• Proven ability to navigate complex stakeholder relationships and build consensus across diverse teams. 
• Demonstrated expertise in managing retail supplier relationships to achieve long-term value creation and mutual growth. 
• Demonstrated exceptional negotiation and influencing skills, with a focus on driving mutual-gain outcomes that align with organizational priorities. 
• Established executive presence with excellent written and verbal communication skills and experience maintaining a poised, credible, and confident demeanor in high-pressure situations. 
• Demonstrated strategic influence skills, with experience developing and executing influence strategies to gain commitment from stakeholders. 
• Nuanced understanding of the grocery retail industry and the business models of key strategic partners and competitors. 
• Strong business acumen, with experience analyzing economic, financial, market, and industry trends to inform strategy and enhance organizational performance, including omnichannel environments. 
• Expertise in leveraging data and market insights to inform supplier strategies and optimize outcomes. 
• Passion for Organics, Fair Trade, Quality Standards, Animal Welfare, Sustainability, Win-Win Supplier Relationships and world-class retail. 
• Track record of creative problem-solving, demonstrating the ability to think innovatively and find effective solutions to complex challenges. 
• Ability to leverage resources effectively to overcome obstacles and achieve successful hiring outcomes. 
• Proven ability to work under pressure, prioritize work, and balance a portfolio of programs. 

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The wage range for this position is $142,038.00-$241,465.00 Annual, commensurate with experience. Whole Foods Market offers "Whole Benefits". Whole Benefits may include health insurance, retirement plan benefits, eligibility for a store discount, paid time off and access to other benefit programs. Eligibility for Whole Benefits is determined under the terms of the applicable Whole Benefits plan at a person’s date of hire. For additional information, visit our Whole Foods Market Careers site: https://careers.wholefoodsmarket.com/benefits.

At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.

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