Sr. Director Business Analytics

Smith Hanley; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 180,000 - 260,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith Hanley partners with a nationally recognized consumer brand to identify a Senior Director of Applied Business Analytics who will translate data into strategic decisions across merchandising, marketing, product, eCommerce and strategy.

This executive role collaborates with cross-functional leaders to shape initiatives, scale analytics capabilities, and drive growth using dashboards, AI-enabled workflows, and data-driven storytelling onsite in Nashville, TN.

Qualifications

• Requires ability to translate analytics into business strategy.
• Experience partnering with executive leadership and cross-functional teams.
• Strong communication skills to tell a compelling data story.
• Background in analytics, strategy, customer insights, consulting, or data science with business orientation.

Responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership on top-priority strategic initiatives.
• Transform data into actionable business recommendations.
• Lead analytics projects influencing merchandising, product strategy, and growth.
• Develop scalable dashboards and reporting frameworks to improve decisions.
• Identify whitespace opportunities and support go-to-market strategies with data.
• Influence senior stakeholders with clear data-backed stories.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Executive presence

Cross-functional collaboration

Data storytelling

Education

Tools

SQL

Power BI/Tableau

Predictive analytics

AI-enabled workflows

Job description

Title: Senior Director, Business Analytics

Location: Nashville, TN (on-site)

Compensation: Commensurate with Experience

Contact: Lindsey Bartlett - [e-mail]

If you've built your career translating analytics into business strategy—and you're ready for a seat at the table where enterprise decisions are made—this could be an exceptional next step. We're partnering with a nationally recognized consumer brand to identify a Senior Director of Applied Business Analytics who will help shape strategic decisions across the organization. This is a highly visible position supporting executive leadership, partnering with business units across merchandising, marketing, product, eCommerce, and strategy. This isn't a traditional analytics leadership role. We're looking for someone who can bridge the gap between data and decision-making—someone who naturally asks, "What should we do because of what we've learned?"

What You'll Do

• Partner with executive leadership on the company's highest-priority strategic initiatives.
• Transform complex customer, business, and market data into actionable business recommendations.
• Lead enterprise-wide analytics projects that influence merchandising, product strategy, customer experience, and growth initiatives.
• Develop scalable dashboards, reporting frameworks, and reusable analytics assets that improve decision-making across the organization.
• Identify white-space opportunities, evaluate market trends, and support go-to-market strategies using both internal and external data.
• Influence senior stakeholders by presenting clear, compelling stories backed by data.
• Mentor and develop a junior analytics professional while helping shape the future direction of the analytics function.
• Champion practical applications of AI, automation, and modern analytics tools to improve speed and business impact.

We're Looking For Someone Who

• Thinks like a consultant but enjoys owning the outcome.
• Can comfortably move between technical conversations and executive discussions.
• Has experience in analytics, strategy, customer insights, consulting, or data science with a strong business orientation.
• Enjoys solving ambiguous business problems rather than simply responding to requests.
• Has experience partnering with cross-functional leaders and influencing without direct authority.
• Understands how to tell a compelling story with data.
• Brings curiosity, commercial thinking, and strong executive presence.

Ideal Background Candidates may come from areas such as:

• Customer Analytics
• Marketing Analytics
• Commercial Strategy
• Business Analytics
• Consumer Insights
• Internal Strategy or Analytics Consulting
• Apparel, Footwear, Retail, Consumer Products, eCommerce, or Consulting
• Experience with SQL, visualization platforms (Power BI/Tableau), predictive analytics, and AI-enabled workflows is beneficial, but this is not a heads-down technical role.
• Business acumen and strategic thinking carry equal weight.

Why This Opportunity?

This is a newly created position with the chance to define how analytics supports business strategy for years to come. You'll have meaningful executive exposure, ownership over high-impact initiatives, and the opportunity to build scalable capabilities—not just deliver reports. If you're looking for a role where your insights genuinely influence business decisions, I'd love to tell you more.