Festival Manager, Merchandise Program

Sundance Institute; Boulder (CO); Hybrid; USD 56,000 - 59,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid sick leave

Institute holidays

Employee assistance program

Employee Wellness Initiatives

Festival passes and benefits

Job summary

Sundance Institute seeks a Festival Manager, Merchandise Program based in the Boulder area to lead the development and execution of the Sundance Festival merchandise line. You will coordinate with Marketing, design teams, and vendors to ensure a compelling product lineup and strong revenue across stores, pop-ups, and online channels.

The role oversees a seasonal team, manages inventory and contracts, and collaborates with fulfillment partners to meet deadlines during the Festival, with remote

Qualifications

• 3 years experience in retail store management or branded merchandising.
• Strong leadership skills with demonstrated experience managing employees.
• Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills.
• Working knowledge of databases, point of sales (POS) systems, and proficiency with Google Products.

Responsibilities

• Oversee merch line development and implementation for the Sundance Film Festival to drive revenue.
• Coordinate with Marketing to update online store with inventory, photos and prices.
• Establish relationships with vendors and manage contracts and invoices.
• Oversee inventory planning and tracking using sales benchmarks.
• Ensure POS system data is accurate for inventory, prices and revenue.
• Train stakeholders and seasonal staff on policies and procedures.

Skills

Retail management

Leadership

Merchandising

Inventory planning

Customer service

Communication

Google Workspace

Databases

Tools

POS systems

Databases

Job description

The Festival Manager, Merchandise Program is charged with all aspects of merch line development and implementation for the 2027 Sundance Film Festival. This includes developing operational plans and managing program implementation to meet revenue goals and ensure a high level of support is provided to each customer, whether they engage with our merchandise at our seasonally operated brick and mortar retail stores, pop up locations, or through the web store. This position will also oversee a team of seasonal employees to support implementation during the Festival.

Working under the Director, Marketing, the Manager also collaborates closely with colleagues across the Marketing Department and outside vendors to identify and build the Festival merchandise line.

This temporary position works full time (40 hours per week) starting as soon as possible through Friday, February 19, 2027 and must be based within a commutable distance to our Boulder, CO office. While much of the day-to-day work may be performed remotely leading up to the Festival, this position will need to work onsite at key points throughout the duration of employment. Extended hours, including evenings and weekends will be required at key points to meet deadlines and respond to on-call needs as assigned.

Top priorities include but are not limited to…

• Partnering with the marketing director and design team to help coordinate the development of the merchandise line for the upcoming Sundance Film Festival. Collaborating with Marketing colleagues to update our online store with new inventory details, photos, and prices.
• Establishing and building relationships with vendors, conducting timely, thorough and effective communication to ensure deadlines and inventory numbers are clearly communicated and met.
• Preparing and routing Festival contracts for approval, and processing their invoices.
• Working closely with the fulfillment house to make sure online orders are filled properly.
• Overseeing inventory, including assisting on planning inventory amounts using SFF26 sales as a benchmark,, and tracking deliveries.
• Ensuring the point of sales system is updated with accurate information including inventory, prices, and revenue.
• Training stakeholders and seasonal employees on policies and fielding questions as needed.
• Assisting in setting up merch stores.
• Conducting daily walk throughs of stores and the warehouse to ensure procedures are adhered to during the Festival and troubleshooting issues as they arise.
• Acting as a troubleshooter with store managers during the Festival
• Creating and managing the schedule for merchandise stores and pop-ups during the Festival.
• Managing a team of seasonal employees, including selecting and hiring qualified individuals, training and onboarding staff, delegating appropriate and meaningful work while providing direction, feedback, and support to ensure they understand responsibilities and are effective in their roles.

You have the following direct or transferable skill sets:

• 3 years experience in retail store management or branded merchandising including inventory planning or tracking.
• Strong leadership skills including demonstrated experience managing employees.
• Outstanding interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills required to work effectively with a wide variety of people.
• Working knowledge of databases, point of sales (POS) systems, and proficiency with Google Products.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Valid driver’s license, insurance, and ability to successfully pass a MVR background check.
• Experience with store design and marketing preferred.
• Legal authorization to work in the United States.

You will be successful in this role if you...

• Oversee merch line development and implementation for the Sundance Film Festival to drive revenue.
• Ensure accuracy in tracking inventory, including ensuring on-time purchase orders, deliveries, payments, and distribution plans.
• Develop ways to determine and ensure customer satisfaction and sales across all channels.
• Monitor operational expenses efficiency, including budget adherence, invoice processing, and resource utilization.

In addition to a weekly pay of $1,111.23, this position* is eligible for benefits & perks, highlights include:

• Paid sick leave and Institute holidays
• Employee assistance program
• Employee Wellness Initiatives
• Sundance Film Festival passes and benefits (varies each year)