Senior Brand Operations Director - Merrell

Wolverine Worldwide•Rockford, MI

11d•Hybrid

About The Position

Merrell exists to share the simple power of being outside with everyone. We believe the "outdoors" is a much broader space than just the mountain summit; it’s any space beyond your front door. Our mission is to help our community rethink the outdoors by building gear that works everywhere, from technical alpine ridges to urban city streets. We don't just follow the trail; we help define where it goes next. We are a team that lives at the intersection of elite performance and modern style. Our history on the trail and commitment to innovation has made us the most awarded brand in the outdoor space. Recently, our MTL SpeedARC Peak won the prestigious ISPO Award for its breakthrough trail-racing tech, while the SpeedARC Surge BOA was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions for its modern, futuristic design and energy return. Whether it’s the Moab 3 being named “Best Hiking Shoe” by CNN Underscored and Popular Mechanics, or the Jungle Moc being recognized by HuffPicks as the gold standard for comfort, we are consistently recognized for building the most reliable, and most innovative, gear in the world. The Senior Brand Operations Director plays a crucial role in managing and overseeing the operational aspects of the brand to drive against business goals and strategic objectives. This position is a vital member of the leadership team reporting directly to the brand president and works closely with all functional areas of the brand and global teams to ensure strategy development & implementation, effective decision making, and cohesive brand messaging.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree required
10+ years of strategy, business operations, consulting, marketing, or project management roles
Excellent strategic mindset with strong commercial acumen
Experience working closely with senior executives and navigating complex organizations, with exposure to high-stakes decision-making
Proven track record of working a dynamic fast-paced environment across multiple time horizons
Strong business and financial acumen; expert with data and metrics
Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with ability to synthesize complex data and information into clear insights and actions and attention to detail
Highly collaborative and able to work in global matrix environment
High judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence
Able to operate effectively with influence rather than authority on matters of significance, with orientation toward impact, not visibility
Comfortable operating with ambiguity and in fast-changing environments
Proactive and anticipates needs before they arise with a bias for action with strong follow-through
Exceptional ability to produce and present concise, executive-ready analyses and presentations that drive decisions utilizing Microsoft office (especially PowerPoint, Excel, and Copilot)
Ability to invoke innovative concepts and creatively solve problems

Responsibilities

Own the operating cadence of Merrell leadership team, including strategic planning, quarterly business reviews, and execution tracking.
Partner with the leadership team to translate brand strategic priorities into clear plans, with defined owners, milestones, and metrics and serve as a connective tissue across the leadership team to ensure we move with speed and efficiency.
Act as a strategic adviser to all brand leadership and global partners helping to develop and implement brand strategies and track execution against top strategic initiatives and proactively flag risks, dependencies, or misalignment.
Create and implement annual business priorities, ensuring alignment, progress and delivery of the priorities.
Provides strategic end-to-end project management to lead complex, cross-functional projects that advance key brand initiatives with the ability to pivot based on evolving opportunities and challenges while engaging stakeholders across the portfolio.
Drive change initiatives that improve speed, decision quality, and cross-functional effectiveness.
Prepare the Brand President for important meetings by developing and owning the production of concise briefs, key information and analysis, and high-quality presentations and reports, including Board materials, Analyst meetings, earnings calls, and Distributor Partner meetings.
Own the process, cadence, and cross-functional integration of the global brand Go-to-Market strategy in partnership with Merchandising, Marketing, and Commercial teams.
Utilize and interpret data to provide analytical recommendations to shape strategies and optimize brand performance.
Serve as an extension of the Brand President in select meetings and forums, ensuring alignment and follow-through.
Partner with Finance to align brand strategies with budgetary constraints and financial goals ensuring that brand initiatives are cost-effective and deliver a strong return on investment.
Identify, develop, and maintain areas of operational excellence to drive process and rigger while streamlining operations and implementing best practice.
Monitors and reports progress of various initiatives to provide insights and recommendations to the brand president and leadership team.
Proactively shape and expand the Business Operations role by synthesizing data, connecting cross-functional insights, and establishing new standards of excellence as the function matures.
Performs duties consistent with the Company’s AAP/EEO goals and policies.
Performs other duties as required/assigned by manager.