Athleta Director - Site Merchandising (North America)

BoF Careers; San Francisco (CA); On-site; USD 159,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Merchandise discount

Competitive PTO

401(k) matching

Job summary

Athleta is seeking a Director of Site Merchandising to lead a best-in-class digital shopping experience across site and app. You will translate brand and commercial priorities into compelling online experiences, driving demand, conversion and customer engagement.

This role partners with Product, Marketing, Creative and Technology to align product storytelling, launches and promotions with analytics and AI-enabled optimization.

Qualifications

• Passion for the customer, product and digital shopping experience.
• Deep expertise in ecommerce, site merchandising and digital commerce.
• Strong commercial and analytical acumen; ability to connect data to actions.
• Merchandising instincts balancing brand storytelling and productivity.
• Proven ability to lead across complex, cross-functional teams.
• Excellent strategic thinking with a bias toward execution.
• Able to make clear decisions in fast-moving environments.
• Strong executive communication skills and influencing ability.
• Experience in building high-performing teams and developing leaders.
• Comfort with ecommerce tech ecosystems and collaboration with Product/Tech.
• Familiarity with analytics, experimentation, and content platforms; openness to AI/automation.

Responsibilities

• Own the overall Site Merchandising strategy and vision across site and app.
• Drive commercial productivity using insights to identify opportunities and actions.
• Lead seasonal, promotional, and event merchandising strategies to maximize demand.
• Set digital product storytelling and prioritization across experiences.
• Lead insights-to-action linking behavior, product performance and results.
• Collaborate with Customer Journey to align navigation, recommendations and discovery.
• Translate seasonal strategies into compelling digital experiences with cross-functional partners.
• Define readiness standards for product imagery, content and assets for launches.
• Leverage customer and market intelligence to inform merchandising decisions.

Skills

Ecommerce

Site Merchandising

Digital Commerce

Analytics

Cross-functional Leadership

Strategic Thinking

Execution

Executive Communication

Team Leadership

Adaptability

Data-driven

AI & Automation awareness

Job description

About Athleta

For the past 25 years, we've committed ourselves and our brand to a single aim: to empower all women and girls. Inspiration. Collaboration. Connection. Inclusivity. It's what we do best, and we're on the hunt for people who share our passion for leading an active lifestyle, growing personally as well as professionally, and creating game-changing products and experiences.

About Athleta

For the past 25 years, we've committed ourselves and our brand to a single aim: to empower all women and girls. Inspiration. Collaboration. Connection. Inclusivity. It's what we do best, and we're on the hunt for people who share our passion for leading an active lifestyle, growing personally as well as professionally, and creating game-changing products and experiences.
We use business as a force for good by putting people and the planet right up there with profit, which is why Athleta is a certified B Corp. Ready to make a move? Join us. Because we know that alone we're strong, but together we're unstoppable.

About The Role

Through a customer-curious and commercially minded lens, the Director of Site Merchandising will lead the strategy and execution of a best-in-class digital shopping experience across site and app. This leader is responsible for translating brand, product and commercial priorities into compelling digital experiences that help customers discover and shop the assortment while driving demand, conversion, basket growth and long-term customer engagement. Blending the art and science of ecommerce merchandising, the Director will set the vision for how product is presented, prioritized and commercialized across the digital experience, ensuring seasonal stories, product launches, promotional events and everyday shopping experiences come together in a cohesive and productive way. This leader will partner closely across Product/Merchandising, Marketing, Creative, Customer Journey, Site Production, Ecommerce Operations, Analytics, Technology and Promo teams, connecting customer behavior and commercial performance to clear merchandising priorities and actions. The Director will also lead the evolution of the Site Merchandising organization - establishing scalable ways of working, building strong merchant capabilities, developing talent and creating a culture that combines customer curiosity, product instinct, analytical rigor and commercial accountability.

What You'll Do

• Own the overall Site Merchandising strategy and vision, translating brand, product and commercial priorities into a cohesive digital merchandising experience across site and app.
• Drive the commercial productivity of the digital experience, using demand, conversion, basket, traffic, funnel and product-performance insights to identify opportunities and translate them into clear merchandising actions.
• Lead seasonal, promotional and event merchandising strategy, determining how product, value, storytelling and site experiences come together to maximize demand and conversion while protecting the customer and brand experience.
• Set the digital product storytelling and prioritization strategy, determining how key franchises, newness, seasonal investments, customer favorites and commercial opportunities should be represented across the experience.
• Lead Site Merchandising insights-to-action, connecting customer behavior, product productivity, funnel performance and commercial results to clear recommendations, tradeoffs and actions for the business.
• Partner closely with the Customer Journey team to ensure navigation, landing experiences, linking, recommendations, outfitting, search and other discovery experiences support broader Site Merchandising and commercial priorities. Provide merchandising direction and business context while the Customer Journey team leads the detailed journey strategy, testing and execution.
• Partner with Product/Merchandising, Marketing and Creative to translate seasonal product strategies, launches and brand initiatives into compelling digital experiences grounded in customer needs and commercial opportunity.
• Set the strategy and operating standards for digital product readiness, partnering with Production, Studio, Creative and Sample teams to ensure product launches with the imagery, content and assets needed to deliver a compelling and conversion-driving experience.
• Use customer and market intelligence - including customer behavior, analytics, reviews, customer feedback, product trends, competitive activity and historical performance - to inform merchandising decisions and identify opportunities to improve the business.
• Partner with Customer Journey, Product and Technology teams on the digital capability roadmap, representing Site Merchandising priorities and ensuring new capabilities solve meaningful customer and business opportunities.
• Champion the adoption of emerging capabilities, AI and automation within Site Merchandising, identifying opportunities to improve merchant decision-making, customer relevance, operational efficiency and team productivity.
• Build and evolve the Site Merchandising operating model, establishing clear ownership, prioritization, decision rights and cross-functional ways of working that enable teams to move quickly while maintaining executional excellence.
• Build, lead and develop a high-performing Site Merchandising organization, establishing clear expectations, capabilities and career development while developing merchants who balance commercial acumen, customer curiosity, analytical thinking, product instinct and exceptional execution.
• Influence senior leaders and cross-functional partners, bringing a clear, data-driven point of view and aligning teams around customer opportunities, commercial priorities, tradeoffs and actions.

Leadership & Business Impact

The Director of Site Merchandising is expected to operate as both a digital merchant and enterprise leader - connecting product, customer and commercial strategy across functions.

• Maintain a strong pulse on the digital business and proactively identify opportunities and risks.
• Bring together quantitative performance and qualitative customer signals to explain what is happening, why it is happening and what actions should follow.
• Balance immediate commercial opportunities with longer-term improvements to the digital customer experience.
• Create clarity across complex cross-functional work and ensure teams remain focused on the highest-value customer and business opportunities.
• Represent the Site Merchandising organization with senior leadership and advocate for the customer, product and digital business in enterprise decisions.

What You Bring

• Passion for the customer, product and digital shopping experience, with strong instincts for how customers discover, evaluate and purchase product online.
• Deep expertise in ecommerce, site merchandising and digital commerce, with a strong understanding of how product, content, value, discovery and customer experience influence commercial performance.
• Strong commercial and analytical acumen, with demonstrated ability to connect customer behavior, product performance and financial results and translate complex data into clear actions.
• Strong merchandising instincts and an ability to balance brand storytelling, product strategy and commercial productivity.
• Proven ability to lead through influence across complex, highly cross-functional organizations and bring teams together around shared priorities.
• Exceptional strategic thinking paired with a strong bias toward execution, prioritization and accountability.
• Ability to make clear decisions and tradeoffs in fast-moving environments with competing priorities and imperfect information.
• Strong executive communication skills with the ability to simplify complex issues and deliver compelling, concise and persuasive recommendations at all levels of the organization.
• Demonstrated success building, coaching and developing high-performing teams and future leaders.
• Comfort working within complex ecommerce and technology ecosystems and partnering with Product and Technology leaders without needing to be the direct owner of the technology roadmap.
• Fluency with ecommerce analytics, merchandising, experimentation and content platforms, along with curiosity and demonstrated ability to leverage emerging technologies, including AI and automation, to improve customer experiences and team productivity.
• Highly collaborative, curious and adaptable, with the ability to lead through change and continuously evolve how the organization works

Salary Range:

$158,500.00 - $206,000.00

Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location. We will meet minimum wage or minimum of the pay range (whichever is higher) based on city, county and state requirements.

Benefits At Athleta

• Merchandise discount for our brands: 50% off regular-priced merchandise at Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic and Athleta, and 30% off at Outlet for all employees.
• One of the most competitive Paid Time Off plans in the industry.*
• Employees can take up to five "on the clock" hours each month to volunteer at a charity of their choice.*
• Extensive 401(k) plan with company matching for contributions up to four percent of an employee's base pay.*
• Employee stock purchase plan.*
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance.*
• See more of the benefits we offer.
• For eligible employees

Gap Inc. is an equal-opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status. We have received numerous awards for our long-held commitment to equality and will continue to foster a diverse and inclusive environment of belonging. In 2022, we were recognized by Forbes as one of the World's Best Employers and one of the Best Employers for Diversity.