Wholesale Brand Ambassador Lead

Shinola•Detroit, MI

About The Position

The Wholesale Brand Ambassador Lead is responsible for overseeing Shinola’s Wholesale Brand Ambassador (WBA) program while also serving as a field representative supporting wholesale accounts that are not directly covered by a WBA. This role plays a critical part in ensuring brand consistency, strong partner relationships, and improved sell-through across Shinola’s wholesale network. The position combines people leadership, training, reporting, and hands-on field support, offering the opportunity to directly influence the success of Shinola’s wholesale business.

Requirements

3+ years of experience in retail, wholesale, brand ambassadorship, or field sales support, preferably within a premium or lifestyle brand.
Demonstrated experience with training, visual merchandising, and in-store execution.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage schedules, reporting, and multiple stakeholders.
Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
Comfortable analyzing selling data and translating insights into actionable recommendations.
Proficiency with reporting systems, CRM or wholesale platforms (e.g., Brandwise), and Microsoft Office or Google Workspace.
Ability to travel regularly, including overnight travel as needed.
Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation required.

Responsibilities

Create and manage monthly WBA schedules and account visit assignments based on wholesale priority needs.
Serve as the primary point of contact for all Wholesale Brand Ambassadors; conduct regular communication and monthly 1:1 check-ins.
Act as liaison between WBAs and Wholesale Account Managers to ensure visit reports are completed, and follow-up actions are executed.
Maintain a master log of WBA hours and report hours to Finance for accurate labor reallocation from Retail to Wholesale.
Host virtual training sessions with wholesale customers when in-person visits are not feasible.
Partner with Merchandising and Retail Training teams to adapt retail launch materials into wholesale-specific one-pagers for the sales team and wholesale partners.
Facilitate seasonal training sessions with the Wholesale Sales Team for new product launches.
Lead quarterly hindsight reviews, summarizing visit outcomes, wins, and opportunities.
Pull and analyze weekly selling reports from the BIG network to track progress resulting from WBA visits and share insights with Account Managers.
Develop and distribute wholesale-specific visual merchandising (VM) standards and provide quarterly updates.
Monitor wholesale VM inventory levels and proactively alert the Sales Director when inventory is trending low.
Meet bi-weekly with the Sales Director to review performance, challenges, and opportunities.
Travel to wholesale accounts not covered by a WBA to provide in-person brand support, including training, visual merchandising guidance, and selling support.
Conduct store visits that may require driving, flights, and occasional overnight travel.
Serve as Shinola’s in-market brand representative, ensuring a consistent and elevated brand experience.
Maintain and update Brandwise with newly approved wholesale accounts and attend monthly Brandwise meetings.
Proactively flag Brandwise issues or discrepancies to the Sales Director.
Provide on-site selling and brand support at key industry trade shows.