Sr. Director, Category Management
Westwood, MA, US, 02090
Overview
Our HEYDUDE team is looking for a Sr. Director, Category Management who can own relevant category management in partnership with channel merchandising on business strategies, performance, style selling & hind-sighting.
Reporting into the Vice President of Global Category & Channel Management at HEYDUDE, you will lead the team to deliver an outstanding line because of deep product, consumer and competitor analysis. This team will focus on our slip on, sneaker, sandals, and boots categories. You will develop initiatives and line plans crafted 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 bring to bear cross functional collaboration to get key collaborators aligned.
What You'll Do
Lead category management for slip Ons, sneakers, sandals, and boots
- Co-create the product strategy with the VP and cascade down through your team.
- Partner with Channel Merchandising leaders to help own & drive achievement meetings within the product development calendar.
- Set the regional product launch dates & flow.
- Create together with Global distributed team members 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 build space for newness to drive incremental growth and whitespace opportunities for the brand.
- In partnership with our GLOBAL commercial and merchandising teams – strive to broaden and elevate our product offering at elevated distribution with influential fashion and athletic specialty partners.
Collaborate cross-functionally to drive success
- Lead cross-functional teams (e.g. planning, sourcing, design, deployment, demand forecasting) to complete 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 a data-driven and analytical approach to achieving results
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. Chase after success and pivot on failures, prioritizing speed to match the pace of the consumer.
- Derive business strategies to settle Good/Better/Best category offerings that build clear points of differentiation within the global market.
- Responsible for setting all SKU pricing and overall pricing architecture.
- Responsible for achieving profit / margin critical metrics.
- Responsible for the seasonal inventory flow mentorship & GPS control (pre-book only, book-to-forecast, allocations etc.).
- Leads the feedback process to global distributed 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.
What You'll Bring to the Table
- 12 years of dynamic experience in merchandising, product creation and/or retail; footwear experience preferred.
- 5+ years team management experience.
- Consistent track record of success at other global footwear brands preferred.
- Experience at casual / sport lifestyle brands preferred – with an outmost eye for trend.
- 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 insight with an ability to anticipate risks and identify contingency plans to minimize business disruption.
- Proven 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 a vision. Shows visionary thinking.
- Strong executive presence. Exceptional oral and written communication skills.
- Creates 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.
The Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer committed to a diverse and inclusive work environment. We accept applications on an ongoing basis.
All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or disability, or any other classification protected by law.
Title: Sr. Director, Category Management 
Salary or Pay Range: $210,000 - $265,000
Workplace Persona: Collaborator
Pay offered will vary based on job-related factors such as location, experience, training, skills, and abilities.
This position is eligible to participate in a company incentive program.
This position is eligible for company benefits including but not limited to medical, dental, and vision coverage, life and AD&D, short and long-term disability coverage, paid time off, employee assistance, participation in a 401k program that includes company match, and many other additional voluntary benefits.
Job Category: Corporate
Nearest Major Market: Boston