Senior Manager, Merchandise Strategy

Staples is business to business. You're what binds us together.

Our merchandising team aims to deliver the best value and selection to our customers through products, services and solutions all centered around our customers' needs. We are driven by customer insights and analytics to bring products and solutions to market seamlessly. We're inclusive, well-rounded professionals who have deep experience in buying, selling, negotiating, operations, design, innovation, finance and more.

What you'll be doing:

We are looking for a strategic and analytical leader to drive our Category Review process. This role will be responsible for improving and evolving our existing process to drive consistency, add strategic and analytical insight, and yield a better ROI for the time invested by everyone involved. To accomplish these improvements, this person must work closely with Merchants to leverage internal data and market insights to build a category/assortment story and design a strategy to bring that story to life. Success in this position is dependent on building solid relationships with Merchants, DMMs and GMMs, experience analyzing assortments to find opportunities for optimization and the ability to craft coherent and compelling stories.

This role will be responsible for managing the Category Review calendar, working closely with Merchants and Merchant leaders to complete individual reviews, driving continuous improvement in the process, and managing a team of junior associates. This requires strong cross-functional coordination, project management, strategic storytelling, and analytical thinking. The ideal candidate will have experience owning a product assortment and a proven track record of strong assortment management. They will also be adept at crafting strategic plans through the use of data analysis and keen storytelling. The individual who takes on this role will need to be able to be an active participant in meetings and projects involving the Chief Merchandising Officer and GMMs.

What you bring to the table:

• Ability to manage and coach junior associates

• Ability to analyze assortments using diverse datasets

• Ability to craft a go-forward strategy based off of acquired insights

• Ability to collaborate and influence Merchant partners

• Ability to provide value in Category Review meetings through insightful observations, sharing of ideas, and asking good questions

• Ability to coordinate with GMMs on ongoing improvements to the process and prioritization of existing review pipeline

• Ability to manage each review process projects effectively, despite some ambiguity in the outcome or process

• Ability to manage multiple priorities and hit deadlines

• Experience in Merchandising at a large retailer

• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite (PowerPoint, Excel, etc.)

What's needed- Basic Qualifications:

• 8+ years of related experience

What's needed- Preferred Qualifications:

• Master's Degree

• Experience in Marketing or Sales

We Offer:

• Inclusive culture with associate-led Business Resource Groups

• Flexible PTO (22 days) and Holiday Schedule

• Online and Retail Discounts, Company Match 401(k), Physical and Mental Health Wellness programs, and more!