As a Sourcing Lead at brightwheel, your main responsibilities include developing sourcing strategies for curriculum materials, managing vendor relationships, and ensuring that purchasing processes run smoothly. You'll work closely with the finance and demand planning teams to align supply with operational demand, monitor inventory levels, and resolve any supply issues. Collaboration across departments is essential to ensure quality and cost efficiency throughout the supply chain.

To qualify as a Sourcing Lead at brightwheel, candidates should have at least 5 years of experience in sourcing, particularly in domestic and international supply chains. Familiarity with supply planning analytics, people management skills, and an understanding of supply chain IT systems are essential. Experience with children’s products, art supplies, or publishing is considered a plus, along with a proven ability to develop effective sourcing strategies.

Key skills for a Sourcing Lead at brightwheel include strong analytical abilities, strategic thinking, and excellent negotiation skills. You should be adept at formulating sourcing strategies, have experience optimizing purchasing processes, and possess strong interpersonal skills to manage vendor relationships. Furthermore, knowledge of supply chain IT systems and team-building experience is highly beneficial.

The compensation for a Sourcing Lead at brightwheel ranges from $86,000 to $116,000 annually. In addition to competitive pay, the company offers a comprehensive benefits package that includes premium medical, dental, and vision coverage, generous paid parental leave, a flexible paid time off policy, wellness stipends, and opportunities for personal development.

As a remote Sourcing Lead at brightwheel, you'll enjoy the flexibility of working from home while being supported by a collaborative and inclusive company culture. The team values communication and teamwork, ensuring you have the resources and support needed to excel in your role. Regular check-ins and team meetings foster a strong sense of community, even from a distance.

When answering this question, emphasize your experience in building and maintaining relationships with vendors, the strategies you've used for negotiation, and how you've handled conflicts or issues that arose. Highlight specific examples of successful vendor partnerships that resulted in cost savings or improved quality.

To effectively respond, outline how you would assess sourcing needs, analyze current suppliers, and research potential new vendors. Discuss your approach to evaluating supplier quality, pricing, and reliability, and how you would tailor your strategies to align with brightwheel’s mission and growth objectives.

In your answer, discuss methods for monitoring inventory, optimizing stock levels, and forecasting demand. Highlight any relevant tools or systems you’ve used in previous roles, and mention your approach to collaborating with finance and planning teams to ensure supply meets demand accurately.

Explain how you utilize data analysis in assessing supplier performance, market trends, and price fluctuations. Discuss specific metrics you track, how you gather data, and any analytical tools you’ve used, demonstrating how data-informed decisions lead to tangible improvements in sourcing outcomes.

Share a specific example where you successfully negotiated better pricing, identified more efficient suppliers, or streamlined purchasing processes. Quantify the impact of your actions, such as percentage savings or improved efficiency, showing how your contributions directly benefitted the organization.

Choose a particular issue, such as a supply disruption or a vendor conflict. Detail your approach to analyzing the problem, collaborating with stakeholders, and implementing a solution. Highlight the positive outcomes achieved, emphasizing your problem-solving and leadership skills.

Discuss your approach to managing multiple sourcing tasks, how you determine priorities, and any tools or techniques you use for time management. Be sure to showcase your organizational skills and flexibility in adapting to changing demands.

Share your specific experiences with international sourcing, including the challenges you faced, strategies you implemented, and any cultural differences you managed. Highlight how these experiences have prepared you to handle sourcing for brightwheel's diverse supply needs.

In your response, detail the criteria you use when assessing suppliers, including quality standards, pricing, reliability, and past performance. Discuss any evaluation tools or frameworks you utilize and how you ensure a balanced supply chain that aligns with brightwheel’s standards.

Discuss current trends such as sustainability in sourcing, supply chain disruptions, technology integration, and shifting market demands. Share your thoughts on how these trends may affect brightwheel’s supply chain strategy and how you would adapt to stay competitive.