Director of Strategic Sourcing - Apparel

Jostens • Minneapolis, MN

3d • Hybrid

About The Position

ABOUT YOU: Are you a strategic sourcing leader who thrives in a fast-paced, apparel-driven environment? As Director of Strategic Sourcing – Apparel, you’ll lead sourcing and category strategies across finished goods and raw materials, optimizing cost, quality, service, and risk. You’ll drive long-term supply partnerships that support growth, operational continuity, and margin goals, while managing a high-performing team of sourcing professionals. This is a rare opportunity to shape how Jostens delivers quality apparel to millions of students and customers each year.

Requirements

• Education. Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain, Apparel/Textiles, Business, Engineering, or a related field.
• Apparel Sourcing Expertise. 12–15+ years of progressive experience in global apparel sourcing, including both finished goods and raw materials.
• Leadership Experience. Proven success managing sourcing teams or regional organizations.
• Manufacturing Knowledge. Deep understanding of apparel production, lead times, capacity, MOQs, and seasonal calendars.
• Strategic Execution. Demonstrated ability to develop multi-year sourcing strategies across mills, factories, and vendors.
• Cost & Margin Optimization. Strong experience with TCO models, should-cost analysis, and financial impact planning.
• Negotiation Strength. Skilled in complex commercial negotiations involving pricing, capacity, and long-term partnerships.
• Vendor Portfolio Management. Proven ability to consolidate suppliers, manage performance, and mitigate sourcing risks.
• Risk Management. Ability to assess exposure across geopolitical, capacity, and compliance factors.
• Executive Communication. Strong ability to present sourcing strategies and risks to senior leadership.

Nice To Haves

• Preferred Master’s or MBA degree.
• Preferred apparel industry experience in seasonal, volatile, or PE-backed environments.
• Experience with global sourcing across key apparel regions (Asia, Central America, South Asia, Nearshore).
• Preferred global sourcing across key apparel regions (Asia, Central America, South Asia, Nearshore).
• Preferred strong analytics and dashboarding capability.
• Preferred experience leading supplier sustainability and social compliance initiatives.
• Preferred background in innovation, speed-to-market, and material development.
• Billingual. Foreign language skills (Mandarin a plus).

Responsibilities

• Ensure sourcing accuracy and execution.
• Oversee purchase orders to confirm correct pricing, terms, lead times, and order parameters.
• Drive supplier selection and contract deployment.
• Partner with Strategic Sourcing to negotiate agreements that meet quality standards, reduce risk, and leverage buying power.
• Champion quality and production readiness.
• Collaborate with Operations to align material requirements and ensure incoming products meet specifications.
• Oversee vendor performance.
• Partner with Vendor Management to monitor suppliers and drive corrective actions as needed.
• Establish supplier scorecards.
• Define and track performance metrics to ensure service levels meet expectations.
• Lead cost-savings and efficiency initiatives.
• Support innovation in product and supply chain to reduce total cost of ownership.
• Partner with S&OP.
• Maintain optimal inventory, reduce backorders, and support demand-surge planning and capacity continuity.
• Coordinate inbound logistics.
• Work with Transportation on packaging, customs, freight, and delivery timing.
• Assess make vs. buy opportunities.
• Guide strategic decisions that balance internal production and outsourced sourcing.
• Enforce sourcing governance.
• Uphold procurement policies, approval thresholds, and compliance standards.
• Lead and develop a high-performing team.
• Manage three direct reports: Two Procurement Managers and A Procurement Analyst.

Benefits

• We care about your health. We offer competitive healthcare (health, dental, vision, coverage) in addition to voluntary benefits including home and car insurance, pet insurance, flexible spending account, amongst many more.
• We invest in your future. Our 401K plan has immediate vesting, so you can start saving for retirement right away.
• We believe in flexibility. We offer a hybrid schedule with on-site work 3 days a week.
• We want you to unplug when needed. We believe in taking your time off without guilt and offer accrued paid time off and company paid holidays. For Washington residents, you will receive 13 vacation days, 8 paid sick leave, 8 company paid holidays, and family paid leave.
• We care about your development. We support tuition reimbursement after 6 months of service.
• We believe in pay transparency. The salary range is $160,000 to $180,000 with annual bonus eligibility.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director
• Number of Employees: 5,001-10,000 employees