Sr. Director Business Analytics

Smith Hanley Associates; Nashville (TN); On-site; USD 140,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Smith Hanley Associates seeks a Senior Director of Applied Business Analytics to translate analytics into enterprise strategy. You will partner with executive leadership and cross-functional teams to shape decisions across merchandising, marketing, product, eCommerce, and strategy.

The role requires bridging data to actionable insights, influencing senior stakeholders, and building scalable analytics capabilities while championing AI and automation to accelerate business impact.

Qualifications

• Experience translating analytics into business strategy.
• Ability to bridge data and decision-making and tell a data-backed story.
• Experience with cross-functional partnerships across merchandising, marketing, product, eCommerce, and strategy.
• Comfort working with executive leadership and senior stakeholders.
• Strong business acumen and strategic thinking.

Responsibilities

• Partner with executive leadership on strategic initiatives.
• Transform data into actionable business recommendations.
• Lead analytics projects influencing merchandising, product strategy, and growth.
• Develop scalable dashboards and reusable analytics assets.
• Identify white-space opportunities and support go-to-market strategies.
• Influence senior stakeholders with data-driven storytelling.
• Mentor junior analytics professionals and shape the analytics function.
• Champion AI, automation, and modern analytics tools.

Skills

Consulting mindset

Executive communication

Business orientation

Cross-functional collaboration

Tools

SQL

Power BI

Tableau

AI/ML tooling

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...

• Think 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.