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