Regional Trade Specialist

Monica Vinader; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Monica Vinader is seeking a Regional Trade Specialist in Chicago to support the North American wholesale function, train Nordstrom teams, and lead regional trunk shows and events. The role combines sales leadership with brand education, merchandising standards, and operational support across multiple locations.

The position requires travel across the US, a strong focus on customer experience, and collaboration with US Operations and Account Management to drive growth while maintaining brand

Qualifications

• Experience supporting wholesale or regional trade across a large market.
• Ability to train store teams on brand stories, products, and engraving procedures.
• Strong visual merchandising and event execution skills.
• Proven capability to manage teams and drive performance.

Responsibilities

• Empower store teams across region to meet and exceed consumer sales targets.
• Lead Brand Story, Product Knowledge, and Engraving training sessions.
• Plan and lead Trunk Shows and brand events across the US.
• Oversee Trade Retail Operations, including shop-in-shop upkeep and asset condition.
• Support piercing and welding roll-outs with travel or admin support.
• Coach and develop your direct reports and manage performance and wellbeing.

Skills

Sales leadership

Training facilitation

Visual merchandising

People management

Brand events

Job description

Job Title: Regional Trade Specialist

Location: Chicago, IL

Reporting To: Trade Retail Manager

Salary Band: $70K-$90K

Who we are

At Monica Vinader, we believe luxury should be empowering, long-lasting and responsibly made. Guided by integrity, craftsmanship and innovation, our goal is to elevate people’s lives by opening access to a more beautiful world.

From crafting consciously with recycled precious metals and ethically sourced materials, to designing enduring, versatile pieces made to be layered, loved and lived in every day, we are redefining what modern jewellery can be. We create jewellery that marks moments, tells stories and becomes part of who you are, all while making responsible luxury more accessible.

Our commitment to sustainability, innovation and positive impact continues to be recognised across the industry.

We are proud to have received:

• Responsible Jewellery Brand, 2026 – Country & Town House
• Responsible Business of the Year, 2025 – Positive Luxury
• Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces (UK & NI), 2024 – Inspiring Workplaces

With a global footprint across physical retail, e-commerce and trusted partners, we put our community at the heart of everything we do. Proudly female-founded and inclusive, we build meaningful relationships with the people who wear and love our jewellery.

We are looking for a Regional Trade Specialist to join us as we continue this journey and help us shape what the future of modern jewellery can and should be.

Where we need your help

The Regional Trade Specialist role is an exciting opportunity to help support key functions across the North American business. This position will support the wholesale department, while gaining immense exposure across all functions of the business. We are looking for someone agile, who is excited by new challenges, and flexible to our ever changing needs as the business continues to outpace growth plans. This position will be in our Nordstrom stores a minimum of 4 days per week supporting our teams with training, visual merchandising & events with ad hoc work from home days to complete admin work.

What you’ll do

Consumer Sales

• Empower store teams across region to meet and exceed consumer sales targets
• Proactively feedback assortment, inventory, and key business opportunities from the field
• Participate in creation of sales team incentives and engagement tools to drive sales & brand awareness
• Lead on-floor selling to drive sales and lead by example with the store teams

Training & Education

• Lead Brand Story, Product Knowledge, and Engraving training via formal & on-floor training sessions
• Instill brand Visual Merchandising standards to maintain best representation across all locations
• Manage Nordstrom DSAs & Contingent Workers (recruitment, onboarding, training, development)

Trunk Shows & Brand Events

• Plan & lead Trunk Shows throughout region
• Support ad hoc Trunk Shows & brand events across the US
• Maintain high levels of inventory accuracy and organization across all events

Trade Retail Operations

• Own Shop-in-Shop upkeep via proactive visits, providing clear briefs if in-depth repairs are required
• Ensure MV fixtures and engraving equipment are in proper visual and working condition across all doors
• Partner with US Operations and Account Management teams to deliver ad hoc trade ops projects
• Liaise with Customer Care team to support store team repair, special order, and packaging inquiries
• Support Nordstrom bi-annual inventory cycle as required

Support Piercing & Welding Roll-Out

• Become a brand ambassador in piercing & welding policies, procedures, and brand points of difference
• Support launch of new piercing & welding locations via ad hoc travel or admin support

As a People Manager:

• Coach and develop your direct reports to deliver their role to the best of their ability
• Maintain a foundational understanding of company policies that affect your team, including any team members in other territories or business divisions, and ensure those policies are applied fairly and consistently
• Recognise and celebrate successes
• Manage your team’s performance, attendance and any incidents that arise
• Support your team in prioritising their wellbeing, providing guidance on workflow management and prioritisation to enable work/life balance
• Lead by example, showcasing the MV behaviours, competencies and values
• Empower your team to make decisions, providing guidance and support and identifying the learning opportunity from our ‘test and learn’ behaviour
• Collaborate with the People & Culture team for advice on complex or sensitive matters

What you’ll bring

Connect & Empower

• Communicates Effectively:You tailor messages to the audience and drive two-way communication. This is essential when empowering store teams, liaising with Customer Care, and providing clear briefs for complex shop-in-shop repairs.
• Collaborates Proactively:You build alignment across functions and encourage open dialogue. You will use this behavior daily when partnering with US Operations, Account Management teams, and collaborating with the People & Culture team on sensitive matters.
• Coaches & Develops Others: You provide timely feedback and grow your own and the team's capability. As a People Manager, this is vital for developing your direct reports, coaching and developing Nordstrom DSAs, and leading in-person and virtual training sessions.

Drive & Deliver

• Workflow Management:You plan resources, adapt timelines, and set clear expectations. This supports your ability to plan regional Trunk Shows and guide your team's workflow management to enable a healthy work/life balance.
• Dives Deep:You use data for decision-making and encourage team curiosity by testing assumptions. This is key when proactively feeding back on assortment, inventory, and business opportunities from the field.
• Focuses on the Right Thing:You prioritise team or individual work based on value and risk. You will apply this to navigate ad hoc trade operations projects and help your team prioritize their well-being.
• Delivers Results:You drive team accountability and hold standards. This ensures brand Visual Merchandising standards are instilled, MV fixtures are functioning, and high levels of inventory accuracy are maintained across all events.

Grow & Adapt

• Challenges & Commits:You facilitate debate and align the team after decisions. This helps empower your team to confidently make decisions while ensuring company policies are applied fairly and consistently across territories.
• Embraces Change:You guide the team through change and maintain focus. This is crucial for remaining flexible to ever-changing needs as the business outpaces growth plans, and when supporting the launch of new piercing and welding locations.
• Reflects & Learns:You encourage team learning and retrospectives. You will use this to identify learning opportunities from our "test and learn" behavior, manage performance, and celebrate team successes.

Master & Apply

• Functional/Technical Expertise: You support technical delivery and provide guidance to others as a subject matter lead. This is critical when acting as a brand ambassador and trainer for piercing, welding, and engraving procedures.
• Applies Knowledge with Impact: You link team actions to commercial value and solve real problems. You will apply this when leading on-floor selling to exceed consumer sales targets and participating in the creation of sales team incentives.
• Stays Current: You promote upskilling in the team and share new developments. This ensures Nordstrom store teams and contingent workers are continuously educated on our Brand Story and new Product Knowledge.

To be successful at Monica Vinader, it helps if you...

• Are hands-on, solutions-focused, and entrepreneurial
• Collaborate openly with humility, honesty, and humour
• Embrace learning, teaching, and personal growth
• Stay resilient, adaptable, and self-motivated in a creative environment
• Speak up when you don’t know—and act fast to figure it out

Additional Requirements

Ability to document your authorization to work in the United States.

Travel Requirements

80% travel with a minimum of 4 days per week in store. Frequent travel across the US. Ad hoc travel to London.

Our Aims and Values

Our mission is to be the leading accessible luxury brand, by delivering outstanding quality, design and customer service. We are:

Customer Obsessed

We put our customers at the centre of every decision and deliver thoughtful, personal experiences.

Caring

We act with respect and empathy for people, communities, and the planet.

Fast Paced

We move with focus and flexibility to make progress quickly and decisively.

Exceptional

We hold ourselves to high standards and are always learning, improving, and raising the bar.

Commercial

We make smart, data-led decisions that create long-term value for the business and our customers.

Monica Vinader as a global business makes the following inclusive culture pledge:

Our jewellery is for everyone and so is our community. Together, we will continue to implement sustainable changes to ensure that career opportunities and progression are open to all. We commit to celebrating the diverse voices of our employees, partners, and the customers we serve.