Director Merchandising Retail, New Initiatives

The Director of Growth Initiatives, Merchandising Retail is a senior retail leader responsible for driving profitable sales growth, market differentiation, and exceptional in-store experiences across a defined portfolio of strategic growth initiatives. This role combines deep merchandising expertise with program management leadership to deliver results across a multi-unit retail environment.

The Director manages and scales innovative in-store partnership programs including strategy development, partner selection, relationship management, operational integration, and rollout across the chain. They must exhibit creativity, strategic thinking, and flexibility in developing market-leading selling strategies, and be able to inspire and coach others to deliver outstanding business results.

In addition, this leader must possess expert-level buying, merchandising, and negotiation skills to ensure product-based growth initiatives meet the company’s Sales and EBITDA goals

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Key Responsibilities

Program Management

· Lead the development and execution of strategic in-store partnership programs, including identifying partners, negotiating agreements, and managing ongoing relationships.

· Collaborate cross-functionally with Marketing, Store Operations, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure flawless launch and execution of partner initiatives.

· Establish performance metrics, KPIs, and dashboards to measure program impact and inform strategic decisions.

· Help design operational playbooks and scaling strategies to roll out partnership concepts across the retail network.

· Serve as a visible leader and advocate for partner programs across the enterprise, ensuring alignment with corporate priorities and customer needs.

Merchandising Management

· Develop and execute customer-centric merchandising strategies that drive sales, margin, and inventory productivity across assigned product lines.

· Lead assortment planning, vendor selection, negotiation, pricing, and promotional strategies.

· Oversee financial planning, demand forecasting, and supply chain optimization to achieve inventory turnover and profitability targets.

· Inspire, mentor, and develop a team of merchants, planners, and specialists to achieve business objectives and build organizational capability.

· Monitor market trends, customer behaviors, and competitive activity to inform proactive adjustments to strategy.

Leadership & Collaboration

· Champion a culture of innovation, continuous improvement, and accountability.

· Provide strategic insight and communicate effectively with senior leadership and cross-functional stakeholders.

· Lead change management efforts related to new merchandising or partnership initiatives, ensuring alignment and adoption across the organization.

· Uphold and model ethical vendor and partner practices in all negotiations.

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Required Skills & Competencies

· Strategic Merchandising Expertise – Demonstrated ability to develop and execute assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies that deliver measurable results.

· Program/Project Management – Proven success in designing, launching, and scaling complex cross-functional initiatives.

· Vendor & Partner Negotiation – Advanced negotiation and relationship management skills with a track record of driving favorable commercial outcomes.

· Financial Acumen – Strong command of P&L management, forecasting, and financial modeling to evaluate trade-offs and investment decisions.

· Leadership & Talent Development – Ability to build, inspire, and develop diverse teams, cultivating high performance and future leaders.

· Analytical & Data-Driven Decision Making – Skilled in leveraging analytics, dashboards, and KPIs to assess performance and guide strategy.

· Change Management & Communication – Exceptional ability to influence and communicate across all levels of the organization to drive alignment and execution.

· Customer & Market Insight – Adept at interpreting customer behavior, market trends, and competitive landscapes to inform proactive strategies.

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Qualifications

· Bachelor’s degree in Business, Merchandising, Marketing, or related field; MBA preferred.

· 8–10+ years of progressive experience in retail merchandising, category management, or related roles, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership capacity.

· Proven track record of scaling partnership programs or multi-site initiatives in a retail environment.

· Strong financial, analytical, and project management skills.

· Excellent interpersonal, leadership, and presentation skills.