Business Development at Whole Foods Market (WFM) develops strategic and innovative partnerships with suppliers and other third-party partners of Whole Foods. Our mandate includes Global Support for the “Friends of Whole Foods Market” store-in-store vendor partnership program, direct equity investments and other equity type partnerships, and the Local Producer Loan Program. This role will primarily focus on coordinating the deal structuring and negotiation of Friends of WFM activities across all 11 WFM operating regions, as well as developing and negotiating warrants and potential equity investment partnerships with especially innovative partners and suppliers.

Key responsibilities include:

• Play a lead role in all aspects of Friends of WFM, including gathering information and insight necessary to analyze an opportunity, negotiating term sheets and definitive agreements, coordinating internal decision and approval process, and maintaining effective communication and organization with all stakeholders. This primarily includes the contracts required to govern relationships between WFM stores and vendor partners and also, opportunistically, includes equity investment in Friends of WFM with alignment to Business Development’s investing mandate.
• Develop materials, including any necessary underlying analyses, required to present the rationale for and terms of partnerships and investment structures to WFM leadership, coordinating with the relevant WFM Merchandising and Operations teams, as well as accounting, tax and legal teams, as necessary, to prepare a robust case.
• Work collaboratively with counterparts on the Global and Regional Office teams to ensure complete terms and analyses are performed.
• Seek input from WFM Legal on alcohol licensing matters and includes them throughout the process to ensure compliance and meeting timelines for permit submission.
• Work with construction resources to ensure construction terms meet store and third-party vendor requirements and coordinates documentation of construction terms (including financial aspects).
• Partner with the WFM Culinary team to meet periodically with designated regional points of contact for Friends of WFM to review and establish goals and implement practices and solutions.
• Maintain cross-functional responsibility for quarterly results reporting for Friends of WFM to leadership, including analysis and summarization of highlights, issues, concerns, opportunities, or questions that may occur.
• With regards to warrants partnerships, identify prospective partners in collaboration with WFM Merchandising, conduct diligence and analysis on prospects, negotiate term sheets and definitive agreements, monitor performance against warrant vesting criteria, and manage relationships with warrant partners.

The ideal candidate:

• Is an innovative and solutions-oriented thinker and presents ideas, conclusions and recommendations in a clear, concise and organized manner.
• Leverages understanding of the customer base, market, and industry to drive project-related decisions and recommendations.
• Uses experience, innovation, and judgment to make decisions that may be based on partial information.
• Manages numerous projects concurrently with high attention to detail and strong organizational and time management skills.
• Assesses how key systems and processes impact the business internally and from vendor / supplier and customer perspectives.
• Performs advanced data gathering, manipulation and analysis with WFM business analytic platforms including Tableau, Peoplesoft Accounting and others, directing other team members as required
• Demonstrates a good knowledge of relevant rules and regulations, including those related to labor, sanitation, food safety and health.
• Promotes positive, collaborative team experience and motivates and excites Team Members through a passion for food and the retail experience.

Desired skills and experiences:

• Strong ability to solve practical problems in situations where limited standardization may exist and may include a variety of variables.
• Strong financial acumen and understanding of relevant accounting, finance, tax and legal conventions and practices.
• Deep knowledge of term sheets and related legal agreements (with the ability to make efficient use of experts as needed) and strong negotiation skills.
• Demonstrated track record in a role with responsibilities for successfully engaging partnerships.
• Ability to work independently yet collaboratively, with experience managing diverse stakeholder groups and cross-functional teams, ideally in corporate environments.
• Advanced skills working with the Microsoft Office Suite of programs.
• Commitment to WFM’s mission and core values.

Education & Experience

• BA/BS degree; graduate degree preferred (ideally, MBA)
• 6-8 years’ relevant experience, preferably in a venture capital, private equity, investment banking or business development role OR equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.

At Whole Foods Market, we provide a fair and equal employment opportunity for all Team Members and candidates regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, age, marital status, disability, or any other legally protected characteristic. Whole Foods Market hires and promotes individuals solely based on qualifications for the position to be filled and business needs.