Sr Director, Category Management

Overview

We are looking for a Sr Director, Category Management to join our Product & Merchandising team! Reporting into the Vice President of Category Management, you will lead the team to deliver an outstanding line as a result of deep product, consumer and competitor analysis. This team will focus on our clogs and kids footwear. You will develop initiatives and line plans designed to reach both seasonal and long-term strategic goals and revenue / margin plans. You will drive clear processes to enable operational efficiency within the product creation process and will collaborate cross functionally to get key partners aligned.

What You'll Do

• Co-create the product strategy with the VP and cascade down through your team
• Partner with Channel Merchandising leaders to help own & drive landmark meetings within the product development calendar.
• Set the regional product launch dates & flow
• Build the long-term franchise life-cycle management strategy and seasonal invest/divest plan.
• Identify key opportunities and white spaces within the product offerings
• Ensure comp products and volume are protected, but also create space for newness to drive incremental growth and whitespace opportunities for the brand.
• Lead cross-functional teams (e.g., planning, sourcing, design, deployment, demand forecasting) to implement business strategies.
• Partner cross- functionally on speed to market and reading & reacting on key initiatives.
• Lead through empowerment, focusing on people development, encouraging a culture of curiosity, consumer centricity and analysis.
• Leverage consumer, competitor and data insights and drive the vision for the future
• Analyze the business, and drive actions that will capitalize on opportunities and mitigate weakness. Seek success and pivot on failures, prioritizing speed to match the pace of the consumer.
• Derive business strategies to determine Good/Better/Best category offerings
• Responsible for setting all SKU pricing and overall pricing architecture
• Responsible for achieving profit / margin KPIs
• Leads the seasonal inventory flow guidance & GPS control (pre-book only, book-to-forecast, allocations etc.)
• Leads the feedback process to global team on regional consumer trends and competitor trends to impact future brand decisions
• Partner with MFP on forecasting key items/ideas that are margin accretive.
• Drive triad collaboration with design, development / innovation, and merchandising

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What You'll Bring to the Table

• 12+ years category management experience, preferably at a global, highly-matrixed, omni-channel company
• 5+ years team management experience
• Consistent track record of success at other global apparel or footwear brands preferred
• Experience at casual / sport lifestyle brands preferred
• Comfort working in a highly cross-functional matrixed environment and driving a collaborative culture.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with the ability to influence and engage others
• Strong business acumen with an ability to anticipate risks and identify contingency plans to minimize business disruption.
• Confirmed ability to synthesize information and clearly articulate an informed path forward.
• Dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers, acts with customers & consumers in mind.
• Consumer-centric, leader with vision. Shows entrepreneurial thinking.
• Strong executive presence. Outstanding oral and written communication skills.
• Builds a culture of innovation and change that fuels business growth.
• Acts as a talent champion with proven leadership and ability to cultivate large teams.
• Ability to lead with empowerment, agility and be comfortable in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to travel globally or domestically as needed