Senior Manager, AI-Driven Digital Merchandising & Ops

Senior Manager, Digital Merchandising Planning & Operations Full-time Business Segment: Digital Platforms & Ventures Compensation: USD 110,000 - USD 125,000 - yearly VERSANT (Nasdaq: VSNT) is an industry-changing media and entertainment business and home to trusted brands that shape culture, inform audiences, and build lasting connections. It operates across four core markets: political news and opinion, business news and personal finance, golf, and sports and genre entertainment. These markets are served through a powerful portfolio of iconic and innovative brands, including CNBC, MS NOW, USA Network, Golf Channel, Oxygen, E!, SYFY, and Versant's sports division USA Sports, along with complementary digital assets including Fandango, Rotten Tomatoes, GolfNow and GolfPass. The Senior Manager, Digital Merchandising Planning & Operations will serve as the operational hub for Fandango's Digital Merchandising organization, helping coordinate and communicate merchandising and promotional activity across Fandango's Streaming and Ticketing platforms. This role is responsible for building and managing the systems and processes that bring Fandango's merchandising and promotional calendar to life—creating clarity across campaigns, platforms, teams, timelines and priorities. The Senior Manager will build and improve production and communication workflows across multiple areas of the Fandango business, including AVOD, TVOD and other emerging priorities; track key milestones and dependencies; and develop clear, executive-ready materials that detail upcoming plans and priorities. A key focus of the role will be identifying and implementing new ways to use AI, automation and emerging productivity tools to modernize how the Digital Merchandising team organizes, communicates and executes its work. This person will be encouraged to experiment with new approaches, build smarter workflows and identify opportunities to replace manual or fragmented processes with more efficient and scalable systems. The ideal candidate is an exceptional organizer, systems thinker and communicator who enjoys creating order from complexity. They are highly skilled at designing processes and workflows, comfortable working across multiple teams and priorities, and adept at turning large amounts of information into simple, useful tools and compelling presentations. Deep merchandising experience is not required. Success in this role will depend more heavily on outstanding project management, systems thinking, communication and operational skills, combined with an interest in entertainment and digital consumer experiences. This position is based in Los Angeles, CA and requires regular onsite presence to support collaboration with cross-functional teams and business partners. Key Responsibilities: Build, manage and continually improve workflows and organizational systems that support the development, execution and communication of merchandising and promotional campaigns across Fandango's Streaming and Ticketing platforms. Maintain a comprehensive view of upcoming merchandising and promotional activity across AVOD, TVOD and other business priorities, providing visibility into campaigns, launches, seasonal moments, key dates and dependencies. Coordinate timelines, deliverables, dependencies, approvals and stakeholder inputs for merchandising and promotional initiatives from initial development through execution. Develop polished, visually compelling presentations that bring merchandising, content, and promotional plans to life for internal stakeholders and leadership. Translate inputs from multiple teams and sources into clear, consolidated plans that provide stakeholders and leadership with a shared understanding of upcoming activity. Develop and implement AI-enabled workflows and organizational systems that streamline processes, synthesize inputs from multiple sources, automate repetitive work, improve documentation and reporting, and make information easier to access and act upon. Explore emerging AI, automation and productivity technologies and identify practical opportunities to apply them to Digital Merchandising workflows. Partner closely with teams across Fandango, including Product, Marketing, Creative, Analytics, Programming and other business functions, to coordinate initiatives, gather inputs and identify dependencies or conflicts. What You Bring: 5+ years of experience in project or program management, marketing operations, integrated marketing, content operations, digital media, business operations or a related field. Exceptional organizational and project management skills, with demonstrated ability to manage multiple concurrent initiatives, stakeholders, deadlines and dependencies. Demonstrated experience building or improving workflows, calendars, trackers, databases or other systems used to coordinate complex work across teams. Advanced proficiency with collaborative planning and productivity tools such as Airtable, Asana, Google Sheets or comparable platforms. Hands-on experience using generative AI or AI-enabled productivity tools to improve workflows, organization, analysis, communication or execution, with an interest in continually exploring new applications as the technology evolves. Strong presentation skills and demonstrated ability to create polished, executive-ready presentations and planning materials using PowerPoint, Google Slides or similar tools. Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to synthesize complex or incomplete information into clear, concise and actionable materials. Experience working cross-functionally and building productive relationships with stakeholders across different disciplines and levels of an organization. Ability to operate independently, establish structure in ambiguous situations and proactively identify what is needed to move work forward. Strong attention to detail combined with the ability to understand broader business priorities and maintain a big-picture view across multiple initiatives. Preferred Qualifications: Experience designing or implementing AI-enabled workflows, automations, knowledge-management systems or other solutions that improve how teams organize information and manage complex work. Experience designing sophisticated workflows or connected systems using tools such as Airtable, Asana, Google Workspace, Microsoft 365 or comparable platforms. Experience in entertainment, streaming, digital media, e-commerce, ticketing, content programming, merchandising or a related consumer-facing business. Familiarity with digital merchandising, campaign management, content promotion or related disciplines. Strong visual communication instincts and an ability to make complex plans easy to understand at a glance. Passion for film, television, entertainment and evolving digital consumer experiences. Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Media or a related field. Additional Information: Hybrid: This position has been designated as hybrid, generally contributing from the office a minimum of three days per week. This position is eligible for company sponsored benefits , including medical, dental and vision insurance, 401(k), paid leave, tuition reimbursement, and a variety of other discounts and perks. Salary Range: $110,000 - $125,000 As part of our selection process, external candidates may be required to attend an in-person interview with a VERSANT Media employee at one of our locations prior to a hiring decision. VERSANT Media's policy is to provide equal employment opportunities to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, creed, gender, gender identity or expression, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, disability, sexual orientation, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, membership in the uniformed services, genetic information, or any other basis protected by applicable law. For LA County and City Residents Only: VERSANT Media will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories, or arrest or conviction records, in a manner consistent with relevant legal requirements, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the Los Angeles County Fair Chance Ordinance for Employers, and the California Fair Chance Act, where applicable. If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and require support throughout the application and/or recruitment process as a result of your disability, you have the right to request a reasonable accommodation. You can submit your request to View email address on click.appcast.io . VERSANT Media is committed to fair and equitable compensation practices. We include a good faith pay range for each position to comply with applicable state and local pay transparency laws and to promote equity across our organization. Actual compensation will be based on factors such as the candidate's skills, qualifications, experience, and location and may include additional forms of compensation and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, paid time off, etc. VERSANT Media is not accepting unsolicited assistance from search firms for this employment opportunity. 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