Manager, Operations - Merchandising Strategy and Operations

Walmart•Bentonville, AR

2d•$70,000 - $130,000

About The Position

At Walmart Connect, we enable the connection between brands and shoppers at unprecedented scale. As stewards of our brand promise, “Save Money. Live Better,” we work alongside some of the most talented people in the world to engage with the more than 150M households who shop with us each week. This is a unique opportunity to join a high-visibility team with a big impact on our digital advertising business. Position Summary… What You’ll Do… Your role as Manager, Operations – Merchandising Strategy and Operations is to serve as the critical intelligence link between Walmart’s merchant organization and Walmart Connect. You will embed yourself in merchant strategy meetings and planning forums, translating merchant priorities into clear, actionable insights that inform how WMC goes to market with advertisers and brands. This role sits at the intersection of retail merchandising and digital advertising—requiring someone who can speak fluently in both languages. You will act as WMC’s eyes and ears within the merchant organization, surfacing emerging brand and supplier opportunities, communicating priority category moments, and ensuring WMC’s sales and media planning teams are equipped with the merchant context they need to drive advertiser value and business results.

Requirements

Are excited about the intersection of retail merchandising and digital advertising, and the unique opportunity to connect the two
Are a critical thinker who can absorb complex merchant and category information and distill it into clear, actionable insights
Have a high operational IQ with an equally high EQ—you know how to build trust with merchant partners while delivering value to commercial teams
Understand how to influence and inspire action cross-functionally, bridging the gap between retail and media organizations
Possess professional maturity, sound judgment, and the ability to represent WMC credibly in senior merchant settings
Are a curious learner who stays close to retail trends, category dynamics, and the evolving supplier landscape
Are aligned to Walmart values: service to customer; respect for individual; strive for excellence; act with integrity
Are tenacious and willing to navigate complex, multi-stakeholder environments to unlock new opportunities for WMC
Possess A+ people skills and the ability to build strong, trust-based working relationships across merchant and advertising teams
Comfort with uncertainty and ambiguity; ability to operate effectively across two distinct organizational cultures—retail merchandising and digital advertising
Skillful synthesis of complex information, getting to the heart of what matters and communicating it clearly to diverse audiences
Strong oral, written, and visual communication skills, with the ability to craft compelling briefings and stakeholder updates tailored to specific audiences
Demonstrated ability to build and maintain cross-functional relationships, particularly across merchant and commercial teams in a large, matrixed organization
Analytical and data-driven approach to identifying category trends, supplier opportunities, and the downstream impact of merchant priorities on media planning
Experience translating retail or category strategy into commercial or go-to-market implications
Business intuition with a strong understanding of how merchant priorities connect to advertiser demand, category investment, and media outcomes
Ability to manage multiple concurrent information streams and stakeholder relationships without losing focus on key priorities
Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Engineering, Operations , or related field and 2 years’ experience in operations, project management, or related area OR 4 years’ experience in operations, project management, or related area.

Nice To Haves

Experience in retail merchandising, category management, retail media, advertising, or a closely related field
Experience in the following areas would be positively viewed:
Retail merchandising, category management, or buying within a large retail organization
Retail media, digital advertising, or media planning with a strong understanding of how merchant priorities drive advertiser investment
Supplier or vendor management, with experience identifying and developing new brand and supplier relationships
Translating category or business strategy into commercial go-to-market recommendations
Grocery, eCommerce, Consumer Packaged Goods, or General Merchandise retail environments
Working across merchant and marketing or advertising organizations in a liaison or embedded capacity
Large multi-national or matrixed corporate organizations with complex stakeholder environments
Supervising Associates
Masters: Economics
Project Management - Project Management Professional - Certification
Six Sigma Black Belt - Certification
Six Sigma Green Belt - Certification

Responsibilities

Attending and actively participating in merchant strategy meetings, category planning sessions, and supplier forums on behalf of Walmart Connect, capturing relevant priorities, trends, and opportunities
Translating merchant priorities, category strategies, and business objectives into clear intelligence briefings that inform WMC’s sales approach, media planning, and advertiser engagement strategies
Serving as the primary conduit between the merchant organization and WMC—ensuring timely, accurate, and actionable communication flows between both teams
Identifying and surfacing new brands and suppliers emerging from merchant priorities that WMC should engage as potential advertising partners, enabling proactive outreach and pipeline development
Partnering with WMC Sales and media planning teams to ensure merchant insights are integrated into advertiser conversations, pitch materials, and category-level media strategies
Building and maintaining strong relationships with key merchant stakeholders across categories, establishing WMC as a trusted and valued partner within the broader Walmart organization
Developing regular reporting and communication cadences to keep WMC leadership and commercial teams informed of merchant priorities, category shifts, and emerging opportunities
Coordinating, completing, and overseeing job-related activities by developing and maintaining relationships with key stakeholders across the Walmart ecosystem
Identifying and addressing improvement opportunities in how merchant intelligence is captured, synthesized, and distributed across WMC
Supporting plans and initiatives to meet business needs while building accountability for and measuring progress in achieving results
Identifying and analyzing key performance indicators related to merchant engagement and the downstream impact of merchant-informed media strategies
Tracking category and supplier trends to anticipate shifts in merchant priorities and proactively prepare WMC teams ahead of key planning cycles

Benefits

At Walmart, we offer competitive pay as well as performance-based bonus awards and other great benefits for a happier mind, body, and wallet.
Health benefits include medical, vision and dental coverage.
Financial benefits include 401(k), stock purchase and company-paid life insurance.
Paid time off benefits include PTO (including sick leave), parental leave, family care leave, bereavement, jury duty, and voting.
Other benefits include short-term and long-term disability, company discounts, Military Leave Pay, adoption and surrogacy expense reimbursement, and more.
You will also receive PTO and/or PPTO that can be used for vacation, sick leave, holidays, or other purposes.
The amount you receive depends on your job classification and length of employment.
It will meet or exceed the requirements of paid sick leave laws, where applicable.
For information about PTO, see https://one.walmart.com/notices.
Live Better U is a Walmart-paid education benefit program for full-time and part-time associates in Walmart and Sam's Club facilities.
Programs range from high school completion to bachelor's degrees, including English Language Learning and short-form certificates.
Tuition, books, and fees are completely paid for by Walmart.
Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification and length of employment.
Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to a specific plan or program terms.
For information about benefits and eligibility, see One.Walmart.