Director Merchandising Retail, New Initiatives

Staples • Framingham, MA

94d

About The Position

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.

Requirements

• Demonstrated ability to develop and execute assortment, pricing, and promotional strategies that deliver measurable results.
• Proven success in designing, launching, and scaling complex cross-functional initiatives.
• Advanced negotiation and relationship management skills with a track record of driving favorable commercial outcomes.
• Strong command of P&L management, forecasting, and financial modeling to evaluate trade-offs and investment decisions.
• Ability to build, inspire, and develop diverse teams, cultivating high performance and future leaders.
• Skilled in leveraging analytics, dashboards, and KPIs to assess performance and guide strategy.
• Exceptional ability to influence and communicate across all levels of the organization to drive alignment and execution.
• Adept at interpreting customer behavior, market trends, and competitive landscapes to inform proactive strategies.

Nice To Haves

• MBA preferred.

Responsibilities

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Benefits

• 401k
• health_insurance
• dental_insurance
• vision_insurance
• paid_holidays
• tuition_reimbursement
• professional_development

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Senior
• Industry: Merchant Wholesalers, Nondurable Goods
• Education Level: Bachelor's degree