Group Director, Top Client Development - Northeast

cc; New York (NY); On-site; USD 138,000 - 173,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Wellbeing days

Parental leave & fertility support

Generous paid time off

401K and incentives

Healthcare coverage

Job summary

Chanel, Inc. is seeking a Group Director to shape the top client development strategy for the Northeast, overseeing VIC programs across boutiques and major markets including NY, Boston, Chicago and DC. This role blends strategic leadership with hands-on client engagement.

You will spend significant time in-boutique, partnering with Client Development Managers, translating market insights into tailored luxury experiences and leading cross-market initiatives in line with the US market direction.

Qualifications

• 10+ years of progressive experience in luxury retail, client development, or related strategic leadership.
• Deep familiarity with the Northeast luxury landscape and established relationships across NY, Boston, Chicago and DC.
• Proven ability to lead teams, influence cross-functionally, manage high-impact projects.
• Advanced analytical skills with KPIs translated into compelling narratives and proposals.
• Experience partnering with department store environments and boutique-client relationships.
• Collaborative approach connecting markets, teams, and organizational levels.

Responsibilities

• Lead VIC client activity and engagement strategies across the Northeast.
• Advocate for boutique needs in NY, Boston, Chicago and DC.
• Spend significant time in-boutique, collaborating with Client Development Managers to service Top Clients.
• Align local client development activities with the US market strategy and leadership insights.
• Lead cross-market collaboration for client events, experiences, and engagement globally.
• Foster partnership, innovation, and continuous improvement across boutique teams and home office.

Skills

Leadership experience

Northeast market knowledge

Team leadership

Data analysis

Dept store partnerships

Collaboration

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Advanced degree a plus

Tools

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Group Director, Top Client Development- Northeast

At Chanel, we are focused on creating an inclusive culture that nurtures personal growth, contributing to collective progress. We believe the uniqueness of each individual increases the diversity, complementarity, and effectiveness of our teams. We strongly encourage your application, as we value the perspective, experience, and potential you could bring to CHANEL.

About the role:

Are you ready to shape the future of Chanel’s top client experience across the Northeast. CHANEL is seeking a Director, VIC & Client Development Strategy to lead, innovate, and elevate our client engagement programs across all boutiques and key markets in the Northeast, includingNY, Boston, Chicago and DC, you will spend significant time in-boutique, partnering with boutique teams and Client Development Managers to service and support our Top Clients. As a strategic leader, you will drive and align local initiatives with the broader market vision, working closely with both regional teams and the home office. Your mission: to turn market insights and client relationships into high-impact, tailored strategies that set the standard for luxury service.

What impact you can create at CHANEL

• Spearhead the assessment of opportunities and risks related to VIC client activity and engagement across the Northeast, developing creative, market-specific strategies and solutions.
• Serve as the primary advocate for boutique needs and client development initiatives in NY, Boston, Chicago and DC, ensuring the unique characteristics of each market inform your approach.
• Dedicate significant time in-boutique, collaborating directly with Client Development Managers to service and build relationships with Top Clients, ensuring an exceptional, personalized luxury experience.
• Champion the alignment of local client development activities with the overall strategic direction of the US market, providing insights and recommendations to senior leadership.
• Lead cross-market collaboration, ensuring best-in-class execution of client events, experiences, and engagement strategies, both domestically and internationally.
• Foster a culture of partnership, innovation, and continuous improvement across boutique teams, regional leadership, and home office partners.

You are energized by:

• Building and strengthening long-term relationships with top-tier clients, boutique leaders, and Client Development Managers across diverse markets.
• Navigating complexity and transformation in a fast-paced, collaborative environment, with a passion for both high-level strategy and hands‑on execution.
• Innovating and takinginitiative—translatinginsights into actionable plans, driving change, and inspiring teams to exceed expectations.
• Balancing data‑driven decision making with a refined understanding of luxury client service.
• Leading with empathy, discretion, and a growth mindset, and serving as a role model for CHANEL’s values.

What you will bring to the team:

• 10+ years of progressive experience in luxury retail, client development, or a related strategic leadership role, with a proven track record of driving client engagement and business growth at the boutique and market level.
• Deep familiarity with the Northeast luxury landscape—including established relationships and cultural fluency across NY, Boston, Chicago and DC, and neighboring areas.
• Demonstrated ability to lead teams, influence cross-functionally, and manage high-impact projects from conception to execution.
• Advanced analytical skills (Excel, PowerPoint), with experience translating KPIs and data into compelling narratives and strategic proposals.
• Experience partnering with department store environments and a nuanced understanding of the boutique-client relationship.
• A collaborative approach, with the ability to connect the dots across markets, teams, and organizational levels.

Position Logistics:

• Location: Based in Saks NY, with frequent travel (up to 50%) to boutiques and key markets including travel to Boston, Chicago, DC.
• Education: Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• Experience: Minimum 10 years in client development, luxury retail, or related fields.
• Availability: Some evening and weekend availability required for client events and boutique support.
• Visa Sponsorship: Not available at this time.

Compensation:

• The anticipated base salary range for this position is $138,000 through $173,000. Base salary is one component of the total compensation for this position. Other forms of variable pay [may/will] be offered for this position. Other components [may/will] include bonus potential, benefits, and/or perks.

Benefits and Perks:

• Wellbeing resources include dedicated paid time off for Wellbeing Days in Retail and a Wellbeing fund
• Family and care giving benefits (inclusive of parental leave, fertility support, MilkStork, and Care.com Membership)
• Generous paid time off policies to include vacation, holiday, sick and volunteer days
• 401K and other incentives

• Robust healthcare offerings; medical, dental, vision, MDLIVE (virtual care), One Medical, Flexible Spending Accounts (Health Care & Dependent Care), Health Savings Account and Employee Assistance Program
• Life insurance, Accidental Death & Dismemberment, Short Term Disability, Long Term Disability, Health Advocate, International Business Travel Accident & Medical, and Commuter Transit & Parking

*Chanel, Inc. reserves the right to edit, change, or make exceptions on designations where circumstances where deemed appropriate.

Additional Information:

Chanel is a private company whose values are grounded in creating the conditions for people to perform at their best and feel fulfilled and confident in their work. We offer a unique work environment where individuals are encouraged to better understand the brand, the business, and motivations, so that together we can unlock the possibilities of growth. This is reflected in:

Diversity and Inclusion:

At CHANEL, we are intentional in promoting Diversity & Inclusion. We foster respect, empathy and dignity for all. We believe strongly that the diversity of our people across the full spectrum of human differences is essential to our organisation and the connections we have with each other and our clients.

Chanel Community:

CHANEL Community empowers our employees to channel their passions, talents and sense of purpose to contribute to and learn from our communities.

Employees are encouraged to take time off annually to volunteer through CHANEL Community. CHANEL also matches employee donations to select charitable organizations.

Sustainability:

CHANEL Mission 1.5° is our climate action plan. It is focused on transforming the business in line with the ambitions of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit the average global mean temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.

Employees are encouraged to contribute to our US Sustainability efforts at the corporate level and within the divisions, through organized taskforces and initiatives.

Arts and Culture:

We are committed to extending our legacy of cultural engagement. Global support includes the CHANEL Culture Fund, which supports a select group of leading art culture institutions across the globe, and the CHANEL Next Prize for the next generation of creative talent.

US support currently includes Annual sponsorship of the MoMA film program, Tribeca Film Festival programs and Through Her Lens, Support of the Academy Gold Fellowship for Women and Sponsorship of the BAAND Together Dance Festival at Lincoln Center.

Fondation Chanel:

Since 2011, Fondation CHANEL’s mission is for women and girls to be free to shape their own destiny. Through multi-year partnerships with financial and technical support, Fondation CHANEL is committed to improving the safety and autonomy of women and adolescent girls around the world, impacting over a million women and girls in its first 10 years.

For more information, please navigate to the Fondation Chanel website here

Career and Leadership Development:

We have dedicated in‑house teams focused on supporting the onboarding of employees, developing leadership skills via custom programs like Imagine Chanel People, Heart of Leadership and group and individual coaching, and blended online and live classes offered on our Bloom platform and by skilled trainers, such as Shape Your Career, to develop career building skills.

*Chanel, Inc. benefits and perks are dependent on eligibility and subject to modification by Chanel at any time.