Merchandising Director - Category Management, Jewelry

Signet Jewelers•New York, NY

3d•$150,000 - $200,000

About The Position

Blue Nile is seeking a Director of Category Management, Jewelry to lead strategy, performance and evolution of jewelry categories. This leader will own assortment strategy, product architecture, financial performance, lifecycle management and merchandising expression of the business. The Director will use a combination of merchant intuition, customer insight, competitive intelligence to maximize existing sales and create incremental revenue streams based on growth opportunities. In this role you will create a curated, differentiated jewelry assortment to strengthen the Blue Nile brand point of view while delivering against revenue, margin, productivity and inventory objectives. The ideal candidate will leverage taste level, customer instincts and deep analytic acumen to identify opportunities, make decisive assortment choices and mobilize cross-functional partners around a clear category vision.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Economics, Analytics, Marketing or a related field
8-12+ years’ experience in merchandising
Strategic mindset with a focus on translating complex data into actionable business strategies
Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, dynamic environment with shifting priorities
Proven expertise in pricing strategy, margin analysis and product mix optimization
Strong analytical and quantitative skills with proficiency in tools such as Excel, SQL, Tableau or similar platforms
Exceptional leadership skills with experience managing and developing high-performing teams
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with the ability to collaborate effectively across departments

Responsibilities

Own the vision, strategy and commercial performance for Blue Nile jewelry categories
Develop multi-year category strategies that define the role of each category within the broader jewelry portfolio and identify opportunities for growth, differentiation and portfolio evolution
Establish clear assortment architecture across key product segments, price points, materials, styles and customer needs
Identify category white space and translate customer, competitive and performance insights into actionable product opportunities.
Serve as the category authority - maintain a deep understanding of the customer, product landscape, competitive environment and emerging jewelry trends
Build compelling business cases and recommendations for category investments, assortment changes and new growth opportunities
Partner with Site Merchandising, Creative, Marketing, Technology and Retail to ensure Diamond Basics are presented in ways that make selection inspiring, understandable and intuitive on site and in store
Establish product priorities for category pages, search, sort, recommendations, storytelling, marketing, and promotional placements
Ensure hero products and key assortment stories receive appropriate visibility
Balance visibility of proven core products with strategic newness and growth opportunities
Translate complex product differences into clear merchandising stories that help customers quickly understand why a product matters
Provide Retail partners with clear product priorities and category stories that Client Advisors can confidently bring to customers
Lead the development of assortments that balance core business, newness, innovation and distinctive product
Determine the appropriate breadth, depth, mix, price architecture and SKU productivity required to achieve category objectives
Analyze performance at the category, collection, style, price point, metal, stone and SKU level to identify opportunities to expand, maintain, reposition, or exit products
Continually edit and evolve the assortment to ensure every product has a clear role and the portfolio reflects a distinct Blue Nile point of view
Manage product lifecycle from introduction through growth, maturity, and exit
Balance data-driven decision making with strong merchant judgment and an understanding of what creates emotional connection with the customer
Partner closely with Product Development, Design, Sourcing and other cross-functional teams to translate category opportunities into compelling product strategies and development briefs
Define opportunities for new collections, extensions of winning concepts and evolution of core assortment
Create clear assortment frameworks and commercial guardrails for product development, including price architecture and product positioning
Lead merchandising strategy for new product and collection launches ensuring the right assortment, depth, positioning, storytelling and customer experience
Establish success criteria for launches and use post-launch performance to inform future development
Conduct regular competitive assortment, pricing, product and positioning reviews
Translate marketplace insights into specific recommendations for Blue Nile's assortment and category strategy
Balance external trends with a clear understanding of what is distinctive and appropriate for the Blue Nile brand
Own category performance against revenue, margin, inventory productivity and other established business targets
Partner with Planning and Finance to develop category forecasts and investment strategies
Regularly assess category performance, diagnose underlying drivers and establish action plans to address opportunities and risks
Understand the relationship between assortment, price, demand, inventory, margin and customer behavior
Partner with Demand Planning to ensure inventory investments are aligned to category priorities and demand opportunities
Translate complex business performance into clear recommendations and decisive actions for senior leadership
Act as the connective leader across Merchandising, Planning, Product Development, Design, Sourcing, Marketing, Creative, Finance, Operations, Technology and Retail
Establish clear category priorities and ensure partners understand the strategy, commercial opportunity and desired customer outcome
Influence senior stakeholders through compelling product vision, rigorous analysis, and clear recommendations
Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing Category Management team
Establish clear objectives, expectations and accountability across the organization
Develop team members' merchant capabilities, including product judgment, analytics, assortment building, financial acumen and executive communication
Build organizational capabilities and processes that enable increasingly sophisticated category management