Vendor Funding & Trade Management Manager

Coborn's is hiring a new strategic and detail-driven leader to own and elevate our companywide approach to vendor funding and trade spending. In this highly influential role, you'll serve as the organization's subject matter expert on all trade funding activities-ensuring negotiated allowances, bill-backs, rebates, and promotional investments are accurately captured and aligned with our merchandising strategy. You'll manage the full lifecycle of vendor funding, from contract documentation and verification to reporting and discrepancy resolution, while collaborating closely with Category Management, Pricing, Promotions, Accounting, and IT. If you thrive in a role where process ownership, cross-functional partnership, and financial accuracy are key to driving business results, this is the opportunity to make a measurable impact.

Additional Duties Include:

Vendor Funding Oversight

• Manage the tracking, validation, and reconciliation of all vendor funding across all categories and agreements.
• Ensure funding received matches negotiated allowances, promotional commitments, and annual programs.
• Maintain centralized, accurate documentation of all deals, contracts, and vendor commitments.
• Lead responses to vendor discrepancies, underpayments, or billing issues, ensuring timely resolution.

Trade Funding Strategy & Guidance

• Serve as the primary subject matter expert for trade funding processes, controls, and terminology.
• Provide guidance to Category Managers on deal structures, funding expectations, and documentation standards.
• Review promotional plans to ensure funding requirements are clearly defined and accurately reflected in systems.
• Offer insights to strengthen vendor negotiations through historical data and funding performance analysis.

Data Management, Reporting & Analytics

• Develop and manage reporting tools, dashboards, and funding trackers that provide visibility to leadership, Merchandising, and Finance.
• Analyze program effectiveness, funding accuracy, and promotional ROI.
• Produce monthly, quarterly, and annual summaries of vendor funding performance by vendor, category, and program.

Governance, Controls & Compliance

• Establish and maintain consistent processes for documentation, deal setup, funding validation, and audit readiness.
• Partner with Accounting to ensure accurate invoice processing, bill-backs, deductions, and financial accounting.
• Ensure systems are set up accurately to reflect negotiated deals and support margin integrity.

Cross-Functional Partnership & Influence

• Collaborate with Pricing, Promotions, Advertising, and Merchandising teams to ensure funding aligns with promotional execution.
• Work with IT and Finance to identify and enhance systems, reporting capabilities, and workflow efficiency.
• Communicate funding deadlines, expectations, and compliance requirements across the organization.
• Lead process improvements that enhance funding accuracy, reduce risk, and improve visibility.

What's In It For Me?

Our remarkable employees are at the heart of everything we do. At Coborn's, we're committed to creating a supportive and rewarding workplace-one that offers a vibrant, team-oriented environment, ongoing career growth, and meaningful benefits. As an employee-owned company, we believe in investing in our people and their futures.

We're proud to offer a variety of benefits to both our full-time and part-time employees, including:

• 10% employee discount on grocery items, with additional franchise-specific discounts available at company owned Ace Hardware, Caribou Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert's, and Pet Supplies Plus locations.
• Get Paid Daily with DailyPay - for employees who would like access to their pay before payday, we offer this great benefit!
• Paid Time Off (PTO/Vacation)
• Paid Floating Holidays & time and a half (1 ) paid for hours worked on a company-recognized holiday!
• Paid Military Leave
• Employee recognition programs with monetary rewards including in-store vouchers, years of service, and employee of the month
• Employee Health & Wellness Programs, Challenges and Resources - to assist our team members in living a life of wellbeing!
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - unlimited phone access to legal, financial, and work-life services and up to five free in-person counseling sessions, per situation/issue, per year
• Access to a national discount marketplace for travel, electronics, auto/home insurance , entertainment and more!
• Tools, resources and opportunities for career growth and development
• 401(k) plan options - we also match up to 20% of the first 5% contributed
• Participation in our Employee Stock Ownership Program (ESOP) - yes, we're employee-owned! Our team members benefit from the success of the company through this company-sponsored benefit!
• Education benefits including tuition discount and scholarship programs
• Additional Voluntary Benefits - such as vision, accident and critical illness insurances

If you're hired or promoted into a full-time position with our company, you will also be eligible for: Medical & Dental Insurance, Health Savings Account (HSA), Flexible Spending Account (FSA), Tuition Reimbursement, Adoption Reimbursement, Paid Family Caregiver Leave, as well as company-sponsored Term Life Insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment Insurance, and Short-Term & Long-Term Disability Insurance!

Education & Experience:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Finance, Accounting, Supply Chain, Merchandising, or related field preferred.
• 5+ years of experience in retail merchandising, trade funding, finance, pricing, or vendor management
• Experience with trade funding programs, bill-backs, and promotional funding required
• Experience working with ERP, pricing systems, or retail analytics platforms strongly preferred

Are you friendly, dependable, and passionate about working with people? At Coborn's, Inc., we love serving our guests, supporting our communities, and helping our team members grow their careers. If you're looking for a place where you can build a future while making a positive impact every day, we'd love to talk to you about joining our team!

Coborn's, Inc. is a fast-growing, employee-owned grocery retailer proudly serving communities across the Midwest. Our family of grocery stores includes Coborn's, Cash Wise Foods, Marketplace Foods, Hornbacher's, Tadych's Marketplace Foods, Sullivan's Foods, and Kessler's. We offer our guests an elevated shopping experience-both in-store and online-focused on freshness, value, and convenience. Guided by our company vision to inspire happiness, healthy living, and simplicity, this principle has fueled our growth for more than 100 years and is at the heart of everything we do.

Coborn's, Inc. also owns and operates liquor stores under the Coborn's Liquor, Cash Wise Liquor, Andy's Liquor, and Captain Jack's brands. In addition, we operate fuel kiosks and convenience store locations under the Little Dukes and Coborn's Express names. Many of our grocery stores also feature full-service pharmacies to support the health and wellness of our guests. We manage a variety of other retail businesses in markets where the fit is right, including Ace Hardware, Country Floral Gifts & Greenhouse, Caribou Coffee, Dunn Brothers Coffee, Erbert and Gerbert's, Godfather's Pizza, and Pet Supplies Plus. To support our diverse retail operations, we operate our own central bakery, fresh foods commissary, and grocery warehouse and distribution center.