Consulting Partner - General Retail Merchandising

XCUTIVES INC.; United States; Remote; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

A consulting firm seeks a Retail Merchandising Leader for its North America division. The role requires a seasoned executive with 15+ years in discretionary merchandising and a proven history of driving transformation. You will lead merchandising strategies, improve business processes, and build senior-level client relationships. Extensive experience in retail functions such as pricing, assortment planning, and operations is vital. The position emphasizes consulting excellence, operational oversight, and client engagement while requiring travel flexibility.

Qualifications

• 15+ years in retail with significant experience in discretionary merchandising strategy.
• Operational experience in assortment planning and pricing.
• Experience in leading and developing high-performing teams.

Responsibilities

• Lead merchandising transformation programs and improve processes.
• Develop and execute merchandising consulting strategy.
• Build relationships with senior merchandising executives.

Skills

Strong analytical skills

Problem-solving capabilities

Leadership capabilities

Expertise in merchandising processes

Excellent understanding of client markets

Job description

Our client is seeking an experienced Retail Merchandising leader for the North America Retail Business Consulting division. The ideal candidate will bring deep general merchandise and discretionary retail expertise — with hands‑on experience in categories such as apparel, home, beauty, electronics, or general merchandise — and ideally some exposure to grocery or essential retail segments. We are looking for a seasoned executive with a proven track record of driving transformation and operational excellence across key merchandising levers such as assortment planning, space optimization, pricing and promotions, vendor management, and category strategy.

In this position, you will lead merchandising transformation programs, redesign operating models, improve business processes and planning cycles, and enable technology adoption across merchandising functions. Success requires industry depth, practical consulting capability, a collaborative mindset, and the ability to build strong client relationships that shape the future of our consulting practice.

Location: Anywhere in USA

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the merchandising consulting strategy for the North America market, aligning with the company’s global vision and objectives.
• Own and deliver revenue targets for the merchandising consulting business for North America Retail.
• Lead high‑impact merchandising strategy and transformation engagements, providing strategic insights and driving value for global clients — with a primary focus on discretionary and specialty retail, and ideally exposure to grocery or other essential retail segments.
• Determine retailers’ merchandising objectives by assessing current assortment, space and floor planning, pricing, inventory management, and planning processes to identify opportunities and future growth levers.
• Collaborate with global leadership to ensure consistency and quality of delivery across regions.
• Leverage deep functional merchandising expertise to shape change programs either within merchandising or in partnership with strategy and operations teams.

Client Engagement & Business Development

• Build and maintain senior‑level relationships with Chief Merchandising Officers, VPs of Merchandising, Category Leaders, and Pricing Executives across discretionary retail organizations.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities in merchandising strategy and transformation, expanding the client base and driving revenue growth.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on topics such as assortment optimization, AI‑driven planning, pricing strategy, data analytics, and digital merchandising.
• Develop new consulting propositions that enable clients to address complex category and pricing challenges, leveraging your network to shape opportunities and drive pipeline growth.
• Play a key role in strengthening and expanding the merchandising consulting capability across discretionary retail, contributing thought leadership and delivery excellence.
• Support recruitment, coaching, and professional development initiatives as the team grows, fostering a collaborative and innovative consulting culture.
• Champion business process innovation and continuous improvement across merchandising functions, applying proven change management and transformation methodologies.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure the highest standards of project delivery, client satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor and manage the consulting practice’s financial performance, including budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis.
• Implement best practices in project management, risk management, and quality assurance.

Qualifications

• Deep functional expertise in discretionary retail merchandising (apparel, home, beauty, electronics, or general merchandise); additional experience in grocery or essential retail is a plus.
• Strong analytical, problem‑solving, and leadership capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to assess, redesign, and innovate merchandising business processes with exposure to change management techniques.
• Excellent understanding of client markets and challenges, with the ability to shape relevant consulting solutions.
• Familiarity with merchandise financial planning and emerging retail technologies is a plus.
• Willingness to travel as required.

Experience

• Minimum of 15 years in retail, with a significant portion in discretionary merchandising strategy, operations, and transformation — ideally within a retail organization; consulting experience is valued.
• Extensive hands‑on operational experience across key levers such as assortment planning, pricing, vendor management, allocation, category strategy, and financial planning.
• Proven track record of driving transformation and measurable results through operational improvements and change management.
• Demonstrated ability to lead and develop high‑performing teams, including recruitment, training, and professional development.
• Strong financial acumen, including P&L management and budgeting.
• Expertise in AI‑enabled merchandising, predictive analytics, and digital or omnichannel merchandising.
• Experience implementing leading merchandising platforms and driving end‑to‑end transformation across discretionary categories.

Seniority level: Director

Employment type: Full‑time

Job function: Consulting and Information Technology

Industries: IT Services and IT Consulting and Outsourcing and Offshoring Consulting