Associate Manager Strategic Sourcing

Staples is business to business. You’re what binds us together.

Join our Strategic Sourcing team and help shape how Staples builds a competitive, resilient global supplier network. As Associate Manager, Strategic Sourcing, you will lead complex sourcing initiatives that improve product costs, strengthen supplier performance, protect continuity of supply, and create lasting value. You will partner across Merchandising and the broader business to turn market intelligence, cost analysis, and supplier insights into practical sourcing decisions and executable plans.

What you’ll be doing: 

• Lead complex sourcing events (RFIs, RFPs, RFQs) from scope definition through supplier recommendation, award, and implementation.

• Develop sourcing strategies, business cases, project plans, supplier recommendations, and implementation roadmaps for assigned categories, suppliers, and initiatives.

• Conduct bid evaluations, cost-driver and total-cost analysis, scenario modeling, market research, and risk assessments to support fact-based decisions.

• Evaluate current and prospective suppliers on cost, quality, service, capacity, innovation, financial stability, manufacturing capability, technology, geographic reach, and growth potential.

• Negotiate product costs, commercial terms, service requirements, capacity commitments, and performance expectations within approved strategies.

• Identify and execute opportunities for cost reduction, value creation, supplier consolidation, supply optimization, supplier development, and risk mitigation.

• Manage supplier relationships and performance, resolving issues in cost, quality, service, availability, capacity, compliance, business continuity, and transitions.

• Monitor commodity, supplier, geopolitical, operational, and supply-chain developments; identify exposures and coordinate mitigation or escalation.

• Partner with Merchandising, Vendor Management, Category and Product Development, Project Management, Quality, Finance, Operations, Supply Chain, and regional sourcing teams to execute sourcing plans.

• Communicate project updates, sourcing recommendations, supplier insights, financial analyses, risks, and decisions to leadership and stakeholders.

• Lead cross-functional workstreams by setting scope, milestones, responsibilities, decision points, schedules, and communication plans.

• Guide and train less-experienced team members on sourcing processes, supplier assessments, cost analysis, and negotiation preparation.

 What you bring to the table: 

• Strong analytical and structured problem-solving skills, with the ability to turn complex cost, market, supplier, operational, and risk information into practical recommendations.

• Sound judgment and composure when navigating ambiguity, competing priorities, supplier challenges, and time-sensitive decisions.

• Effective negotiation and influencing skills, with the ability to build alignment and accountability without direct authority.

• Strong project-management capabilities, including disciplined organization, follow-through, and ownership of multiple concurrent initiatives.

• A collaborative approach to building productive relationships with suppliers, cross-functional partners, regional teams, and leaders, backed by clear written, verbal, presentation, and facilitation skills tailored to different audiences.

• A proactive mindset for identifying emerging supplier capabilities, manufacturing technologies, sourcing markets, analytical tools, and process improvements that strengthen competitiveness and supply resilience.

What’s needed- Basic Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Supply Chain Management, Operations, Engineering, Finance, Economics, or related work experience. 

• 5+ years of experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, cost analysis, manufacturing, product development, merchandising, or supply chain.

• Experience independently managing at least two components of a sourcing event (e.g., RFP/RFQ development, bid analysis, supplier evaluation, negotiation, or implementation), including developing recommendations from cost, market, supplier-performance, or risk data and negotiating costs, commercial terms, and capacity or performance commitments.

• Proficiency in Excel and PowerPoint for cost analysis, sourcing scenarios, and stakeholder recommendations, plus a recognized sourcing, procurement, or supply-chain certification (e.g., CPSM, CPIM, CSCP, CPM).

What’s needed – preferred 

• Experience sourcing private-label, retail, consumer-product, or manufactured-goods categories, including work with international suppliers or multi-country regional sourcing teams.
• Experience with should-cost models, commodity tracking, supplier scorecards, or e-sourcing platforms, with demonstrated, measurable improvements in cost, supplier performance, value creation, risk, or supply continuity.

What we offer 

• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups

• Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule (7 observed paid holidays)

• Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more!