Strategise & Lead our busy B2B Merchandise team. Partner with all business units to develop strategic commercial insights, supporting our growth.Bring your innovative strategic thinking to develop and coach the team.Highbrook location, hybrid working options, free parking onsite.RE-THINK what you know about OfficeMax - join us for our next stage of growth.The Role - Business Manager, MerchandiseLead, inspire, and motivate our Buyers and Buyers Assistants to ensure they are achieving and exceeding targets and enjoying their work! OfficeMax is a B2B sales environment, with our Merchandise team owning the relationships with suppliers, while partnering with Sales to create our competitive solutions offerings - having this team humming is critical.Partner with Commercial Business Partners from across all business units to strategise insights and develop commercial plans. Bring your previous team leadership and expertise in strategic planning and negotiations (ideally within a B2B environment) to engage, support, and coach the team; driving top performance ensuring successful and purposeful execution of the teams' category management plans. In this role, you are reporting to our Director of Merchandise and will be a part of our Senior Leadership Team.OfficeMax provides product solutions to the B2B market, with thousands of SKUs - we provide workplace solutions from your office tea and coffee to furniture, safety, and clean and hygiene needs - a one-stop solutions shop! Supporting 40,000 business customers across the motu, we provide more than what people assume and constantly evolve our offerings to adapt to our customer's needs. At OfficeMax, no one day is the same!Your key responsibilities are:Strategic PlanningLead the high-level review of competitor strategies, demographics, product or technological innovations, national and international market activity, sector changes and activity, and emerging segments to guide the team's strategic planning process for categories and brand portfolios.Develop strong and mutually respectful strategic relationships with sector leads, key suppliers, and channel leads e.g., Wholesale and Export to drive the achievement of business targets.Oversee supplier strategy and contract negotiations to ensure compliance within agreed commercial parameters.Collaborate with Commercial Business Partner team to drive accurate measurement of commercial performance and execution of the strategic plan.Lead the Team in Execution of Category Management PlansReview the team's channel and category performance against strategy targets and direct timely category insights and escalations in line with the IBP Process.Work closely with the Sourcing team to ensure timely execution of the Strategic Plan.Serve as the point of escalation for pricing, quality, wholesale channel, supplier, and relevant process matters.Supervise the team's supplier evaluations to drive high standards of excellence and responsiveness in supplier performance.Oversee supplier RFPs, Tenders, and Contracts processes to ensure compliance with internal policy and audit requirements.Leadership, Culture and EngagementDrive performance standards and behaviours that develop a consistent, cohesive, high-performing culture across the Buyer team.Develop leadership capability and talent pipelines within Merchandise to optimise internal succession.Drive the development of Buyer and negotiation skills.What you will bring:Tertiary qualification in Business, Brand Management, Product Design or equivalent.5+ years' experience (minimum) in leading a team of Buyers or Category Managers.Demonstrated experience in complex Business to Business negotiations.Experience in system and process management e.g., S&OP.Strong analytical and problem-solving skills.Strategic thinker with demonstrated operational excellence.Sustainability champion.OfficeMax has RE-SHAPED the business to enhance our customer's experience.Being able to adapt and evolve has been key to our success. Although our purpose to empower successful and sustainable workplaces across Aotearoa has not changed, the landscape in which we work in has.From product development and service offerings to how we work internally, OfficeMax has taken the time to RE-FOCUS on the future of work, while listening to what our customers need. It's now time to deliver on that and fuel our next level of expansion - haere mai, come join us!People and CultureA business that cares, take your birthday and a wellbeing day off on us!Staff buying rates.Hybrid working arrangements with at least three days based in the office.Free parking onsite with a discounted café.Great people! A business you can be proud to work for!Our people are genuine and proactive solution finders. We care about our colleagues, customers, and the company's success. This is a business with heart and one you can feel proud to work for!We have a diverse culture and encourage open and transparent communication throughout. One of the key parts of our culture is that our people know how their work adds value to the wider business. So you can leave each day feeling like you are making a difference, where your voice is heard and respected - always a good start!Not only are we people-focused, but we are hugely passionate about being accountable for our Sustainability footprint and our support to Barnardos 0800 What's Up line, Aotearoa's only helpline for children and teenagers. We are also proud to be Government partners of the Ikura project, where we provide free period products to education providers across the country.By joining OfficeMax, you are choosing a business that prioritises diversity of culture and thought. You will bring your growth mindset and enjoy the challenge of constant evolution. No one day is the same!
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