Sr. Manager, Merchandising Strategy and Operations - Remote Job Listing at Harbor Freight Tools in Calabasas, CA (Job ID 1382505)

Description

The Senior Manager of Merchandising Strategy & Operations plays a critical role in defining and driving Merchandising department strategy, priorities, and performance outcomes. This role focuses on improving internal tools, systems, and processes within the Merchandising organization, with a particular emphasis on Price and Promotion capabilities, execution, and scalability.

The Senior Manager partners closely with Merchandising leadership to translate high-level strategy into actionable initiatives, ensuring teams are aligned to department KPIs, financial targets, and operational goals. This role supports the planning and execution of the ESP program, contributes to department budgeting and resource allocation, and leads complex initiatives that require coordination across large internal teams.

This position manages a team of project managers and specialists and is responsible for leveraging those teams to deliver strategic initiatives, drive efficiency, and improve execution across the Merchandising function.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the development and execution of Merchandising strategy, department priorities, KPIs, and OKRs, with a focus on Price and Promotion effectiveness and scalability     
• Lead internal process improvement initiatives across Merchandising, including pricing, promotions, ESP, reporting, and planning workflows        
• Own and evolve internal tools, systems, and processes used by the Price & Promotion group to improve execution, visibility, and decision-making        
• Partner with Merchandising leadership to support department budgeting, resource planning, and prioritization to achieve financial and operational goals
• Provide strategic and operational support for the ESP program, including process optimization, performance tracking, and cross-team coordination
• Manage and develop a team of project managers and specialists responsible for driving execution of department initiatives and special projects    
• Translate high-level strategy into structured workplans, timelines, and deliverables that can be executed across large, cross-functional Merchandising teams
• Drive execution of complex, multi-workstream initiatives, ensuring alignment across Merchandising functions and timely delivery    
• Establish and maintain reporting, dashboards, and performance reviews to track KPIs, identify gaps, and surface improvement opportunities     
• Lead continuous improvement efforts by identifying inefficiencies, standardizing best practices, and improving operating rhythms     
• Review systems and processes to ensure scalability as the business grows, recommending enhancements or new capabilities as needed        
• Coordinate with cross-functional partners (Inventory, Finance, Store Ops, IT, Legal, etc.) as needed to support Merchandising initiatives and remove execution barriers            

• Staff supervision and development: Yes
• Decision making: Yes
• Travel: Up to 10%
• Flex Designation: Anywhere

• Bachelors' Degree required, preferably with a Business major or related field; MBA preferred

• Minimum of 8 years of relevant experience required
• Minimum 4 years people leadership experience
• Minimum of 2 years of project management experience

• Ability to deal with ambiguity, think outside the box and provide a continuous flow of new ideas and process improvements
• Results-oriented. Ability to execute and carry out strategic and operational plans
• Excellent time management and planning skills, organized with the ability to multitask, exceptional follow up skills and able to meet deadlines
• Refined critical thinking skills
• Strong analytical skills with desire to make data-driven decisions
• Able to maintain and develop internal and external relationships
• Self-starter, can take limited direction and run with a project
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Effective communication skills
• Strong knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite

• Stand, walk, sit for extended periods of time.
• Speak and listen to others in person and over the phone and video conferencing.
• Use keyboard and read from computer screen and reports.
• The ability to lift up to 15 lbs.

• Must be able to perform this job safely in accordance with standard operating procedures and good manufacturing practices, without endangering the health or safety of self or others.