General Manager, Category Lifestyle Merchandising, North America

New Balance•Boston, MA

3d•Hybrid

About The Position

The General Manager, Category Merchandising Lifestyle is a strategic leadership role responsible for defining and driving the merchandising vision, strategy, and execution for the Lifestyle portfolio across North America Region. Based in Boston, MA, this position leads a team of Merchandising Managers and partners cross functionally to deliver consumer right assortments that meet brand and commercial goals across all channels. Serving as the bridge between Global direction and Regional execution, this leader ensures Global Strategy is executed with excellence while integrating North American marketplace nuances to maximize impact. The role balances the art and science of merchandising, bringing company goals to life through a brand led, consumer first mindset that drives franchise health and influences both brand and commercial functions across all merchandising deliverables.

Requirements

10+ years’ experience in ecommerce at a leading consumer brand
Deep knowledge of lifestyle footwear business landscape ideally in same industry
A bachelor’s degree, preferably with a focus in business
Experience in managing large, high-performing teams
Proven track record of business problem-solving, collaboration, and translating complex and unstructured data into clear strategic recommendations
Excellent communication and presentation skills, strong executive presence, and ability to credibly deliver recommendations to senior leadership
Consumer-obsessed, data-driven, and results-oriented, but comfortable in breaking from past and building the new.
Overall planning and organizing competency; ability to hold multiple parties accountable to deadlines and deliverables
Ability to plan strategically and make merchandising decisions 1-2 years in advance
Advanced skills in Excel and PowerPoint; proficient in Adobe or Google Analytics
Strong financial, analytical, and retail math acumen
Proactive, “can-do” attitude and fit to New Balance culture is a must

Responsibilities

Translate Global brand direction into Regionally relevant merchandising strategy and assortment plans by integrating North American consumer insights and marketplace trends to maximize strategic impact.
Serve as the Region’s voice with Global Lifestyle leadership, influencing Global brand strategy while ensuring Regional merchandising plans align with commercial goals across Wholesale and DTC (Retail + Ecommerce) channels throughout the GTM process.
Lead development of 3‑year franchise plans aligned to Global Strategy, providing visibility into seasonal direction, segmentation, and market share projections tied to long term objectives.
Create and present seasonal Lifestyle category strategy for the Region, including distribution and segmentation guidelines, price architecture, margin implications and influence both Global, Regional Channel Merchandising, Sales, Planning, Marketing, and Operations counterparts as per defined GTM process.
Oversee seasonal line planning, assortment architecture, franchise performance, and SKU productivity for the Lifestyle category.
Lead creation and refinement of Directed Assortments across channels, including modules, clusters, and omni channel opportunities.
Partner across the region to ensure on-strategy execution of seasonal plans, assess depth to meet commercial goals, and influence sell‑in quantities to maintain marketplace premiumness and inventory health.
Partner on geographic, tiers, doors, and site mapping to deliver a best‑in‑class consumer experience.
Align demand and supply by managing merchandising led forecast milestones, support marketplace management, and ensure Directed Assortments land with precision that reinforce seasonal strategy.
Surface in‑season risks early, identify structural gaps, and drive decisive, brand aligned actions with cross functional Global & Regional partners to protect near term performance and long-term strategy.
Lead monthly and seasonal launch reviews, distill consumer and marketplace insights, and translate findings into strategic guidance that informs in season decisions and strong category growth.
Foster an authentic, team-first mindset that prioritizes collaboration, inclusivity, and shared success across the matrix.
Serve as a champion of New Balance culture, ensuring everyday operations reflect a dedication to performance, continuous learning, integrity, and community.
Manage, train, and coach merchandising associates while actively promoting professional development to build a high performing talent pipeline for the future.
Lead the team to create respective Directed Assortment KPIs and shared KPIs with commercial teams relative to Lifestyle business, establishing high standards for results.