Strategic Sourcing Lead, Snacks & Confections

The Walt Disney Company; Kissimmee (FL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 134,000; Full time

Job summary

The Walt Disney Company in Florida seeks a Sourcing Manager to translate category strategies into scalable sourcing, product development, and commercialization solutions for Disney Experiences. You will build multi-year vendor roadmaps, manage products from concept through launch, and ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards.

The ideal candidate has deep packaged-food sourcing expertise, strong supplier networks, and cross-functional leadership to balance creativity with

Qualifications

• Progressive experience in strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, product development, commercialization, or category management.
• Significant experience sourcing and commercializing finished packaged snack foods, candy, confectionery, popcorn, or closely related food categories.
• Demonstrated ownership of supplier selection, strategic negotiations, vendor management, and commercialization activities from concept through launch.
• Demonstrated experience leading finished-product development and commercialization activities, including supplier engagement, specification development, sampling, packaging development, approvals, and production readiness.
• Proven record developing and executing category sourcing strategies, supplier roadmaps, and sourcing diversification initiatives.
• Strong understanding of packaged-food manufacturing, ingredients, formulation, packaging, labeling, allergens, shelf life, food safety, quality systems, and regulatory requirements.
• Experience partnering with Product Design, Innovation, Product Integrity, Quality Assurance, Food Safety, or related technical teams to bring products to market.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate supplier capabilities and manufacturing constraints and translate them into actionable product development recommendations.
• Demonstrated ability to manage multiple suppliers, products, commercialization timelines, and cross-functional priorities simultaneously.
• Strong financial acumen with experience evaluating costs, margins, commercial opportunities, and sourcing trade-offs.
• Excellent communication, negotiation, relationship-building, and stakeholder management skills.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally as business needs require.
• Ability to meet current Central Florida on-site expectations.

Responsibilities

• Partner with Merchandising, Product Design, Inventory Planning, and Innovation teams to support category growth strategies, new product opportunities, and evolving consumer preferences.
• Bring market intelligence, supplier insights, emerging capabilities, and industry trends to cross-functional partners to inform future category decisions.
• Bring relevant supplier capabilities, product ideas, and market insights to Merchandising, Product Design and Innovation partners.
• Build short-term and multi-year vendor roadmaps that define required capabilities, investments, capacity, product pipelines, performance expectations, and partnership growth opportunities.
• Develop strategic supplier relationships that support category expansion, innovation objectives, operational excellence, and long-term business needs.
• Influence supplier capability development and investment strategies to support future business needs.
• Identify, evaluate, select, and onboard new suppliers, manufacturers, co-manufacturers, and packaging partners to support new business opportunities.
• Negotiate cost, margin, lead times, minimum order requirements, packaging commitments, tooling investments, and other commercial terms while maintaining product quality and brand integrity.
• Drive supplier performance through scorecards, business reviews, and continuous improvement initiatives.
• Evaluate ingredient, packaging, manufacturing, and logistics cost drivers to support profitability and value creation objectives.
• Manage products through the commercialization process from concept through launch, partnering with internal and external teams to ensure successful execution.
• Translate concepts into feasible specifications, ingredients, formulations, packaging solutions, costs, timelines, and production plans.
• Manage product development timelines, stage-gate milestones, and launch deliverables across multiple concurrent projects.
• Manage sampling, prototype development, testing, and approval processes through production readiness and launch.
• Partner with suppliers, packaging teams, Product Design, and innovation to develop packaging solutions that support product protection, guest experience, merchandising objectives, and operational requirements.
• Ensure packaging specifications, materials, and performance standards are aligned throughout development, commercialization, and production.
• Identify emerging packaging technologies and capabilities that can improve product performance and guest experience.
• Ensure supplier compliance with applicable Disney standards, food safety expectations, and regulatory requirements.
• Partner with internal compliance and/or technical teams on labeling, allergens, claims, formulation, shelf life, packaging, quality, sustainability, responsible sourcing, and market requirements.
• Support product development and commercialization activities involving ingredient reviews, nutritional information, product claims, allergen declarations, and packaging compliance requirements.
• Develop contingency plans for critical products and suppliers, including alternate sources, facilities, formulations, packaging, capacity, geography, inventory exposure, and recovery timing.
• Identify and mitigate supplier, manufacturing, ingredient, packaging, regulatory, and logistics risks across the category.
• Evaluate supplier network vulnerabilities and develop mitigation strategies for critical business exposures.
• Lead supplier and project workstreams across Merchandising, Product Design, Innovation, Product Integrity, Planning, Supply Chain, Logistics, and Finance.
• Communicate recommendations, risks, decisions, and project status effectively with stakeholders at multiple levels.
• Present supplier strategies, development recommendations, and commercialization plans to leadership and business partners.

Skills

Strategic sourcing

Supplier management

Product development

Commercialization

Negotiation

Cross-functional collaboration

Travel willingness

Education

Bachelor's degree in Merchandising, Product Development/Design, Business, Supply Chain

Tools

PLM systems

Job description

The Walt Disney Company in Florida seeks a Sourcing Manager to translate category strategies into scalable sourcing, product development, and commercialization solutions for Disney Experiences. You will build multi-year vendor roadmaps, manage products from concept through launch, and ensure compliance with safety and regulatory standards.

The ideal candidate has deep packaged-food sourcing expertise, strong supplier networks, and cross-functional leadership to balance creativity with