Merchandising Manager - USF Direct (Hybrid: Onsite and Remote)

ARE YOU A CURRENT US FOODS EMPLOYEE? PLEASE APPLY DIRECTLY THROUGH OUR INTERNAL WORKDAY CAREER SITE.Join Our Community of Food People!The Merchandising Manager for USF Direct is responsible for supporting strategies, executing projects and initiatives that support the broader short and long-term strategies of US Foods Direct Ecommerce site. The position is focused on managing and growing the assortment, including pricing management and vendor relationships. The role is also accountable for and closely monitors, sales performance nationally across all products and categories, identifying on-trend and high-demand category gaps.New Ways of Work: This position has been segmented as hybrid meaning the work is a combination of 3 days onsite In Rosemont, IL (Tuesday, Wednesday, And Thursday) and 3 days remotely (Monday, and Friday) as defined by the role segmentation.RESPONSIBILITIES• Support the ecommerce ‘endless aisle’ assortment for US Foods, including expanding and optimizing the product offering, both through identifying new vendors and products to add to the assortment.• Manage and provide detailed analysis of assigned category performance including growth objectives. Analysis will focus on the areas of product assortment, pricing, promotions, new product introductions, pricing changes, etc.• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to deliver on plans and constantly evolve our offering. Manage catalog growth, be solution-oriented & able to integrate strong and clear data analysis and business rationale into sound decision making.• Utilize analytics for both strategic and day-to-day decisions, utilizing a combination of internal metrics, market data and trends, and competitive analyses.• Review and assess vendor performance reports, identify issues and provide recommendations to USF Direct Merchandising Manager.• Identify and incorporate e-commerce trends; participate in food shows and events, and other external information.• Proactively identify product attributes and source required data to ensure complete product presentation to customers. Work with PIM team to manage, organize and maintain product data and attributes such as ingredients, item descriptions, images, etc.• Expand vendor, products, and categories for multiple subcategories• Identify areas that need vendor attention and direct team to address issues; act as escalation point, helping team and vendor(s) resolve conflicts.• Maintain close relations with US Foods regions and divisions with the objective of understanding critical requirements and perspectives and ensuring that their needs are addressed in the overall category strategy. Liaise with divisions to resolve escalated merchandising issues.• Other duties assigned by manager.SUPERVISION:• NoneRELATIONSHIPS• Internal: Collaborate closely across a wide array of individuals and cross-functional teams at the corporate, regional and national level. Set direction for team and consistent approach to working with internal partners.• External: Establish, maintain and manage relationships with vendors and suppliers. Be an additional relationship point for all the merchandise managers’ vendors.WORK ENVIRONMENT• Blended office environmentMINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS• Minimum 5 years experience in retail, food service or with a consumer goods / food service company with prior experience in vendor relations, pricing and management of product assortment required.• Prior Category Management and/or Vendor Management experience strongly desired.• The ability to operate successfully in a matrix environment and work effectively across multiple groups and levels.• Solid quantitative and analytical skills• Team participation and leadership skills required.• Must possess, or be able to rapidly develop, a strong knowledge of products within assigned category and division sales requirements.• Must be able to provide fact-based recommendations across various levels of management.• The ideal candidate will demonstrate a high degree of motivation, creativity, the ability to prioritize and self direct, strong business acumen and sound interpersonal skills.• Strong verbal, written and presentation skills required.• Proficiency required in the use of Microsoft Office, especially Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, as well as Microsoft Outlook.Education• Bachelor’s degree in business or related field, or equivalent experience required.• **EOE Race/Color/Religion/Sex/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/National Origin/Protected Veteran/Disability Status***