Director of Produce Merchandising: Growth & Innovation

Sprouts Healthy Communities Foundation; Phoenix (AZ); On-site; USD 120,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive pay

15% discount for household members

Vacation accrual plan

Flexible schedules

Employee Assistance Program

401(K) Retirement savings plan with a

Job summary

Sprouts Farmers Market is seeking a Director of Produce Merchandising to drive a 3- to 5-year strategy for Produce and Floral, strengthening the brand as a fresh, high-quality destination. You will lead cross-functional teams, optimize category performance, and build strong supplier partnerships to deliver growth, margin, and exceptional customer experiences.

The role requires a track record of translating strategy into executable plans, strong analytics, and the ability to influence across

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 10+ years of progressive retail merchandising, category management, buying, or fresh food leadership experience; produce experience strongly preferred.
• Strong commercial leadership with experience translating strategy into executable plans that deliver measurable sales, margin, shrink, and customer experience results.
• Ability to lead a fresh business with multiple operational touchpoints, including sourcing, replenishment, store execution, and quality.
• Proven ability to build differentiated category strategies, simplify assortments, improve item productivity, increase customer relevance, and strengthen Sprouts’ market position.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to connect financial, customer, competitive, commodity, and store-level insights into clear business actions.
• Demonstrated strength in supplier strategy, negotiations, vendor accountability, cost management, funding, innovation development, and service-level improvement.
• Ability to influence merchandising, sourcing, supply chain, operations, finance, marketing, ecommerce, analytics, and field leadership.
• Leadership style that is direct, accountable, collaborative, and action-oriented, with the ability to raise issues early and drive resolution.
• Proven ability to develop talent, build organizational capability, strengthen succession pipelines, clarify ownership, and hold teams accountable to results.
• Strong communication skills with the ability to simplify complex topics and make clear recommendations to senior leadership.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of the 3-5 year strategy for Produce and Floral.
• Accountable for category sales, gross margin, shrink, inventory productivity, market share, and overall financial performance.
• Lead with urgency, accountability, and cross-functional influence to optimize store execution and customer experience.
• Build and lead strategic supplier partnerships that enhance quality, innovation, cost competitiveness, service levels, and exclusive product opportunities.
• Lead integrated merchandising strategies across physical and digital channels with cross-functional teams to drive enterprise alignment.
• Oversee resolution efforts for significant issues while driving sustainable improvements.
• Maintain strong field and supplier engagement to translate strategies to stores.
• Develop talent, succession planning, and coaching to strengthen team performance.

Skills

Category management

Merchandising leadership

Analytical skills

Vendor negotiations

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Job description

Sprouts Farmers Market is seeking a Director of Produce Merchandising to drive a 3- to 5-year strategy for Produce and Floral, strengthening the brand as a fresh, high-quality destination. You will lead cross-functional teams, optimize category performance, and build strong supplier partnerships to deliver growth, margin, and exceptional customer experiences.

The role requires a track record of translating strategy into executable plans, strong analytics, and the ability to influence across