Gulf Coast

kate spade new york•Houston, TX

2d•$130,000 - $150,000•Onsite

About The Position

The District Leader leads and drives all aspects of the Retail business for the district including customer service, clienteling, sales, team development and operations. This person will cover 11 Kate Spade stores in a combination of Outlet and Specialty locations. In addition, the District Leader will ensure the modern luxury store experience is consistent in the locations within the district and partner with our buying team to provide insights on our customers and competition in the market. The District Leader is accountable to ensure the standards and values of the Kate Spade brand are implemented with the highest level of quality and excellence. Through inspiring presence and ability to motivate teams at all levels, the District Manager will play a significant leadership role. The District Leader will need to reside in TX.

Requirements

10+ years management experience in a similar multi-unit retail environment; a combination of education and experience will be considered
Proven ability to create strategies and deliver results
The ability to effectively communicate and collaborate with Kate Spade Senior Leadership
Pro-active problem solver – ability to assess an issue and develop action steps for resolution
The ability to think broadly, consider all perspectives on issues, and reach logical conclusions that best serve Kate Spade as a whole
Track record of attracting exceptional Talent to an organization

Nice To Haves

Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.
Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.
Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.
Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.
Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.
Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.
Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.
Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.
Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.
Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.

Responsibilities

Create and reinforce a proactive selling culture that focuses on building long-term relationships through clienteling and customer shopping experience
Foster an environment where service and selling are top priorities through training, coaching, role-modeling and personal customer involvement
Develop the team to deliver outstanding customer experiences across the district
Manage with integrity, honesty, fairness, and knowledge, promoting the culture, values, and vision of Kate Spade
Plan, identify, communicate, and delegate key responsibilities and practices to Coach Store Leaders to ensure smooth flow of operations
Review store environments and key business indicators with Regional Manager to identify successes, problems, concerns, and opportunities for improvement, and provide coaching to District and Store Managers to take action and achieve goals
Create retention and succession plan strategy for the district
Act as a brand ambassador; actively promote the Kate Spade Brand in the market place
Communicate vision, strategy and clear directions to team
Create innovative strategies to achieve both short and long-term goals
Work with Regional Director and cross-functional partners to establish objectives that support the vision
Make decisions that are aligned with Company priorities and values, welcome partnerships and always act in the best interest of the Company, its employees and its customers
Stay current with market competition, industry, fashion trends and customer shopping behaviors
Understand and communicate how Kate Spade products fit into current fashion trends
Keep up to date on Kate Spade's advertising, editorial, PR and other external resources (social media, blogs, magazines, etc.)
Ensure Kate Spade Employees are perceived as fashion advisors to both associates and customers by communicating fashion awareness and trends in the marketplace
Develop and execute strategies to grow the business (e.g. sales, clienteling, customer engagement, talent acquisition, retention, etc.)
Demonstrate a strong understanding of business acumen and analytical skills; strategically forecast, plan and budget to the needs of the business
Work closely with District and Store Leaders in managing to the budget while identifying and maximizing sales opportunities
Collaborate with business partners (Visual, Merchandising, Planning, HR, LP, Finance, Store Operations, etc.) to ensure strategies are aligned with overall business objectives
In partnership with the Buying team, provide input on the customer and competitor trends. Provide input on the assortment & planning strategy to adapt to the specific customers profiles.
In partnership with the Marketing teams, provide insight on customer’s mindset, competitor activities and defines district level needs. Provide input on how to make North America strategy locally relevant and provides input on Kate Spade’s brand position in market.
In partnership with Store Environment, provide input on Visual Merchandise and design needs based on door level specific customer flows and shopping behaviors. Share local competition best practices.