Category Manager, Footwear

Tecovas is the first direct-to-consumer western brand, founded with the simple goal of making the world’s best western boots, apparel and leather goods - and selling them at a fair price. We are a brand revolutionizing a category and welcoming first-time boot buyers and western enthusiasts alike. 

Tecovas is looking for a Category Manager to directly support the growth and expansion of our business.  As a Category Manager at Tecovas, you will play a vital role in actively optimizing our supply chain for the Footwear category, ensuring efficient product flow from concept to customer. You will lead the strategic management of the Footwear category, developing comprehensive category plans, and long-term procurement strategies that span the next 3 to 5 years. Your role includes presenting these strategies to key stakeholders and management, ensuring compliance with legal requirements and company policies, and mitigating supply chain risks. In addition to the responsibilities of managing the day to day of the category, you will prioritize and execute strategic sourcing activities, engage in supplier relationship management, and build influential relationships with major contractors and suppliers.

You will be responsible for identifying and collaborating with suppliers to enhance lead times, profit margins, and commercial terms. You will act as the focal point in the communication and relationship building and management with our selected manufacturing partners. 

This position is based out of Austin, TX but will have the ability to work from home and in-office.

What you'll do:

• Category Management::
• Lead the strategic management of the footwear category, overseeing all aspects of product development, production, and delivery.
• Develop comprehensive category workbooks and procurement strategies for the next 3 to 5 years, aligning them with the company's long-term vision.
• Present category strategies to key stakeholders and management, effectively communicating your vision for the category's future.
• Work on issues of diverse scope where analysis of the situation or data may require evaluation, typically from a strategic perspective.
• Compliance and Strategy:
• Ensure that category strategies comply with legal requirements, company policies, value assurance frameworks, and business principles.
• Prioritize strategic sourcing activities for the category and its sub-categories, driving the execution of these activities.
• Engage in supply market exploration, preparation of RFP/RFX, evaluation of responses, negotiations, and development of strategic agreements.
• Manage supplier contracting, ensuring that contracts reflect the strategic goals and legal requirements of the category.
• Supplier Relationship Management:
• Develop segmented supplier relationship engagement models for suppliers, tailoring approaches to their unique needs.
• Monitor supplier/category performance and engage with suppliers to improve their performance, fostering collaboration and growth.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with major contractors and suppliers at the top management level.
• Leverage these relationships to provide current and insightful market intelligence to relevant markets.
• Follow processes and operational policies, selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions.
• Supply Chain Accountability and Risk Mitigation:
• Ensure on-time delivery(and product launches) through supplier accountability, actively managing ship dates and forecasting.
• Mitigate supply chain risks through proactive assessment and the implementation of risk management strategies.
• Develop and implement risk mitigation plans to ensure the resilience of the supply chain.
• Act like an owner of the supply chain, taking initiative and demonstrating the ability to make independent decisions in the best interest of the supply chain.
• Takes responsibility and does not place blame on others when deadlines, goals, or initiatives are not achieved.
• Ethical Sourcing Compliance:
• Measure and report the level of compliance with ethical sourcing policies among suppliers.
• Collaborate with suppliers to ensure adherence to ethical sourcing guidelines.
• Identify and rectify any non-compliance issues with proactive solutions.
• Drive continuous improvement of internal and external processes to enhance ethical sourcing practices.
• Act like an owner of the ethical sourcing process, showing initiative in enforcing ethical standards and driving improvements.
• Continuous Improvement:
• Continuously seek opportunities for process enhancement, cost reduction, and product quality improvement.
• Analyze existing processes to identify inefficiencies and suggest improvements.
• Promote a culture of ongoing improvement both internally and externally.
• Demonstrate a strategic perspective and independently make decisions that positively impact the supply chain.
• Supply Chain Systems:
• Lead implementation of softwares to improve the supply chain such as ERP improvements, PLM software and others as needed.
• Assist in the training both internally and externally of these softwares.
• Monitor and analyze data to generate regular reports, offering insights into the performance of supply chain and procurement systems.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to identify business requirements and translate them into system specifications.
• People Management:
• Ability to have growth conversations, feedback conversations, and difficult conversations with direct reports and/or cross-functional partners while being diplomatic and objective.
• Make excellent hiring decisions and effectively assesses talent and/or similar decisions with respect to third-party contractors
• Organizes people and resources toward the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives.

Experience we’re looking for:

• Bachelor’s Degree in supply chain management, business, or a related field
• 4+ years of experience in supply chain and production, preferably within a top-tier Retailer or private label company.
• Experience sourcing in Latin America and/or Asia.
• Proven experience as a Category Specialist in supply chain, procurement, or sourcing.
• Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, with the ability to convey complex strategies to stakeholders.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute long-term procurement strategies, reflecting a forward-thinking approach.
• Excellent negotiation and supplier relationship management skills, with a strong emphasis on strategic thinking.
• In-depth knowledge of legal requirements and compliance standards, ensuring that strategies align with regulations.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to identify cost-saving opportunities and strategic advantages.
• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment and meet deadlines, driven by a commitment to long-term goals.
• Knowledge of the Footwear industry and supplier networks is a plus.

What you bring to the table:

• You have an ‘operator’ mentality, looking for ways to improve the business and find efficiency.
• You have a strong attention to detail and the ability to follow through to completion.
• You have incredible project management skills with the ability to ensure project milestones are met according to commitments; you have the ability to manage and prioritize a wide variety of project types that vary in scope and scale
• You love working in a lean work environment and are able to work under pressure with deadlines.
• You bring knowledge of 3PL distribution, warehousing, and international fulfillment.
• You have knowledge of footwear construction
• You are a team player who maintains a positive and enthusiastic attitude.

Full Time Benefits & Perks: 

• We offer insurance plans that pay 79-90% of your health premium coverage and 100% of your dental & vision insurance coverage for your family/dependents
• Paid Parental Leave
• Flexible PTO policy
• Corporate wellness program
• Competitive salary
• Generous employee discounts!

About Us:

Tecovas was born out of a love for cowboy boots, their time-honored craftsmanship, rich materials that last, and traditional styling that always looks good. Each pair of Tecovas boots is crafted by hand in over 200 steps. It’s not the easiest or cheapest method, but we’re committed to classic construction techniques that stand the test of time. With 32 retail stores (and counting) across the country, we’re bringing western goods into new frontiers and aim to be the most welcoming brand in western. We’re certainly growing- and hiring passionate, humble, positive, and talented people determined to help us continue to grow!

Important note: We strive to hire values-aligned people because we believe it takes each and all of us to be successful, and lead with grit, speed and a clear vision of where we’re headed. In a remote setting, interviewing at Tecovas may include phone interviews, virtual “on-site” interviews, and on-the-job mock cases. We are committed to run a thorough process for candidates with whom we identify a potential match, and we will do our best to follow-up with each and every applicant! If you’re on the fence, just give it a try! 

Hiring process and disclaimer: Should you receive an offer from us after going through the interview process, a background check will be conducted prior to onboarding. The results of a background check are evaluated as part of the hiring process, but this does not mean that you will not be considered for the job based upon the results. We are an equal opportunity employer and we encourage everyone to apply!