What are the responsibilities and job description for the Director of Men's Merchandising position at tenthousand?
Ten Thousand is seeking a Director of Men’s Merchandising to lead the strategic development and execution of our product assortment, ensuring alignment with brand vision, customer needs, and business objectives. This role will drive seasonal assortment planning, oversee Athlete Led Design, and manage merchandising from concept to market. Partnering closely with the product and brand teams, you will shape product, storytelling and enhance cross-functional collaboration. The ideal candidate is a data-driven, customer-focused leader with a deep understanding of performance apparel and a passion for innovation. This is an exciting opportunity for a dynamic thinker who thrives at the intersection of analytics and creativity, turning insights into impactful merchandising strategies.
ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Develop and execute the overall assortment strategy, ensuring a strategic product mix that aligns with brand goals and market demand.
- Achieve full understanding of the target customer, anticipating their needs and serving as their advocate in assortment planning, product development, and storytelling.
- Fully own and manage Athlete Led Design, ensuring that there is an extreme ownership mentality to the outputs
- Collaborate closely with the product team to develop seasonal product assortments, ensuring a cohesive and performance-driven collection.
- Own the assortment build-out and beginning of season projections within planning software (Toolio), utilizing data-driven insights to forecast demand and optimize assortment planning.
- Lead the creation and refinement of product briefs, clearly defining key details, positioning, and merchandising strategies to guide product development.
- Partner with the brand team to oversee the storytelling and positioning of both new and existing products
- Fully own and manage brand collaborations, demonstrating a high level of ownership and strategic execution in all partnership initiatives.
- Work closely with the brand team on graphic special editions, ensuring that assortment strategy is clearly laid out in advance and buys aligned with expected customer interest
- Oversee the product development calendar, ensuring all key milestones and deadlines are met across merchandising and product teams.
- Foster strong cross-functional collaboration, working closely with design, marketing, operations, and e-commerce teams to align on product strategies and execution.
QUALIFICATIONS:
- 10 years of experience in Merchandising, with an understanding of how to build and execute on an assortment strategy
- Strong leader the with ability to gain influence cross functionally through results and relationships
- Experience collaborating with product team partners to develop truly exceptional product, with an appreciation for experience in activewear, outdoor or outerwear
- Dynamic thinker who thrives at the intersection of analytics and creativity
- Ability to create and execute on a vision, taking a product all the way from concept to launch
- Passion for deep customer understanding, with a strong appreciation for personal interest in the activewear or outdoor space
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret data, identify trends, and drive business decisions.
- Ability to create product and brand stories both visually and written in collaboration with the brand team
- Extreme Ownership mentality
- Able to work independently within company and team guidelines
