Manager of Strategy & Program Management - NMG Assortment Assessment - Hybrid (Seattle, WA)

Nordstrom•Seattle, WA

4d•Hybrid

About The Position

The NMG Assortment Assessment team is seeking a strategic, self-directed leader to join us as Manager of Program Management. In this high-impact role, you’ll lead a team of Senior Strategy Associates and play a pivotal role in shaping Nordstrom’s assortment strategy—ensuring it reflects customers’ evolving needs and delivers measurable business outcomes. Assortment Assessment translates customer insights into actionable recommendations, connects those recommendations to JWN strategy, and enables Merchandising leaders to act with clarity and confidence. We work across short- and medium-term initiatives to drive relevance, performance, and customer impact.

Requirements

A strategic mindset and analytical rigor, with the ability to connect dots across customer insights, business performance, and NMG strategy
Strong communication and storytelling skills, able to influence down-pyramid leaders and across functions
A collaborative spirit and bias for action—comfortable navigating ambiguity and driving clarity
Passion for retail and a deep commitment to customer-centric thinking
Ability to build and empower high-performing teams through coaching, feedback, and clear direction. You set vision, clarify ownership, and create space for growth—developing talent while delivering results.
6+ years’ experience in merchandising, experience in retail operations (e.g., store selling/management, supply chain, marketing), or with a leading management consulting firm (e.g., McKinsey, Deloitte, PwC)
Strong proficiency in Excel, PowerPoint, and Merchandise Reporting (e.g., Tableau, MicroStrategy)
Strong verbal, written, and visual communication skills
Strong quantitative skills and an ability to articulate insights from data
Working understanding of retail math concepts and financial analysis
Collaborative mindset and proven track record of stakeholder management
Adaptability and the willingness to take on complex problems as they arise
Curiosity and creativity, being comfortable learning quickly – even when you’re not an expert
Interest in or passion for retail industry innovations and fashion trends

Nice To Haves

2 + years of experience with advanced data platforms and tools (Tableau, SQL, Looker, Python)
Previous experience working in or analyzing off-price retailing or private-label, preferably with the Rack or Nordstrom Made Brands (NPG)
Previous experience and comfortability with customer insights and leveraging internal customer data (e.g., traffic, trips, conversion, etc.)

Responsibilities

Support a team of Sr Strategy Associates as a people manager
Co-lead the team’s roadmap and book of work, setting direction for the team
Own high-scope, quick-turn, and high-impact projects as an internal strategy partner to Merchandising leadership
Lead and support a team of Senior Strategy Associates—providing coaching, feedback, and growth opportunities
Co-lead team program management efforts, including quarterly business reviews and book-of-work planning
Partner with Merch leaders (Directors+) to address the issues facing the business – converting ambiguous needs into testable hypotheses and a structured project plan
Analyze high-volume data, connecting internal (e.g., performance, customer) and external (e.g., market share, competitor selection) data to develop a holistic view of the customer and business
Translate data insights into meaningful recommendations, always being able the answer the “so what?” behind them, and ensuring they are realistic and actionable by our Merch teams
Hone your storytelling by identifying common themes across recommendations, understanding how they connect to industry trends and JWN strategies, to craft action plans for Merch leaders
Learn quickly, be curious, and remain flexible – our value lies not in being the expert, but in being trusted problem-solving partners that can learn quickly, dive in, and find relevant solutions
Think creatively, knowing that the best data or answers are often not readily available, and find work-around’s to navigate roadblocks to get to the best answer available
Be customer focused and go beyond the analysis! Our customers are those who shop Nordstrom and Rack, potential customers who don’t currently shop here, and the Merch leaders and NMG teams affected by our recommendations. Make it real and see the results
Support the team and grow yourself. Stay on top of and share industry trends, support teammates by giving feedback or sharing knowledge, develop yourself by proactively learning and seeking feedback