Director of Purchasing-SSC

YOUR FUTURE BEGINS AT THIS PREMIER DESTINATION

Event Network is the leading operator of retail experiences at some of the most iconic and inspiring destinations across the United States. We infuse passion, creativity, and purpose into everything we do, creating engaging and memorable retail environments that enhance the guest experience while reflecting the unique mission and values of each location we serve.

The Director of Purchasing is the central point of communication and strategy for product across the portfolio of partnerships. Working with the VP of Purchasing, store quality, internal product teams and partners, this role translates partnership vision, guest expectations and organizational priorities into actionable product strategies. The Purchasing Director defines partnership product "wins," aligns stakeholders to a single product perspective per partnership, and ensures clear priorities that deliver meaningful retail experiences.

• Partner with the VP of Purchasing to ensure consistent execution of product strategies across buyers, planners, store quality, and product development in support of organizational priorities.
• Serve as the central conduit for product between partners and internal teams, ensuring clarity and alignment of product strategies across partners.
• Synthesize partner and guest goals into actionable product objectives, clearly defining and communicating the product "win" to align internal and external teams.
• Maintain strong communication instincts, switching between email, calls, or meetings based on urgency, nuance, and relationship dynamics.
• Balance partner expectations, guest insights, and internal strategies to provide clarity on product goals without imposing personal viewpoints.

• Guide, influence, and align cross‑functional teams—including buyers, planners, store quality, visual merchandising, and creative—around product strategy and assortment architecture.
• Communicate key product insights, accomplishments, progress, and risks to senior leadership, providing clear recommendations or data that support strategic decision‑making.
• Provide actionable direction on product strategy and partnership objectives to ensure buyers and planners execute and support assortments with precision and alignment to business goals.
• Keep the guest experience central to product decision‑making, balancing operational, partner, creative, and buyer perspectives.

• Own financial accountability for product strategies within assigned partnerships, monitoring assortment performance, margins, and productivity against business and partner goals.
• Proactively elevate critical issues or risks, ensuring urgent matters are clearly communicated and addressed with the right stakeholders.
• Approach product additions with focus and discipline, ensuring new items reflect a thoughtful balance of creativity, guest impact, and business priorities such as SKU count targets, cost‑of‑goods thresholds, and sales‑driving potential.
• Apply sharp prioritization to handle fast‑paced, high‑volume workflows with shifting timelines and multiple stakeholders.
• Establish clear decision parameters, align cross‑functional teams, and keep focus anchored on shared product objectives.

• Experience in partnership or client relationship roles within retail, merchandising, or product strategy.
• Creative problem‑solver with strong communication, organizational skills, and the ability to prioritize, manage projects, and drive alignment across partners and internal teams.
• Proven ability to craft and deliver presentations from conception to execution, designing compelling decks, structuring KPIs and strategies into clear, persuasive narratives, and presenting with clarity, professionalism, and influence.
• Strong analytical skills with knowledge of store and product KPIs (margins, assortment planning, forecasting, performance).
• Demonstrated success leading through influence in matrixed, cross‑functional environments.
• Ability to travel throughout the year as needed.
• Prior…