The Director of Merchandising @ this Global Marketplace is responsible for developing a holistic merchandising strategy and leading merchandising plans aligned with driving category growth and achieving annual business outcomes. You will lead and oversee the development of ownable visions across all category verticals, working individually with Category Managers and cross-functionally with leads across the organization to ensure successful positioning, placement of specific categories of goods and campaign launches for all channels.

ABOUT YOU
- 10+ years relevant retail merchandising & e-commerce merchandising/integrated marketing experience
- You are creatively-minded, analytical and motivated by results to lead, influence and inform merchandising team efforts across all category verticals.
- You have an ability to think big picture and simultaneously zoom into granular details, with a deep understanding of categories, landing experiences and team operations. You build and consult on high level strategy and jump in to execute with your team when urgent priorities arise.
- You see how the work of your entire org fits together and use that insight to enhance the team's effectiveness.
- You deliver long term strategic business plans, remaining agile to move quickly and make pivots when priorities evolve or shift.
- You champion practices to elevate the quality of work throughout your org and inspire your team to evangelize for them.
- You are a skilled communicator at every level, transparent and sensitive with your team, even when difficult conversations are required. You earn trust from your peers and leaders by staying acutely aware of their goals, identifying opportunities to align and keeping them informed of progress and roadblocks.
- You are an organized, efficient, and resourceful self-starting leader with solid problem solving skills and willingness to approach unbounded problems head on and consistently deliver work product that makes valuable contributions beyond the parameters of the instructions you were given.
- You have good judgement and distinct ability to source, review, approve and speak to appealing, engaging, and compelling merchandise with deep understanding of shopper audiences and market trends.
- Ideal Candidates will be based in Brooklyn with the ability to work 40 hrs/wk & 3+ days/wk in-office, but the team is open to considering remote arrangements and flexible work schedules.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

STRATEGIC THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
- Proactive and reactive strategic support to Buyer Marketing, Product development and peripheral teams (PR, Brand Design, Seller, Vetting, Legal, Member Services, etc)
- Develop ways of measuring impact to optimize the overall allocation and use of resources within Merchandising and partnering teams.
- Own and evolve 2019 Merchandising Playbook to align with company priorities & goals, inputting relevant elements into cross functional roadmaps when and where needed.
- Anticipate and remain agile to new and changing business priorities, seamlessly formulating plans for how Merchandising team will adjust and play a proactive role. Juggle multiple high-priority projects and incoming priorities at a time, continually prioritizing as the situation requires.
- Identify highest impact landing pages to align with initiatives across all channels and work with product development teams to identify new landing experiences and optimizations to maximize impact and streamline workflow
- Identify opportunities to scale merchandising through automation, while streamlining workflow and capacity of Merchandising Category Managers

SPECIFIC INITIATIVE RESPONSIBILITIES DURING MATERNITYSHIP COVERAGE TIME PERIOD
- 2019 Holiday planning: identify opportunities to maximize YOY impact of Q4 holiday campaign while streamlining team workflow
- 2020 AOP Planning: identify annual growth opportunities at category level and global merchandising as a function. Articulate future plans and opportunities to scale merchandising through automation and streamlined tooling
- International merchandising strategy: identify opportunities where team at large or International Specialist can provide measurable impact at a global level; navigate priorities against ROI as new global initiatives arise

TEAM REPRESENTATION & COMMUNICATIONS
- You remove roadblocks and identify and obtain the tools and resources required for your team to solve problems independently and make decisions autonomously
- Represent Merchandising team across regular cadence of leadership and executive meetings ranging from roadmap updates to content and monthly performance reviews. Have a deep understanding of team initiatives, challenges and roadblocks with ability to document, present and champion the work of your team.

TEAM MANAGEMENT
- Manage team operations, delegation and communications for ongoing initiatives
- Oversee work of Category Managers, approving output and ensuring successful positioning, placement of specific categories of goods and campaign launches
- Maintain an awareness of all key team projects and take responsibility for ensuring that they are delivered on time and achieve their objectives
- Advocate for your team members and identify or create opportunities within or outside your team to accelerate their professional growth

ONGOING
- Conduct staff weekly meetings and regular 1:1 meetings with 6 merchandising category managers
- Conduct quarterly goals check-ins with category managers, communication with Sr. Director on individual progress and career growth opportunities
- Continuous on-boarding of newest hires on team — ensuring integration with team, partnering teams and work