Team Manager - Turkish Speaker

Sutherland is looking for a commercially-driven, highly organized individual who understands Turkey's manufacturing/export ecosystem particularly within the home goods space, and can build strong supplier relationships. The ideal candidate is fluent in both Turkish and English, has experience in business development or with local furniture associations, and is comfortable working independently while collaborating with global teams.

Key Experience & Background:

Industry exposure: Experience in home goods, furniture, textiles, dcor, or e-commerce/export operations preferred. Candidates who have worked with Turkish manufacturers targeting overseas markets (especially the U.S.) are ideal.

Sourcing & onboarding: Proven track record of identifying, pitching, and onboarding suppliers, ideally in a marketplace or wholesale model. Familiarity with product listings, compliance requirements, and onboarding systems is a plus.

Cross-functional communication: Must be confident working across time zones with teams based in the U.S. and Europe. Prior experience with remote collaboration, reporting pipelines, and presenting updates in English is essential.

Language: Fluency in Turkish and English is required (spoken and written). They'll need to navigate supplier conversations locally and report professionally to an international team.

Location: Based in Istanbul or Izmiris preferred, but other cities with strong manufacturing ties will be considered. Willingness to travel domestically to visit factories or attend trade events is important.

Contract profile: Comfortable in a contractor setup (not a full-time employee), ideally someone who has worked in similar roles or freelance B2B business development projects.

Traits & Skills:

Entrepreneurial mindset: Resourceful and self-motivated, can handle ambiguity and build relationships from scratch.

Commercial acumen: Understands supplier economics, negotiation dynamics, and how to position a partnership.

Operational follow-through: Can manage supplier onboarding timelines and troubleshoot blockers.

Relationship builder: Comfortable engaging with factory owners, export managers, and key senior supplier stakeholders.

Process-driven: Brings structure and discipline to onboarding, lead tracking, and reporting.