Director, Merchandising

Job Description

Job Description

Overview

The Director of Product Merchandising is a strategic leader responsible for driving merchandising excellence through informed assortment planning, Open-to-Buy (OTB) creation, and seasonal business strategy. This role ensures that product assortments are compelling, financially sound, and aligned with the brand’s positioning and customer expectations. This role oversees a team of merchandise professionals. This role also collaborates closely with Marketing, Ecomm, and Retail to activate seasonal assortment across all customer touchpoints.

This is a hybrid position based in Carrboro, NC, with an expectation of working in the office three days per week. Candidates must currently live within commuting distance or be willing to relocate to the area.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Seasonal Planning Oversight

• Provide strategic direction for the development of seasonal merchandising plans, including category strategies, channel distribution, and key product stories.
• Oversee the team’s creation of seasonal Open-to-Buy (OTB) frameworks that support revenue, margin, and inventory goals.
• Guide initial seasonal planning and hindsight processes, ensuring data-driven insights and market trends are incorporated into assortment decisions.
• Set strategic objectives and guardrails for seasonal line plans and product flows.

Assortment Strategy & Product Architecture

• Lead the team in building customer-focused assortments that reflect category goals, price architecture, and channel-specific needs.
• Ensure seasonal assortments align with overarching brand and financial strategies through consistent reviews and checkpoints.
• Drive high-level decisions on SKU count, lifecycle planning, and key item development across categories.

Cross-Functional Alignment

• Serve as the senior merchandising voice in cross-functional meetings, ensuring alignment between merchandising goals and business-wide strategies.
• Partner closely with the Buying to support and inform the seasonal management of OTB, providing strategic guidance and alignment on investment strategies and in-season decisions that drive financial and merchandising goals.
• Partner with Ecommerce, Retail, and Marketing leadership to ensure seasonal product stories are aligned across all channels and platforms.

Performance Monitoring & Business Insights

• Review team reporting and analysis to monitor sales, margin, inventory health, and category performance.
• Lead the strategic response to risks and opportunities surfaced through hindsight reviews and in-season performance data.
• Empower the team to recommend in-season adjustments to maximize financial performance and customer relevance.

Team Development & Leadership

• Manage, coach, and mentor a team of merchants and visual merchandising professionals.
• Foster a high-performing, collaborative, and customer-focused culture.
• Ensure the team is equipped with tools, processes, and training needed to execute at a high level.
• Champion cross-functional visibility and development for team members.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in merchandising or buying, with at least 3 years in a senior leadership role.
• Proven ability to lead and develop high-performing merchandising and visual merchandising teams.
• Strong understanding of Open-to-Buy creation, seasonal planning, and assortment architecture.
• Demonstrated success overseeing merchandising across retail and ecommerce environments.
• Excellent cross-functional leadership, strategic thinking, and communication skills.
• High proficiency in retail metrics, Excel, and planning/BI systems.