Associate Vendor Manager

Build Your Career with Ashley Furniture- Where Innovation Meets Comfort

Who We Are:

At Ashley, inspiring the love of home is at the heart of everything we do. As the world’s largest manufacturer of home furnishings, we’re more than a business — we’re a family driven by innovation, competitiveness, and an unwavering commitment to excellence. We persevere through challenges, push beyond the status quo, and constantly seek better ways to deliver an exceptional customer experience. Our solutions-first mindset and dedication to growth are why Ashley remains #1 in our industry.

If you’re ready to grow, you’ve come to the right place. With a true “Growth Mindset,” Ashley Furniture invests in developing future leaders and helps every team member learn from the best in the business.

If you are a current Ashley employee: Please login to your UKG account and apply using the internal job board.

On-Site: Tampa, FL

Summary:

The Associate Vendor Manager (AVM) is responsible for driving revenue growth across a portfolio of third-party (3P) vendors and categories on AshleyFurniture.com, all while balancing profitability and presenting value to the Ashley e-commerce customer. The AVM is accountable for building an assortment that ultimately ladders up to the category level business strategy laid out by Vendor Management leadership and Ashley Merchandising. A strong sense of ownership and a willingness to take on any task - no matter how small or manual - will go a very long way as we continue to look for ways to continuously improve our processes and enable automation.

Responsibilities:

• Vendor Relationship Management: The AVM owns relationships with a portion of our 3P vendor-base, collaborating with vendor sales counterparts on a regular basis, sourcing strategic selection and intervening on operations issues as needed.
• Assortment Planning and Product Set-up: The AVM reviews all vendor product proposals and selects products that will best serve our curation strategy. Product set-up activities are conducted in collaboration with our offshore team, with whom the AVM will collaborate extensively, as well as various other cross-functional partners.
• Analyzing the Business: The AVM contributes to Weekly Business Reviews (WBR), deep diving week-over-week, year-over-year, and seasonal changes to the business, ultimately providing recommendations on how to "change the news" and deliver stronger results.
• Promotions Sourcing: The AVM sources funding from vendors to support Ashley's various promotional events and ensures that all agreed upon vendor support is collected in a timely manner.
• Vendor Negotiations: The AVM owns contract negotiations with vendors, including establishing initial marketing, damage and payment terms at vendor set-up, and ongoing agreement maintenance and renegotiation as the business matures.
• Market Preparation: The AVM supports preparation for the major home furnishing and furniture markets the VM team attends. The AVM should anticipate traveling for market attendance 4-6 times annually.
• Trend and Seasonal Support: The AVM will be responsible for supporting our overarching trend and seasonal strategy, including staying on top of trends in the home furnishings industry through research and regular competitive shopping analysis (both in person and online).

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree in business administration, merchandising, marketing or a related field (preferred)
• 3-5 years of experience in a vendor management, category management, merchandising or retail buyer role (required)
• E-commerce experience (preferred)
• Strong attention to detail
• A high level of comfort synthesizing distinct analyses and data sources into actionable business insights
• Excellent written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and an enthusiasm for working in a highly collaborative, cross-functional environment
• Proficient with Microsoft Office suite, including Microsoft Excel

Work Environment:

This position is located in a climate-controlled office environment with standard lighting and moderate noise levels typical of professional workspace settings. The role primarily involves sitting at a desk for extended periods while working with computers, phones, and other office equipment. The collaborative environment includes interaction with team members and may require attendance at meetings, conference calls, and cross-departmental communications during regular business hours. 

Benefits We Offer:

• Health, Dental, Vision, Employee Assistance Program
• Paid Time Off; increases with years of service
• Generous Employee Discount on home furnishings
• Professional Development Opportunities
• Tuition Assistance
• Ashley Wellness Centers (location specific)
• 401(k) and Profit Sharing
• Life Insurance

Our Core Values:

• Honesty & Integrity: Acts with transparency, discretion, and ethical judgment. Trusted to handle sensitive information and provide accurate, unbiased insights. 

• (Dirty Fingernail: Takes full accountability for outcomes, not just tasks. Inspects details, ensures data accuracy, and follows through to completion. 

• Continuous Improvement: Actively seeks better ways to improve templates, tools, and processes. Learns from prior initiatives and embeds lessons into standard work. 

• Growth & Results Focus: Understands how transformation initiatives drive growth, cost reduction, and profitability. Keeps work aligned to enterprise priorities. 

• Culture of Leadership: Leads through influence, reliability, and example. Builds trust across functions and supports leaders at every level. 

• Customer-Centric & Boundaryless: Works across silos for the greater good of the organization. Ensures outputs meet the needs of executives, initiative owners, and teams. 

• Operational Excellence: Demonstrates strong organizational discipline, attention to detail, and the ability to translate ambiguity into clear, executable tools. 

Interested in learning more about Ashley Furniture’s Community Engagement programs, Environmental Stewardship, or our Core Values, click the links below:

Corporate Social Responsibility

View Our Corporate Brochure

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and provide a drug-free working environment. While Ashley appreciates the interest of all candidates only those meeting specific position requirements may be contacted. This job description does not constitute a written or implied contract of employment. The company reserves the right to revise or change job duties and responsibilities as the need arises.

Notice to Search Firms: We are not seeking assistance or accepting unsolicited resumes from search firms. We will not pay any placement, referral or other fees to any search firms unless we have agreed otherwise in a valid, written agreement for the specific position posted and signed by an authorized representative of Ashley Furniture Industries.

* Please note this position is not eligible for current or future employment sponsorship. Candidates must be legally authorized to work in the United States without the need for visa sponsorship now or at any time in the future.