Vice President of Procurement, Pricing and Merchandising
Description
Kal Tire is a Canadian market leader. Founded in 1953, today it is a multi-division business in excess of $2 billion in sales with more than 6500 team members and operations globally. Its divisions include 285 tire stores across Canada, a leading global mining services business, a vertically integrated supply chain and national wholesale network. This vertically integrated strategy has given Kal Tire significant diversification and has positioned it for growth in the automotive and mining service sectors. Kal Tires business model relies on delivering differentiated service to end user customers and the sale of tires and related products to these customers. Kal Tire procures a wide range of tires from a global supply base of manufactures as part of this business model. The company is privately held and family-owned, has strong values and an unwavering commitment to its team members.
Reporting to the Senior Vice President, Wholesale and Supply, the Vice President of Procurement, Pricing and Merchandising is a critical member of the Kal Tire Leadership Team. The role will provide leadership and strategic direction to the company’s procurement teams and oversee the product screen for both the Canadian consumer (B2C) and commercial (B2B) offerings managing several hundreds of millions in annual tire purchases.
The ideal candidate is a leader with a proven track record of building teams, relationships and partnerships while working cross functionally to manage procurement, 3rd party suppliers, product and pricing strategies. The preferred candidate has both strategic thought processes and operational capabilities, while valuing people and the need to innovate and continuously improve. These are all key elements of Kal Tire’s culture and values.
This is a rare opportunity to work in a team based culture. The role is located in Vernon, BC in the heart of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.
Role Purpose
The VP Procurement, Pricing and Merchandising is responsible for providing the company’s network of warehouses, stores and wholesale channels with a portfolio of competitively priced tire and automotive products, as good as or better than anything available in the industry. They are responsible for overseeing all aspects related to strategic sourcing of tires, wheels and mechanical parts across all Consumer, Commercial/B2B and other product categories in order to effectively and profitably support Kal Tire’s store network across Canada. This individual will build positive relationships with major suppliers in the best interests of the company and will interact with other senior leaders within the organization including as it relates to strategy development, implementation and revenue building. This VP role will also oversee complex financial pricing and margin structures from acquisition cost through to end user pricing.
The Vice President will lead a high-performing procurement team. This individual will likely bring extensive experience in sourcing, strategic relationships, pricing and merchandising within a medium size or larger enterprise. The Vice President will actively participate in building out the strategies to continue Kal Tires growth trajectory in Canada.
Core Responsibilities
Procurement | Product Merchandising | Pricing |
Supplier Management | Relationship & Partnership Building | Financial Management |
Strategy | People Leadership | Communication & Collaboration |
- Develop and implement comprehensive procurement, pricing and product merchandising strategies to support our customer facing strategies.
- Build new supply partnerships and relationships and leverage long standing ones, while ensuring continuous improvement of financial and product performance from existing suppliers
- Develop and implement a comprehensive supplier management strategy including risk mitigation
- Ensure store teams have the right product screen, priced competitively and properly communicated and trained to service our B2B, B2C and wholesale customer base.
- Leverage strong inter-personal and communication skills to work collaboratively with internal stakeholders at operational and senior levels across store operations, sales, marketing, supply logistics, finance and others in a complex but team based organizational culture.
- Lead, mentor, and develop a high-performing team and pipeline of talent fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and continuous improvement consistent with Kal Tires Aims and Values. In doing so, provide positive, energetic leadership by example.
- Build and execute against financial targets within the business unit (volume, share, margin optimization) and across all distribution channels and ultimately to end users.
- The successful candidate may or may not come from a tire/automotive background, but must possess a strong desire to continuously learn and understand the industry, market dynamics, products and services that make up the business model that Kal Tire operates in.
What we are looking for
- Proven leadership and experience in purchasing, supply chain, sales and/or marketing roles.
- Strong track record of delivering measurable results
- Strong track record of building strategic relationships and partnerships including at a senior level.
- Negotiation skills and experience
- Exceptional leadership and interpersonal skills, with the ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with cross-functional teams and external stakeholders
- Effectively communicates and implements change.
- Cultivate a high-performance, service-oriented culture by maintaining positive working relationships with all internal and external stakeholders
- Ability to attract, hire, motivate, and retain high performing teams
- Plans and prioritizes work to meet commitments that align with organizational goals. Effectively handles multiple demands and competing deadlines
- Interprets and applies key financial concepts to make better business decisions.
- Creates high performing teams by leveraging team dynamics, capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Sets and achieves common goals.
- Knowledge of tire and automotive industry helpful but not required.
Special Requirements
- Willingness to travel frequently withing and outside Canada, as needed to fulfill the job requirements up to 25% of the time.
- Knowledge of Supply Chain enterprise scale ERP systems.
- This position has a comprehensive package including a $175k to $285k base salary range plus variable bonus program, RRSP with Deferred Profit Savings Plan (DPSP) matching, and more.
Solving our customers’ automotive challenges and making a positive impact - It’s how we roll, and it’s been that way since Tom Foord opened the doors to Kal Tire in 1953 in beautiful Vernon, BC. Over the years, we’ve become a trusted partner for large and small industries and fleets across Canada. Our customers rely on our expertise, our make-it-happen approach to service, and our lineup of the most trusted tire brands in over 260 retail locations coast to coast. Kal Tire is also the largest truck re-treader in Canada, with 11 retread facilities across Canada and internationally, and has a state-of-the-art tire recycling facility in Chile, where 40% of the weight of scrap tires is recycled to return to mines as an alternative fuel. In addition, Kal Tire’s Mining Tire Group is an international leader in mining tire service and supply, servicing more than 150 mine sites across five continents. Kal Tire offers a culture that fosters inclusion and respect. We are committed to providing accessible employment practices in compliance with the AODA and AMA. Accommodation requests can be made at any stage of the recruitment or employment process. Applicants are asked to make their needs/requirements known.