Director, VM East Coast - New York, NY - Corporate

Main Objective

Reporting to the VP of Visual Merchandising - Americas, the Visual Merchandising Director is responsible for driving the market’s business by partnering with the local and regional leadership team to better understand the business and in turn, effectively and efficiently prioritize, execute, and deliver all aspects of global visual strategies in coordination with the regional needs. The VM Director will deliver world-class, brand enhancing VM by understanding the full strategic vision of the brand that ultimately elevates the client experience. They will display agility and flexibility to achieve results in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.

Job Responsibilities

• Manage the global visual strategies both business driving and brand positioning through the creation, communication, and implementation of new strategies within the market and communicate where to adapt past field strategies to the changing needs of the business.
• Oversee and manage the implementation of global creative and merchandising across markets to ensure luxury standards are met while creating a bespoke client experience for the specific markets and providing insight to central teams.
• Support the creative production process within the region: communicating creative briefs, managing layout plans and product placement, and liaising with HQ VM team.
• Work cross functionally with corporate departments as a collaborative partner (Marketing, Events, Retail, Operations, Store Planning, Merchandising, etc.) to gain awareness of the larger brand scope, provide insight on visual projects, and identify how VM can align and contribute.
• Ideate and oversee organizational VM initiatives that increase operational efficiency across the regional teams by understanding the region’s needs and developing solutions for innovative ways of working.
• Design, develop and implement visual training for the Retail and VM Ambassador teams to ultimately drive motivation and a stronger luxury aesthetic. Regularly visit all retail location to identify the training opportunities, create visual standards and processes, and oversee the deployment to the regional network (i.e. best practices, onboardings, etc.).
• Support VP of VM with all business and visual related strategies (i.e. VMA program, new business initiatives, etc.) through coordination of all information, being the primary point of field communication, and managing the overlap between people and processes by providing feedback from a field perspective.
• Manage two direct reports through weekly touch bases, regular coaching and professional development.

Required Skills, Knowledge and Attributes

• 10 years of Visual Merchandising Management Experience including a background in design with a detailed knowledge of fashion and retail
• Excellent communication and presentation skills with a passion for innovation, creativity, and the ability to deliver work with a standard of excellence
• Exceptional interpersonal skills and experienced people manager
• Ability to manage and deliver large scale projects across a large number of locations simultaneously
• Possessing a highly attuned attention to detail and strong organizational skills
• Brings a solution orientated approach to challenges and road-blocks that may impede progress
• Excellent computer skills including PowerPoint, Excel, Word, etc.
• Ability to travel 80% and internationally
• Ability to lift up to 50lbs
• Foreign language skills are beneficial