Strategic Sourcing Associate

Job Summary

Barnes & Noble is the leading book retailer in the United States, with a rich history dating back to 1873. Under CEO James Daunt and private ownership by Elliott Advisors, the company operates approximately 700 bookstores nationwide, serves over 700 communities, and maintains a robust digital presence through BN.com, NOOK eBooks and audiobooks, and educational resources such as SparkNotes. The company also includes complementary retail brands like Paper Source, Books Inc., Tattered Cover, and B. Dalton, expanding its market reach.

About the role

The Strategic Sourcing Associate, part of the Indirect Procurement team, is responsible for sourcing for Barnes & Noble's Stores, Home Office, and Distribution Centers. This role involves vendor selection, onboarding and ongoing management, offboarding, RFPs, RFQs, contract negotiations, pricing updates, and rebate management. The associate works closely with several key vendors, manages them end-to-end, and supports internal partner teams with sourcing needs.

Responsibilities

• Assist in the creation and maintenance of multiyear sourcing strategies and roadmaps for key suppliers.
• Assist in RFPs, RFQs, supplier evaluation, and onboarding of new or replacement products.
• Identify alternative supplies and new product categories to improve performance and availability.
• Contract Negotiation & Management: Assist in negotiating commercial terms, SLA expectations, lead times, warranty and service commitments; manage contract execution, amendments, renewals, and compliance tracking.
• Pricing, Rebates & Catalog: Maintain, negotiate, and update vendor pricing, manage rebate programs and reconciliations, ensure catalog accuracy across all systems with the purchasing team, coordinate pricing updates with internal partners.
• Vendor Performance & Reviews: Conduct quarterly business reviews and scorecards covering spend, on-time and in-full delivery, quality, cost savings realization, sustainability, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Cross Functional Partnership: Partner with assigned internal team to align specs, timing, and commercial terms with business needs.
• Risk & Compliance: Monitor supplier risks, ensure regulatory and safety compliance for products and installations, implement mitigation actions when needed.
• Continuous Improvement: Assist in driving sourcing process improvements, supplier consolidation where appropriate, green initiatives, and adoption of category-specific best practices and e-sourcing tools.
• Negotiation & Commercial Acumen: Strong negotiator with the ability to structure complex commercial arrangements, rebates, and performance-based contracts.
• Analytical & Financial: Able to build Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) models, budgeting and usage forecasts, and supplier scorecards while delivering clear, data-driven recommendations.
• Vendor Relationship Management: Skilled at building collaborative, professional supplier partnerships and holding suppliers accountable to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Project Management: Able to manage multiple, time-sensitive initiatives and capital projects with disciplined follow-through.
• Communication: Clear written and verbal communication for stakeholder meetings, executive updates, and RFP documentation.
• Influence & Cross Functional Collaboration: Proven ability to influence stakeholders across design, operations, construction, facilities, and finance to align on sourcing decisions.
• Documentation Maintenance: Captures processes in a clear and concise manner and is able to share with stakeholders at any time when requested.
• Troubleshooting: Looks for opportunities to assist with troubleshooting with partners when needed.
• Flexibility: Jumps into projects when needed and provides updates to senior leadership.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, specialized training, or equivalent work experience.
• Minimum one year of combined business administration, procurement, project management, and retail operations experience required.
• Experience in indirect procurement specializing in strategic sourcing.
• Strong organizational and multitasking abilities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to meet deadlines and work independently.
• Ability to learn proprietary software programs.
• Able to accomplish department objectives by meeting work standards.
• Ability to work and lead cross-functional teams.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Exceptional expertise in Excel for data analysis and reporting.
• Experience with projects in multiple technologies, functions, and industries.
• Able to travel up to 10-20%.

Qualifications

• Proactive, solution-oriented mindset and a strong willingness to support the business wherever needs arise.
• Energetic about promoting responsible spending practices, sourcing critical goods and services, and driving continuous process improvements across multiple areas of Indirect Procurement.

Skills

• Strong negotiator with the ability to structure complex commercial arrangements, rebates, and performance-based contracts.
• Analytical & Financial: Able to build TCO models, budgeting & usage forecasts, and supplier scorecards while delivering clear, data-driven recommendations.
• Skilled at building collaborative, professional supplier partnerships and holding suppliers accountable to KPIs.
• Able to manage multiple, time-sensitive initiatives and capital projects with disciplined follow-through.
• Clear written and verbal communication for stakeholder meetings, executive updates, and RFP documentation.
• Proven ability to influence stakeholders across design, operations, construction, facilities, and finance to align on sourcing decisions.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.
• Exceptional expertise in Excel for data analysis and reporting.
• Experience with projects in multiple technologies, functions, and industries.

Benefits

• Annual salary range: $70,000 - $80,000 depending on experience, seniority, geographic locations, and other factors permitted by law.
• Employee Discount, EAP, and Sick Pay for those scheduled to work less than 20 hours per week.
• Employee Discount, EAP, Sick Pay, and Paid Time Off including paid Maternity and Parental Leave, Company Paid Holidays, Transit, and 401(k) with Company Match for those scheduled to work between 20 and 29.99 hours per week.
• Employee Discount, EAP, Sick Pay, Paid Time Off including paid Maternity and Parental Leave, Company Paid Holidays, 401(k) with Company Match, Comprehensive Health Benefits (Medical, Dental, and Vision), Healthcare and Dependent Care Spending Accounts, Healthcare Spending Account, Disability Benefits, Life Insurance, Transit, and Tuition Reimbursement for those scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week.