Senior Director, Global Merchandising, Womens & Mens Footwear

Tapestry•New York, NY

About The Position

The Senior Director, Global Merchandising, Footwear serves as the lead merchant for the Footwear category globally. Reporting to the VP, Global Merchandising, this individual is responsible for translating the brand's creative vision into compelling merchandising strategies and assortments that drive consumer engagement, growth, and profitability across channels and markets. This role will partner closely with Design, Product Development, Planning, and Business Unit teams to develop and execute global product strategies that balance brand vision, consumer demand, and commercial objectives. The (Sr.) Director will drive category direction from concept through commercialization, ensuring product assortments meet the needs of a diverse global consumer while supporting financial goals and strengthening the brand's position in the marketplace.

Requirements

Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and experience.
12+ years of merchandising, buying, or product strategy experience within footwear, accessories, luxury, fashion, or lifestyle brands.
Prior footwear experience is a must.
Proven experience leading a global product category from concept through commercialization.
Strong experience partnering with Design, Product Development, Planning, and regional Business Unit teams.
Deep understanding of global merchandising, assortment planning, pricing architecture, and product lifecycle management.
5+ years of people leadership experience with demonstrated success developing talent and building teams.
Experience operating within a complex, matrixed, global organization.
Strong commercial orientation with a demonstrated ability to drive profitable growth while maintaining brand integrity.

Nice To Haves

Exceptional product sensibility and strong merchant instincts with a passion for footwear and product creation.
Ability to translate creative vision into compelling and commercially successful assortments.
Strong understanding of global consumer trends, competitive markets, and category dynamics.
Advanced analytical and financial acumen, including retail math, pricing strategy, margin management, and productivity analysis.
Ability to synthesize data, market insights, and consumer feedback into actionable business strategies.
Strong communication, influencing, presentation, and storytelling skills.
Effective partnership skills with the ability to influence across creative and commercial functions.
Proven ability to balance strategic thinking with operational excellence.
Demonstrated leadership capability with a track record of building and developing high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

Lead the global merchandising strategy for the Footwear category, translating creative direction into commercially viable product assortments that support brand and business objectives.
Develop short- and long-term category strategies that drive growth, productivity, and market relevance across all consumer segments, channels, and regions.
Partner with the VP, Global Merchandising to define category priorities, opportunities, and strategic initiatives that support broader brand goals.
Partner closely with Design to shape seasonal product concepts, key narratives, silhouette strategies, and assortment architecture.
Influence category direction by balancing consumer insights, marketplace trends, competitive intelligence, and financial objectives.
Ensure a cohesive global product vision while addressing regional and channel-specific opportunities.
Lead the creation and refinement of seasonal assortments across all distribution channels, ensuring alignment to brand positioning and category strategies.
Drive line architecture, style counts, product segmentation, pricing strategies, and assortment flow to optimize category productivity.
Partner with Product Development throughout the product creation process to ensure product execution meets quality, margin, costing, and timeline objectives.
Present category strategies and seasonal assortments to senior leadership and key stakeholders, building alignment and driving decision making.
Ensure disciplined management of the line throughout the development process, continually evaluating opportunities, risks, and assortment productivity.
Partner with Business Unit Merchandising and Buying teams to understand regional business needs, customer preferences, and market opportunities.
Influence and align global and regional assortment strategies while maintaining a consistent brand vision.
Analyze consumer trends, market dynamics, and competitive landscapes to identify opportunities for growth and product innovation.
Develop actionable insights through hindsight reviews, sales analysis, market research, and business unit feedback.
Collaborate with Planning and Finance partners to drive category sales, margin, and inventory objectives.
Monitor and analyze category performance, productivity, and key business metrics to inform strategic decision making.
Drive recommendations related to assortment optimization, pricing strategies, product segmentation, and category expansion opportunities.
Partner with Planning, Finance, and Costing teams to establish pricing architectures, margin targets, and financial objectives.
Translate data and insights into clear business recommendations that support growth and profitability.
Act as a key liaison between Merchandising, Design, Product Development, Planning, Marketing, Visual Merchandising, and regional Business Units.
Foster strong relationships across functions to ensure alignment throughout the product creation and commercialization process.
Influence stakeholders across a highly matrixed organization while balancing creative and commercial perspectives.
Champion a consumer-centric and product-focused approach to decision making.
Lead, develop, and inspire a high-performing merchandising team.
Foster a culture of accountability, creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning.
Provide coaching, mentorship, and development opportunities to build organizational capability and support succession planning.
Develop future merchandising talent while encouraging innovation and strategic thinking.