Sr Manager, Branded Apparel & Merchandise

Jack Link's Protein Snacks•Minneapolis, MN

3h•$135,000 - $155,000•Onsite

About The Position

At Link Snacks, we show up hungry, roll up our sleeves, plaid or otherwise, and dive straight into the hard work. We don’t hide from challenges; we hunt them down. We push harder, move faster, and take the kinds of big swings that built this business in the North Woods of Wisconsin four decades ago. We’re everyday people who deliver extraordinary results. Innovation, creativity, and urgency aren’t buzzwords, they’re expectations. And just like the real protein snacks we make across our global house of brands—Jack Link’s®, Lorissa’s Kitchen®, Golden Island®, BiFi®, and Peperami® and KOOEE!® to name a few—there’s nothing artificial about us. What you see is exactly what you get: humble, gritty, passionate people who show up every day ready to not just be a participate in the meat snack industry that the Link Family created, but to move faster, innovate harder and keep raising the bar so high, the rest of the world needs a ladder just to see it. Dominating this space across the world takes a team. A team that runs together, succeeds together, and celebrates together. A team that’s full of relentless energy and spirit that can only be fueled by one thing: a fist full of our delicious meat snacks. Real Meat Protein. Real People. Real Results. THAT is Link Snacks. The Senior Manager, Branded Apparel and Merchandise will lead the evolution of Jack Link’s wearable merchandise into a strategic brand platform—where merch is marketing. This role requires deep passion for lifestyle brands, apparel, and consumer culture, and a track record of making branded products feel wanted, not promotional. This role will own the end‑to‑end strategy, development, and execution of Jack Link’s wearables business, including limited‑time drops, ecommerce, pop‑up retail experiences, licensing partnerships, and internal team gear. The Sr. Manager will build culturally relevant assortments that drive buzz, brand affinity, and commercial performance, while operating with a test‑and‑learn mindset and disciplined financial management. This is a highly cross‑functional role that sits at the intersection of brand, product, commerce, and culture.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree (B.A. or B.S.).
8 + years of experience in branded apparel, accessories, lifestyle merchandising, or consumer product management.
Demonstrated passion for building lifestyle brands through product, with tangible examples of success.
Strong procurement and sourcing experience, including direct management of vendors and factories.
Proven experience launching and scaling branded product lines into retail distribution.
Deep understanding of costing, margins, production timelines, and quality control.
Strong cross-functional leadership and communication skills.
DTC and Shopify experience alongside wholesale/retail models.

Nice To Haves

Experience working with national or specialty retailers on branded lifestyle product.
Background in apparel, outdoor, workwear, food-adjacent lifestyle, or culture-forward consumer brands.
Licensing, collaboration, or co-branded product experience.

Responsibilities

Own and scale Jack Link’s Wearables & Merch strategy, positioning it as a brand‑building, revenue‑generating platform.
Develop 1–3 year strategic roadmaps that integrate brand, marketing, sales, and retail priorities.
Identify where Jack Link’s can authentically win as a lifestyle brand, across outdoor, workwear-inspired, team, fan, and cultural communities.
Lead limited-time drops, evergreen assortments, and collaboration strategies that drive desirability, credibility, and long-term brand equity.
Lead seasonal and drop-based assortment planning with a retail-ready mindset (fit, quality, materials, price architecture, margin, and scalability).
Partner closely with creative and social teams to deliver product that is design-forward, culturally resonant, and commercially viable.
Translate brand positioning into wearable product stories consumers instantly understand and want to buy or wear.
Own sourcing and procurement strategy for wearables and branded merchandise.
Identify, onboard, and manage best-in-class manufacturers and vendors across apparel, accessories, and specialty categories.
Lead vendor negotiations, costing models, MOQs, lead times, and quality standards.
Balance cost, quality, speed-to-market, and brand integrity across all production decisions.
Build long-term vendor partnerships while maintaining flexibility for drops, pilots, and test-and-learn initiatives.
Develop and execute strategies to expand retail distribution for Jack Link’s branded wearables, both existing and new-to-brand partners.
Lead product readiness for retail, including pricing architecture, packaging, assortment rationalization, and presentation.
Leverage retailer relationships and insights to inform product design, exclusives, and launch strategies.
Support sales conversations with product storytelling, retail decks, and line-building expertise.
Lead planning and execution of: Quarterly and seasonal merch drops, Ecommerce launches (Shopify and marketplace considerations), Retail and pop‑up shopping experiences, Influencer and brand‑ambassador kits, Internal team‑member gear programs.
Ensure wearables are fully integrated into campaigns, retail programs, and brand moments, not treated as afterthoughts.
Own the wearables P&L, including forecasting, margin management, inventory planning, and pricing strategy.
Optimize supply chain efficiency across sourcing, production, fulfillment, and warehousing.
Balance cost, quality, speed, and creativity to deliver best value and profitability.
Perform other duties and responsibilities as assigned.