VP of Commercial Planning

Our mission is to make everyday eating extraordinary for our guests. We create a warm, welcoming, memorable experience with exceptional, personal service. We’re looking for a new team member who strives for excellence and brings positive energy, commitment, and a “can-do” attitude to work every day. We value teamwork and celebrate our successes as a team and will value your contribution!  

The Fresh Market currently has an opening for a VP of Commercial Planning for our Store Support Center in Greensboro, NC. As a key member of the Commercial Leadership Team, this enterprise leader is responsible for integrated Commercial planning and activation, translating the Commercial Strategy into clear priorities, coordinated actions, and measurable outcomes across Pricing & Promotions, Merchandise Execution, Vendor Engagement, Supply Chain, and enabling functions. The VP builds the operating rhythms, capabilities, tools, insights, and cross-functional accountability required to move from strategy to execution, deliver the plan, and create an exceptional guest experience.

This role will report to the Chief Commercial Officer.

• →Serve as a key member of the Commercial Leadership Team, helping set Commercial priorities, shape enterprise decisions, and drive shared accountability for delivery of the integrated Commercial agenda.
• →Translate the Commercial Strategy into an integrated activation roadmap, including the capabilities, tools, processes, milestones, ownership, dependencies, and measures of success required for delivery.
• →Lead the Commercial activation process, connecting strategy, business priorities, and key merchandising levers, including pricing and promotions, merchandise presentation, supply chain, vendor engagement, and store execution, through a disciplined go-to-market rhythm. Align cross-functional partners around clear deliverables, decision points, dependencies, and measures of success.
• →Establish strong Commercial governance and operating mechanisms, including annual and quarterly activation roadmaps, cross-functional forums, decision rights, performance reviews, and issue escalation.
• →Create an integrated view of Commercial performance, connecting financial, guest, competitive, promotional, vendor, supply chain, and execution insights to identify opportunities, surface risks, and focus leaders on the actions that matter most.
• →Strengthen execution across channels, including in-store and digital, through better workflows, communication, automation, and alignment across Commercial, Digital, and Store Operations.
• →Advance pricing and promotion capabilities and activation to improve competitiveness, margin performance, promotional effectiveness, and MDI/MDM data quality.
• →Lead the Supply Chain organization and work with distribution partners to improve product flow, availability, accuracy, service levels, and end-to-end execution of Commercial priorities.
• →Lead the Vendor Engagement function, establishing the strategy, engagement model (including top to top meetings and joint business planning), communication rhythms, and negotiation capabilities required to strengthen vendor partnerships, improve commercial outcomes, and ensure alignment with The Fresh Market priorities.
• →Build strong partnerships across Merchandising, Marketing, Store Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, IT, Digital, and Cencosud to drive integrated enterprise outcomes.
• →Lead and develop a high-performing team with deep expertise in Commercial activation, analytics, pricing and promotions, merchandise presentation, vendor engagement, supply chain, execution, and program leadership, while building strong succession pipelines.
• →Drive continuous improvement across the Commercial operating model, simplifying processes, improving speed and accountability, and aligning platforms, standards, and best practices across the enterprise and, where appropriate, with Cencosud, The Fresh Market’s parent company.

• Experience in grocery, mass retail, or another high-SKU, high-velocity consumer environment.
• Background in Commercial activation, advanced analytics, pricing and promotion platforms, MDM/MDI systems, or enterprise transformation.
• Proven ability to integrate Merchandising, Marketing, Supply Chain, and Store Operations priorities to deliver end-to-end business outcomes.
• Experience leading pricing strategy, promotion optimization, go-to-market activation, vendor engagement, or value-center architecture.
• MBA or advanced degree in business, analytics, supply chain, or a related field.
• Track record of transforming legacy operating models into connected, accountable, and future-ready capabilities.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS: Consistent with applicable laws, TFM will make reasonable accommodations for qualified applicants and team members, unless doing so would result in an undue hardship to TFM. This guiding principle applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring and job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.

• 15+ years of experience in commercial strategy, merchandising operations, pricing and promotions, vendor engagement, supply chain, transformation, or related retail leadership roles.
• Proven experience translating enterprise strategy into cross-functional activation and leading complex, company-wide initiatives from design through execution.
• Strong financial and analytical acumen, with demonstrated ability to connect insights to actions that improve sales, margin, guest experience, and operational performance.
• Experience building and deploying operating rhythms, governance, processes, systems, and capabilities within a complex retail environment.
• Executive-level communication and influencing skills, with the ability to align leaders across Merchandising, Marketing, Store Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, IT, and Digital.
• Demonstrated ability to lead through influence, navigate ambiguity, make decisions across organizational boundaries, create accountability across functions, and move complex work forward with urgency.
• Proven experience leading complex vendor relationships and negotiations, with the ability to balance financial, operational, strategic, and guest considerations.

We are proud to be an Equal Opportunity employer. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard race, color, creed, religion, age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy and related medical conditions, national origin, genetic information, uniformed service, veteran status, disability, or any other basis prohibited by federal or state law. 

The statements in this job description are provided to describe the general nature and level of work expected in this role. While these statements include the essential functions of the job, they are not intended to be a complete list of all responsibilities, duties and skills required. As we work as a team, there may be times team members are needed to perform duties outside of their normal responsibilities based on business needs. 

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