Senior Director Merchandising Strategy & Insights
Company: Ulta Beauty
Location: Bolingbrook
Posted on: May 14, 2022
Job Description:
OVERVIEWExperience professional empowerment. With over 1,200
stores throughout the U.S., designs to expand internationally, and
a thriving E-Commerce platform, Ulta Beauty provides its
merchandise associates the bandwidth needed to set new trends,
identify potential, and take calculated risks. For professionals
with an adventurous spirit who thrive in a collaborative context,
who are energized by ambiguity and problem-solving, who want to
experience the results of their efforts, and who are inspired by
the recognition of superior performance-we encourage you to make
all of it your own. Discover the possibilities of Ulta Beauty. And
experience greater heights of professional success & personal
satisfaction.THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE:The Ulta Merchandising
Strategy & Insights Team works in close partnership with the
merchandising team and cross functional stakeholders to inform and
support the development of assortment and merchandising strategies
that drive sales and value growth. The team is responsible for
developing and providing a thorough understanding of the beauty
market, comprehending current and future consumer behaviors and
trends, and tracking and predicting competitor activities. In
addition, we assess the performance of past and current initiatives
to provide merchant leaders with a thorough understanding of
drivers of category performance and actionable insights that enable
data-driven decisions and uncover growth opportunities.The Senior
Director, Strategy and Insights will be responsible for driving the
overarching strategy in partnership with the CMO and Merchant
Leaders. Build and lead the Merchandising Strategy and Insights
function, driving the strategic planning process for the department
to identify opportunities for growth and secure competitive
advantages while creating a compelling value driving vision for
beauty merchandising in the future. Will lead a team of 4-6
Managers and Sr Analysts. The team will inform and enable
assortment and merchandising innovation strategies that drive
growth and profitability across channels. The Sr Director will
establish the function and build a high performing team that
develops insights and analyses across category trends, consumer
behavior, pricing and promotion dynamics, space allocation, brand
performance, and competitive landscape. The team will partner with
FP&A, Analytics, Merchandising Planning & Inventory, Corporate
Strategy, and other groups to provide holistic insights to merchant
leaders to help them better understand their business performance
and opportunities.Strategy & Insights:
- Responsible for the overarching strategy mobilization for
Merchandising that is rooted in analytics and insights that help
drive sales & profitability, strengthen guest
acquisition/retention, heighten loyalty, capture market share, and
uncover opportunities to accelerate business goals
- Lead the team of strategic business partners that serve as
consultants to the Merchandising leaders and teams, to leverage
data to build thriving assortment and category growth
strategies
- Responsible for leading the team on the identification of
trends, generating ideas, and determining/interpreting business
opportunities which set us apart from the competition
- Drive disciplined hypotheses-driven problem-solving approaches
to structure analysis and efficient data collection
- Build strategic stakeholder relationships cross functionally
with Marketing, Finance, Guest Insights, Corporate Strategy to
enable the Merch Insights team to tap into existing data analysis
including: 1) customer and consumer data 2) financial performance
data 3) space and floor analytics, 4) market data
- Critical leader and partner to Corp Strategy team in developing
long-term strategy focus on assortment and other key projects
- Contribute to the strategic direction and vision of the company
by bringing high quality ideas to the table to continue to disrupt
beauty industry through continual innovation
- Identify underserved segments of the industry and proactively
initiate and provide innovative insights and solutions
- Direct the analyses of data from multiple internal and external
data sources to derive meaningful and useful insights for merchant
partners
- Deliver informative assessments of the competitive landscape of
beauty (including promotional activity, earnings calls, industry
research, etc.)Merchandising Planning & Initiatives:
- Serve as a partner and right hand to the Chief Merchandising
Officer on critical aspects of business such as driving new brand
terms framework, supporting key leadership, and brand meetings
- Responsible for overseeing Annual Business Planning for
Merchandising and Planning
- Lead and contribute to complex and time-critical projects for
senior leaders by quickly understanding context and developing a
prioritized scope and approach for resolution in ambiguous
situations
- Oversee relationship with NPD and IRI
- Lead and support key initiatives and projects including but not
limited to; Promo Optimization, Marketing prioritization process,
Uncover Trends reporting, Town Hall meetings, Analyst Day, Brand
Partner Summit
- Oversee the establishment of best-in-class structure, processes
and tools that will set the team up for success
- Guide the team in defining templates, reports, and materials
for periodic category reviews and brand meetings
- Create effective PowerPoint presentations that clearly and
concisely communicate analyses and indicated actions
- Identify opportunities for automation of processes and data
analytics/reports#LI-DF1THE ESSENTIALS FOR SUCCESS:
- Bachelor's degree with a minimum of 10-15 years relevant direct
work experience (with at least 3-5 years' experience in strategy
consulting with a top tier consulting firm preferred and retail
experience preferred)
- Proven experience leading the development of merchandising
strategy and insights to drive business outcomes.
- Demonstrated experience translating insights to help shape
strategic direction and drive profitability.
- Experience directly managing people, including hiring,
developing, motivating, and directing people as they work
- Experience developing strategy and demonstrated enterprise
thinking
- Strong conceptual thinker and able to translate business issues
into key hypotheses and derive findings using a structured
problem-solving approach
- Inquisitive nature and proactive approach to data exploration
and opportunity identification
- Ability to manage ambiguity and use business savvy and
strategic thinking to determine the best approach forward
- Demonstrated ability to influence and gain credibility with
team members and senior leaders
- Capable of working in a dynamic environment, handling multiple
projects, meeting deadlines, able to prioritize appropriately and
respond to issues quickly and creatively with an open and positive
attitude
- Strong executive presence and communication skills, with
ability to communicate complex topics in a simple and effective
manner
- Advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills required
- Intermediate experience with data mining and writing queries a
plus (SQL preferred)
- Intermediate data visualization skills a plus (Tableau
preferred)
- Previous experience with market measurement, such as Nielsen,
IRI, NPD, Euromonitor a plus
- MBA from a top tier school a plus#LI-DF1ABOUTAt Ulta Beauty
(NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the
largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty
destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care
products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through
the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online
with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500
well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories
and price points, including Ulta Beauty's own private label. Ulta
Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store
featuring-hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.We will consider
for employment all qualified applicants, including those with
arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in
a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state
and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles' Fair Chance
Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance
Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.
Keywords: Ulta Beauty, Bolingbrook , Senior Director Merchandising Strategy & Insights, Accounting, Auditing , Bolingbrook, Illinois
Didn't find what you're looking for? Search again!
Loading more jobs...