E-Commerce Department Merchandise Manager (On-Site)

Ace Hardware; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 158,000 - 206,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Incentive opportunities

401(k) retirement plan with matching

Comprehensive health coverage

Vacation and holidays

Company car, phone and fuel card

Employee discounts on Ace merchandise

Job summary

Ace Hardware is seeking an E‑Commerce Department Merchandise Manager to lead online assortment strategy, development, and execution for assigned product categories across B2C and B2B channels. You will guide a merchant team responsible for profitable digital growth and customer experience on acehardware.com and affiliate channels.

You will report to the Head of E‑Commerce, Digital Marketing and Innovation Strategy and partner across merchandising, digital marketing, ecommerce operations,

Qualifications

• 10+ years of digital or E‑Commerce experience.
• 5+ years managing product categories.
• Experience leading and developing merchant teams.
• Strong strategic thinking, financial acumen, business judgment, and decision making.
• Experience managing online assortment strategy, pricing, product placement, promotions, and profitability.
• Strong vendor negotiation, relationship management, and partnership skills.
• Excellent problem solving, communication, interpersonal, and follow through skills.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint, with ability to travel up to 25 percent.

Responsibilities

• Lead online assortment strategy, product selection, pricing, placement, and category growth plans
• Oversee sales, gross profit, margin rate, key performance indicators, and three-year category strategies
• Build, coach, and develop a merchant team while attracting and retaining strong talent
• Manage vendor partnerships, dropship expansion, rebates, return allowances, and promotional funding
• Partner across merchandising, digital marketing, ecommerce operations, inventory, consumer marketing, and retail operations
• Improve customer path to purchase through taxonomy, category pages, search results, vendor links, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization
• Lead online promotional planning, advertised item schedules, pricing concessions, vendor credits, and retailer communication
• Support inventory planning, supply chain coordination, retailer touchpoints, and Ace Care Center training

Skills

Digital/E‑commerce experience

Category management

Team leadership

Strategic thinking

Pricing & promotions

Vendor negotiation

Problem solving & communication

Microsoft Office suite

Tools

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Access

Microsoft PowerPoint

Job description

About This Role

As the E-Commerce Department Merchandise Manager, you will lead online assortment strategy, development, and execution for assigned product categories across business to consumer and business to business channels. You will guide a merchant team responsible for profitable sales growth, gross profit, margin rate, digital assortment expansion, vendor partnerships, dropship assortment growth, pricing, promotional planning, and customer experience on acehardware.com and affiliate channels. Reporting to the Head of E-Commerce, Digital Marketing and Innovation Strategy, you will partner across merchandising, digital marketing, ecommerce operations, inventory, consumer marketing, retail operations, and the Ace Care Center to deliver consumer relevant, high quality, differentiated assortments for Ace retailers and customers.

What You'll Do

• Lead online assortment strategy, product selection, pricing, placement, and category growth plans
• Oversee sales, gross profit, margin rate, key performance indicators, and three-year category strategies
• Build, coach, and develop a merchant team while attracting and retaining strong talent
• Manage vendor partnerships, dropship expansion, rebates, return allowances, and promotional funding
• Partner across merchandising, digital marketing, ecommerce operations, inventory, consumer marketing, and retail operations
• Improve customer path to purchase through taxonomy, category pages, search results, vendor links, search engine marketing, and search engine optimization
• Lead online promotional planning, advertised item schedules, pricing concessions, vendor credits, and retailer communication
• Support inventory planning, supply chain coordination, retailer touchpoints, and Ace Care Center training

Who You Are

You are a strategic ecommerce merchandising leader who uses data, market insight, and vendor relationships to grow profitable digital assortments. You lead through collaboration, clarity, and accountability while developing teams and influencing partners.

Required Skills

• 10 or more years of digital or E-Commerce experience
• 5 or more years managing product categories
• Experience leading and developing merchant teams
• Strong strategic thinking, financial acumen, business judgment, and decision making
• Experience managing online assortment strategy, pricing, product placement, promotions, and profitability
• Strong vendor negotiation, relationship management, and partnership skills
• Excellent problem solving, communication, interpersonal, and follow through skills
• Proficiency with Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint, with ability to travel up to 25 percent

Preferred Skills

• Experience with dropship programs, site merchandising, digital marketing channels, and ecommerce customer experience improvements
• Experience supporting both business to consumer and business to business ecommerce strategies

Work Authorization

This position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship now or in the future.

Compensation Details

$158400 - $205950 per year

Why should you join our team?

We live our values - W.E.L.I.G.H.T (Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility, and Teamwork). Gratitude. Humility. Love. You don’t often see values like these in most corporate statements, but Ace is different. These things are important to us. They represent our commitment to the company, our employees, to Ace retailers and to the Ace brand.

In addition to providing our employees a great culture, Ace also offers competitive benefits_ that address life’s necessities and perks, many of which expand and improve year after year, including:

• Incentive opportunities, based on role/grade level (company growth over the past 5 years resulted in incentives being paid out at an average of 122% of your target opportunity!)
• Generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with a fully vested matching contribution the first year in addition to quarterly contributions and annual discretionary contribution (once eligibility requirements have been met).
• Over the past 5 years, company contributions (matching, quarterly & discretionary) for fully eligible employees have averaged 10% of total eligible compensation
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision and disability - up to 26 weeks short-term disability and long-term disability) & life insurance benefits for you and your dependents
• 21 days of vacation immediately available (prorated in the first year) and up to 6 paid holidays depending on the month of hire
• Company Car, phone and fuel card are provided for field-based positions

Your career at Ace is more than just a job. It’s a chance to be part of something meaningful. We help locally-owned businesses thrive and make an impact in their communities – and we support our employees in doing the same by offering an annual Ace Cares Week, 20 hours off work per year to volunteer at an organization of your choice, opportunities to help Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals and the Ace Helpful Fund through the Ace Foundation Ace invests in every employee we hire, with a key focus on development and coaching. We offer on-site classes, facilitator-led courses, and a generous tuition assistance program, plus a performance management approach that goes beyond the typical annual review

We know the work environment matters. That’s why Ace holds frequent campus events like Employee Appreciation Week, vendor demos, cookouts, and merchandise sales We bring them to you! Services such as mobile spas, auto maintenance, car wash and detailing, dry cleaning, dentists, eye doctors, flu shots, recycling and more! Employee discounts on Ace merchandise (including top brands like Weber, Traeger, Yeti, Craftsman, DeWalt and more), travel, fitness, computers and thousands more Birth/Adoption bonding paid time off Adoption cost reimbursement Employee Assistance Program (EAP) - access to free visits to therapists and lawyers, guidance on financial matters, elder and childcare, and assistance with tickets to entertainment events Identity theft protection _ Benefits are provided in compliance with applicable policies.

Equal Opportunity Employer

Ace Hardware Corporation is committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military or veteran status, sexual orientation or any other action covered by federal or applicable state/local laws.

Disclaimer

The pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting, but could be higher based on education and experience. Please note, compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each opening. We take into consideration the minimum requirements outlined in the job description, such as an individual’s education, training and experience, the position’s work location, required travel (if any), and external market conditions when determining the final salary for potential new hires. Be aware that salary estimates published via alternate online job boards may not be a true representation of the actual pay range offered for this position. Please refer to the Ace position description for the accurate starting pay range information and feel free to discuss this with a Talent Acquisition professional if you are chosen to move forward with an interview. This written "Position Description" is not intended to cover all aspects of the position listed. It is meant to cover the basic/general essential job functions of a particular position. Ace Hardware Corporation reserves the right to change job duties, including essential job functions, according to business necessity. It is unlawful in Massachusetts to require or administer a lie detector test as a condition of employment or continued employment. An employer who violates this law shall be subject to criminal penalties and civil liability. Ace Hardware is the largest retailer-owned hardware cooperative in the world with over 5,800 locally owned and operated hardware stores in approximately 60 countries. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., Ace and its subsidiaries operate an expansive network of distribution centers in the U.S. and have distribution capabilities in Ningbo, China; and Cuautitlán Izcalli, Mexico. Since 1924, Ace has become a part of local communities around the world and known as the place with the helpful hardware folks. For more information, visit acehardware.com or newsroom.acehardware.com.