Supplier Engagement Manager (Remote)

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About Us

S&S Activewear is a leading North American, tech-enabled specialty distributor of imprintable apparel, including t-shirts, fleece, athletic wear, headwear, workwear, scrubs and accessories. We pride ourselves on being the “critical link” that enables our 100+ brand partners such as Adidas, Columbia and Gildan to reach our hyper-fragmented base of customers, comprised of apparel decorators, eRetailers and promotional products distributors that embellish apparel items for diverse end consumer use cases (e.g., everyday wear, concerts, fitness attire, life events, team sports, etc.). At S&S, we differentiate in the market through a customer service focus, strategic product portfolio, world-class distribution infrastructure, a collaborative growth culture and a relentless focus on technology and innovation.

Our success has compounded since the Company’s humble beginnings in 1988 as a regional t-shirt distributor to a leading, multi-billion-dollar value-added distribution platform that drives market penetration for our suppliers while enabling the growth, operations and fulfillment for a diverse range of customers across channels and business sizes. We strive to be the apparel distributor of choice while inspiring and fostering growth for customers, employees and suppliers through our core values of service, deep relationships, innovation, continuous improvement and accountability

About The Role

The Manager of Supplier Engagement will support the Director of Supplier Engagement, who is the Company’s lead for managing the relationships across the suite of suppliers for S&S Activewear’s full portfolio of distributed goods, focused on performance management, contract compliance, and sales interactions. They will be responsible for helping design and lead the company’s supplier engagement and performance strategy. This role will support the Director in leading key supplier relationships and will be the lead in managing some (likely smaller) supplier relationships across private label, commodity and fashion categories, overseeing a tiered engagement model, scorecard programs, and strategic business reviews. The role ensures supplier partnerships are aligned with company goals related to quality, service, cost, working capital, and innovation. This role requires deep collaboration with cross-functional teams including Merchandising, Operations, and Sales to optimize supplier performance and partnership value.

Qualified candidates must possess excellent communication and presentation skills, be comfortable interacting with sales leadership, customers and internal collaborating teams, and have a demonstrated ability to analyze data to identify strategic and tactical opportunities to grow the business.

Monday-Friday, Full-Time, Exempt

Remote Available

What You Will Do

Strategic Leadership

• Build and manage strategic relationships with high-impact suppliers across all tiers.
• Design and oversee a tiered supplier engagement model with appropriate cadence, accountability, and partnership structure.
• Represent the company, along with the S&S Merchandising team, in top-to-top meetings with executive-level supplier contacts.
• Support the Director of Supplier Engagement and/or other ELT members for supplier negotiations, contract renewal, strategic alignment, and partnership initiatives.
  
  
  

Strategic Alignment, Execution & Performance Management

• Ensure supplier strategies support overall business objectives for profitability, inventory health, speed-to-market, and compliance.
• Support supplier segmentation, risk assessment, and mitigation planning in collaboration with legal and sourcing teams.
• Contribute to long-term sourcing strategy and supplier innovation pipelines.
• Develop and maintain standardized supplier performance metrics and scorecards.
• Lead the monthly and quarterly supplier performance review cadence for some suppliers (and support Director for others).
• Monitor trends in delivery, service, cost, and product quality to guide corrective actions.
• Drive continuous improvement initiatives and joint performance planning with suppliers.
  
  
  

Cross Functional Collaboration

• Work closely with Merchandising to ensure supplier involvement in product selection, development, and lifecycle management.
• Partner with Operations to address vendor performance issues, service breakdowns, and resolution planning.
• Collaborate with Sales to integrate customer feedback into supplier evaluations and improvement plans.
• Align with Planning and Finance to ensure supplier capabilities support speed-to-market and working capital goals.
  
  
  

Required

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field (MBA preferred).
• 5+ years of experience in supplier management, sourcing, or commercial operations, preferably in a B2B distributor or consumer products environment.
• Strong business acumen with the ability to translate strategy into action.
• Proven experience managing complex supplier relationships and performance frameworks Expertise in sales enablement, customer segmentation, and go-to-market execution.
• Exceptional leadership, communication, coaching, team development, and cross-functional collaboration skills.
  
  
  

Preferred

• Experience in the decorated apparel, promotional goods, or mass customization sectors.
• Deep understanding of B2B2C value chains and multi-channel sales models.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite
• Familiarity with supplier scorecard platforms, contract management systems, and ERP/BI tools.
  
  
  

Physical Demands

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to talk or listen.

Working Environment

This job operates in a professional office and home office environment. This role routinely uses standard office equipment such as computers, phones, photocopiers, filing cabinets and fax machines. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable people with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

S&S Activewear welcomes people of all backgrounds and experiences and are committed to creating a diverse culture and supporting human growth. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer and are committed to providing equal opportunity for all employees and applicants. We conduct business without regard to sex, race, creed, color, religion, marital status, national origin, citizenship status, age, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, disability, military status, status as a veteran, or any other protected characteristic. Our policy is to recruit, hire, train, promote, assign, transfer, and terminate employees based on their own ability, achievement, experience and conduct and other legitimate business reasons. S&S participates in E-Verify and will provide the federal government with your Form I-9 information to confirm you are authorized to work in the U.S. This job offer is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check.