Director Automotive Aftermarket Merchandising

Safelite•Columbus, OH

About The Position

The Director, Automotive Aftermarket Merchandising is responsible for leading the strategy, merchandising, and growth of Safelite's portfolio of non-glass automotive products and services. This leader will bring a strong retail merchant mindset and automotive aftermarket experience to identify opportunities to create additional customer value, expand revenue streams, improve business performance, and strengthen Safelite's competitive position. This role combines merchandising and category leadership, strategic vision, customer and market insight, and operational excellence to drive meaningful business outcomes. The Director will shape assortment and portfolio strategy, optimize existing offerings, and identify and evaluate new products, services, suppliers, and partnerships that support profitable, long-term growth. Working across Customer Experience, Operations, Digital, Supply Chain, Marketing, Finance, and Technology, this individual will influence enterprise priorities, align cross-functional teams, and lead initiatives from concept through commercialization, execution, and performance optimization. The ideal candidate is a retail merchant with automotive aftermarket experience who understands how customer needs, category trends, competitive dynamics, assortment, pricing, and performance come together to drive growth. This leader is commercially minded, customer focused, highly collaborative, and able to translate market opportunities into measurable business results.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or equivalent work experience
7-9 years of experience leading retail merchandising, category management, strategic initiatives, product portfolios, customer solutions, business development programs, growth strategies, or related business functions.
Demonstrated retail merchandising or category management experience within the automotive aftermarket, including consumer-facing automotive products, services, parts, accessories, or related categories.
Proven success driving category or portfolio growth, improving performance, and delivering measurable business outcomes.
Experience using customer insights, market trends, competitive intelligence, and performance data to inform merchandising and commercial decisions.
Experience leading complex cross-functional initiatives and influencing stakeholders across multiple levels of an organization.
Strong merchant mindset with the ability to identify customer needs and translate them into compelling product, service, category, and assortment strategies.
Knowledge of the automotive aftermarket landscape, including consumer trends, competitive dynamics, products, services, and category opportunities.
Proven track record of driving growth across products, services, categories, customer solutions, or business portfolios.
Experience translating customer, market, and competitive insights into actionable business and merchandising strategies.
Ability to evaluate assortment, pricing, positioning, supplier or partner opportunities, and category performance to inform commercial decisions.
Strong analytical skills and experience leveraging data to drive decision-making.
Experience with analytics and reporting tools such as Snowflake, Tableau, Power BI, or similar platforms.
Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
Strong executive presence with the ability to build relationships and influence without direct authority.
Ability to think strategically while driving execution and measurable results.
Experience identifying and evaluating new growth opportunities, products, services, categories, and partnerships.
Experience with testing methodologies, experimentation, and data-driven optimization.
Strong organizational, prioritization, and problem-solving capabilities.

Responsibilities

Own the strategy, merchandising, performance, and growth of Safelite's portfolio of non-glass automotive products and services.
Establish portfolio and category priorities and evaluate opportunities for assortment expansion, optimization, and innovation based on customer needs, automotive aftermarket trends, competitive dynamics, and business performance.
Develop recommendations regarding assortment, pricing, positioning, investment, resource allocation, and initiative sequencing to maximize customer value and business impact.
Monitor category and portfolio performance against key departmental objectives and performance metrics, making recommendations and adjustments as needed.
Maintain executive-level visibility into portfolio performance, risks, dependencies, and growth opportunities; communicate implications and recommendations to leadership and stakeholders.
Maintain a holistic understanding of product and service offerings, category performance, execution models, and customer journey impact.
Oversee portfolio and category performance to identify growth opportunities, systemic execution gaps, emerging risks, and opportunities for improvement.
Drive alignment on corrective actions and merchandising solutions that improve customer and business outcomes.
Establish and monitor key performance indicators and connect portfolio performance to broader enterprise objectives.
Own the portfolio performance narrative, linking merchandising and growth initiatives to business results and customer impact.
Communicate clearly with senior leaders how products and services contribute to customer experience, growth, and overall business performance.
Look beyond functional metrics to understand and influence enterprise-level outcomes and identify opportunities for broader value creation.
Lead the development of departmental strategy, goals, and long-term growth plans.
Partner with senior leaders to establish annual and multi-year business priorities.
Articulate a clear and compelling vision for category and portfolio growth aligned with enterprise strategy.
Build and sustain trusted relationships across the organization, including Customer Experience, Digital, Contact Center, Field Operations, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, and Technology.
Influence cross-functional partners to drive alignment, enable collaboration, and accelerate progress toward shared goals.
Partner across functions to support the successful commercialization and scaling of products and services.
Lead strategic planning and performance discussions to ensure accountability and alignment across teams.
Serve as a visible enterprise leader and advocate for the portfolio, driving clarity, engagement, and momentum.
Maintain a forward-looking understanding of customer needs, automotive aftermarket trends, competitive dynamics, category performance, and emerging opportunities.
Identify and evaluate new products, services, categories, suppliers, partnerships, and growth opportunities that support enterprise objectives.
Develop business cases and strategic recommendations for portfolio expansion, category development, and innovation initiatives.
Evaluate potential offerings through a merchant and customer lens, considering customer relevance, market opportunity, financial potential, operational feasibility, and strategic fit.
Build effective relationships with external suppliers, manufacturers, and strategic partners, as applicable, to identify and advance growth opportunities.
Champion a culture of customer-focused innovation, experimentation, and continuous improvement.
Challenge the status quo and ensure the portfolio continues to evolve to meet changing customer expectations, automotive aftermarket trends, and business needs.
Perform other duties as assigned.
Comply with all company policies, practices, and standards.