Job Description

We are seeking a highly motivated and experienced individual to join our team as the Manager of Operational Merchandising Strategy, Growth, and Performance. This role is pivotal in driving the strategic direction of our merchandising operations, focusing on driving market share growth and ensuring optimal performance across all aspects of our merchandising functions. The individual will collaborate cross-functionally across Corporate, Market, and Region levels, as well as with other functional teams and external partners, to develop and standardize tools, processes, and solutions aligned with key operating initiatives.

Responsibilities:

• Analyze market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor activities to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
• Translate data and insights into executable action plans for local merchandising teams
• Drive the development and execution of merchandising initiatives focused on product and category opportunities to drive market share growth.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams including product development, marketing, and sales to align merchandising strategies with overall business objectives.
• Partner with other functional teams and external partners to develop and standardize tools, processes, and solutions to support growth
• Lead the development of merchandising reporting frameworks, processes, and tools to enhance operational efficiency and effectiveness.
• Work closely with merchandising teams to establish key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics to measure success and track progress against targets.
• Provide guidance and support to merchandising teams to ensure alignment with strategic objectives and foster a culture of continuous improvement.
• Monitor and analyze market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor activities to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.
• Prepare and present regular reports and presentations to senior management, providing insights and recommendations on merchandising strategy, growth opportunities, and performance metrics.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, Marketing, Merchandising, or related field; Master’s degree a plus.
• Proven experience in merchandising operations, strategy development, and performance management, preferably in a retail or e-commerce environment.
• 6 years of experience in analytics required.
• Previous people management experience required including direct employee supervision and management of working teams.
• Excellent analytical problem solving skills with the ability to interpret data, draw insights, and make data-driven decisions. Ability to translate data in executable action plans.
• Excellent leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across different teams and levels of the organization.
• Strategic thinker with a proactive and results-oriented mindset, capable of driving change and innovation.
• Strong financial acumen and ability to properly plan and execute business plans
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and motivate teams to achieve goals and deliver results.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office suite, data analysis tools, and merchandising software platforms.

Skills & Abilities:

• Experience managing projects and passionate leader of people
• Understanding of business value drivers and corresponding business impact
• Strategic skills (making complex decisions, innovation, dealing with ambiguity, etc.) as well as excellent analytic, inquisitive nature and quantitative skills
• Ability to synthesize, visualize, and effectively communicate complex data into effective storytelling to provide business recommendations, and coach others to provide additional business insights and value
• Problem-solving skills with proven ability to influence others across the organization
• Self-motivated individual who is comfortable working with diverse business scenarios, handling multiple priorities and have a business & consultancy mind-set, while technically (data) savvy
• Passion about discovering new things and ability to learn quickly
• Good communication skills, self-motivated, dynamic, reciprocal, and "can-do" attitude
• Data management and visualization skills / tools (SQL, Tableau, PowerBI or similar)
• Collaborative team player who can effectively work in a matrix/cross-functional organization
• Advanced Microsoft Office (exceptional excel skills, powerpoint, etc.) skills required
• Understanding of key differences between a range of descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analytics approaches and tradeoffs between each
• Understanding of business value drivers, corresponding business impact, and the relationship between modeling choices and business considerations
• Experience analyzing, synthesizing, and communicating syndicated data analytics (NPD, Technomic’s, Nielsen IRI, etc.
• Project management capabilities preferred
• Experience working in distribution, retail, or wholesale industry preferred