Director, Contracts

SSENSE (pronounced [es-uhns]) is a global technology platform operating at the intersection of culture, community, and commerce. Headquartered in Montreal, it features a mix of established and emerging luxury brands across womenswear, menswear, kidswear, and Everything Else™.

SSENSE has garnered critical acclaim as both an e-commerce engine and a producer of cultural content, generating an average of 100 million monthly page views. Approximately 80% of its audience is between the ages of 18 to 40. It is privately held and has achieved high double digit annual growth and profitability since its inception.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Legal Affairs, the Director, Contracts is responsible for providing sound advice and guidance on procurement matters, in alignment with the strategic direction of the Company. They will oversee and lead the review of vendor contracts and support with negotiations, in close partnership with business stakeholders. The successful candidate is strategic, methodical and experienced in procurement processes related to luxury brands. 
 

Responsibilities

Procurement Strategy, Operations & Processes

• Ensure strategic alignment and partnership with internal stakeholders to anticipate needs
• Manage, lead and conduct vendor contract reviews including reviewing our own templates and terms as well as those of vendors and negotiating with vendors
• Summarize highly complex contractual issues, oversee and consult on the development of creative solutions and coordination of contractual risk mitigation
• Manage status quo renewals, while working closely with the business owner and legal, ensuring proper due diligence and validation of the needs of the company
• Manage purchasing workloads (contract reviews & related requests), prioritize activities, troubleshoot, escalate and expedite deliverables
• Ensure the compliance of procurement processes while integrating the different department stakeholders into the process itself
• Recommend, develop, coordinate, implement and maintain related processes and procedures, policies and directives to maximize procurement efficiency and effectiveness across the organization
• Develop, manage, monitor and update the brand-related procurement process and vendor-onboarding process based on the needs of the company
• Support operational requests to facilitate the resolution of vendor-related issues, including Accounts Payable, Partnerships, Collaborations, Purchase Orders and Operational elements
• Participate in the analysis and execution of expansion into new product categories and territories including supporting legal needs (day-to-day) and strategic verifications related to expansion
• Seek and document approvals as per the procurement process, in order to ensure corporate compliance for auditing purposes, including business case & contract summaries, risk analysis, purchase order support
• Propose continuous improvement and constructive feedback including sharing of best practices
• Support the Merchandising Team through the sourcing and contracting process for varied complexity tasks including vendor investigation, developing sourcing strategy, negotiating contract pricing, terms and conditions, and completing all vendor management related sourcing and contract documentation 
• Work collaboratively with all business areas to identify contract solutions that successfully meet business priorities
• Represent the company in external negotiations to a diverse set of customers and partners
   

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain or Commerce, or equivalent experience in Procurement within international companies. Law Degree an asset
• A minimum of 10 years’ experience in Procurement
• Strong knowledge of MS Excel. Knowledge of SAP an asset
• Experience working with Legal and/or Buying departments
• Ability to handle functions related to procurement in a fast-paced, highly performing environment
• Experience with vendor management, benchmarking, multi-scenario business cases
• Organized and proven experience leading and managing governance and KPIs 
• Ability to manage vendor relationships and facilitate internal requirement conversations
• Project Management experience
• Excellent communication & presentation skills in English and French

 
Skills 

• Business oriented, highly analytical spirit, sense of initiative and strong team player
• Strong business acumen and strategic negotiation skills
• Excellent communication and advisory skills 
• Creative problem-solving ability 
• Outcome-focused critical thinker with the ability to analyze and visualize, to ensure continuous improvement across the organization
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, constantly changing environment