Job Description

Description

At The IRONMAN Group, our purpose is clear: to inspire people to unlock their greatest potential through sport, pushing beyond limits to become the fullest expression of human achievement. Through our BE ICONIC vision, we are building the most loved brands, producing the world’s most inspiring events, and fostering deeply engaged communities that change lives. By 2028, we aim to empower over a million athletes to cross a finish line each year and inspire a billion people worldwide through the power of the human spirit. As part of our team, you’ll join a high-performance, caring culture where innovation thrives, communities are uplifted, and every achievement, big or small, is celebrated. You’ll help shape experiences that fill hearts, consume minds, and enrich souls. This is more than a job. It’s a chance to be part of a global movement, to lead from the front, and to leave a legacy. Together, we create moments that last a lifetime. The IRONMAN Group is the world's largest operator of mass participation sports, delivering over 200+ events a year across 55+ countries thanks to a passionate global team. For more information, visit www.ironman.com/about-ironman-group

We are seeking a customer-first, hands-on Director of Merchandise Experience to lead store customer service, product knowledge, and the in-store merchandising experience across our mobile retail stores. This role owns hiring and developing the store team, ensuring consistent training—especially on technical products—and partnering cross-functionally to deliver an elevated, brand-right store environment through effective store design, signage, and execution standards.

The Director of Merchandise Experience will also serve as Director of Merchandise Athlete Experience, traveling to 16–18 events annually to lead athlete experience in our mobile stores, ensuring service, product expertise, and merchandising standards are consistently executed in the field.

Requirements

Store Customer Service Leadership

• Lead and elevate store-level customer service standards and resolution practices to deliver a consistent, premium experience.
• Coach the team on service behaviors, communication, and teamwork to drive a positive store culture.

Product Knowledge & Technical Training

• Own product knowledge standards and ensure the store team can confidently sell and support technical products.
• Develop and deliver onboarding and ongoing training, including product education, demos, and best practices.

Hiring, Team Development & Staffing

• Lead hiring for store roles, including interviewing, selection, and staffing plans aligned to business needs.
• Set performance expectations, provide feedback and coaching, and build a strong bench through training and development.

Store Design, Signage & Merchandising Execution

• Partner on store design and layout decisions to support merchandising goals and an intuitive customer journey.
• Own in-store signage standards and ensure accurate, on-brand execution across the store.

Inventory Management & Merchandise Financials

• Own inventory management for stores and mobile retail, including forecasting needs and driving sell-through of aged inventory.
• Manage and own merchandising financial performance, including budgeted spend, budgeted revenue, and budgeted margin.
• Partner cross-functionally to align inventory, merchandising strategy, and event execution to financial targets.

Event & Mobile Store Athlete Experience

• Travel to 16–18 events annually and lead athlete experience in our mobile stores.
• Ensure consistent customer service, product expertise, and visual merchandising standards while on the road.
• Support set-up, breakdown, and operational execution for event activations as needed.

People Management & Culture

• Foster a positive, collaborative, and high performance culture within the team.
• Provide leadership, coaching, and direction to team members involved in Merchandise experiential delivery, whether direct reports or matrixed team members.
• Build a culture of creativity, continuous improvement, and athlete first thinking across the event ecosystem.
• Model IRONMAN’s BE ICONIC vision and promote inclusive behaviors that support teamwork, respect, and psychological safety onsite and offsite.
• Encourage collaboration across teams to strengthen cohesion, consistency, and shared ownership of the event experience.

Qualifications

• Retail experience required; prior leadership experience managing and developing teams strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to train teams on technical products and translate product features into clear customer value.
• Experience with hiring, onboarding, and coaching store teams.
• Ability to travel to 16–18 events annually and work flexible hours as needed for event schedules.
• Must be able to lift up to 50 lbs and support mobile store set-up/breakdown activities.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with a collaborative, team-first approach.

The above declarations are not intended to be an “all inclusive” list of duties and responsibilities of the job described, nor are they intended to be such a listing of the skills and abilities required to do the job. Rather, they are intended only to describe the general nature of the job and are a reasonable representation of its activities.

We are an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability, gender identity, marital or veteran status, or any other protected class.