VP, Front Room Merchandising

Advance Auto Parts; Raleigh (NC); On-site; USD 250,000 - 350,000; Full time

Job summary

Advance Auto Parts seeks a Vice President, Front Room Merchandising to drive enterprise category strategy and portfolio performance across DIY, Professional, and eCommerce channels. This Senior leader translates strategy into an integrated agenda, aligning merchandising with supply chain, finance, marketing, and vendor relationships to deliver growth and profitability.

The role leads a team of category leaders, guides executive decision-making, and partners across multiple functions to ensure

Qualifications

• 15+ years of progressive experience in category management, merchandising, or related commercial discipline.
• 7-10+ years of significant people leadership experience.
• Proven ownership of large, complex category portfolios and measurable outcomes.
• Experience shaping enterprise strategy and influencing executive stakeholders.
• Extensive experience with supplier relationships and negotiations.
• Strong financial acumen, analytical thinking, and executive presence.
• Undergraduate degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Responsibilities

• Lead enterprise category strategy and portfolio leadership across DIY, Professional, and eCommerce.
• Own portfolio performance including sales, margin, inventory, and working capital.
• Develop strategic financial plans, budgets, forecasts, and performance commitments.
• Define supplier strategies and executive sponsorship for strategic relationships.
• Translate vision into merchandising priorities, governance, and cross-functional execution.

Skills

Strategic leadership

Financial acumen

Executive communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Risk management

Decision making

Category strategy

Education

Undergraduate degree in Business Administration

Advanced degree preferred

Job description

Job Description

The Vice President,Front Room Merchandisingprovides enterprise leadership for category strategy, portfolio performance, and merchandising execution across assigned businesses. This leader translates the company strategy into an integrated category agenda that strengthens customer relevance, supplier value, and profitable growth across DIY, Professional, and eCommerce channels. The role owns the performance of a broad category portfolio andestablishesthe operating mechanisms, talent, and cross-functional alignmentrequiredto deliver sales, gross margin, inventory productivity, working capital, cash flow, and return on invested capitalobjectives.

As a senior merchandising executive, the Vice President leads a team of category leaders, serves as a key advisor to executive leadership, and builds strategic partnerships across Merchandising, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Inventory, Store Operations, eCommerce, and the supplier community. The role sets clear priorities, makes enterprise tradeoffs, and ensures category plans translate into consistent execution and measurable business outcomes.

Key Responsibilities

Enterprise Category Strategy and Portfolio Leadership

• Establishes the vision, strategic direction, and multi-year roadmap for a broad portfolio of categories, aligned with the company strategy and customer value proposition.

• Identifiesemerging categories, portfolio opportunities, and category role shifts based on industry, competitor, customer, and consumer trends.

• Integrates category strategies across assortment, branding, innovation, pricing, promotion, space, marketing, digital, and supply chain to maximize enterprise value.

• Allocates resources and investment across categories based on strategic importance, growth potential, customer needs, and financial return.

• Creates operating rhythms that improve category planning, decision quality, accountability, and execution across the organization and supplier community.

Financial and Commercial Leadership

• Owns portfolio-level business performance, including sales, gross margin, gross margin rate, inventory productivity, working capital, cash flow, and return on invested capital.

• Provides executive leadership in the development of strategic financial plans, annual operating plans, budgets, forecasts, and performance commitments.

• Establishes portfolio-level financial guardrails, risk tolerance, and investment criteria for pricing, promotion, assortment, inventory, and vendor programs.

• Usescustomer, market, competitive, and financial insights toidentifyperformance gaps, prioritize value-creation opportunities, and accelerate corrective action.

• Leads complex business decisions and enterprise tradeoffs that balance near-term performance with sustainable long-term growth.

Supplier Strategy and Negotiation

• Defines supplier strategy across the portfolio, including segmentation, joint business planning, innovation, sourcing, performance expectations, and risk management.

• Serves as executive sponsor for strategic supplier relationships and creates partnerships that improve customer value, differentiation, profitability, and supply continuity.

• Establishes negotiation strategies and enterprise positions for high-value, complex, or top-tier supplier negotiations.

• Aligns sourcingobjectivesand supplier investments to category strategy, company priorities, and available resources.

• Monitors macroeconomic conditions, cost drivers, regulatory changes, and supply-basedynamics toanticipaterisk and protect business performance.

Enterprise Leadership and Execution

• Translates corporate vision into clear merchandising and category priorities, operating plans, and measurable outcomes.

• Leads enterprise-wide initiatives requiring alignment across Merchandising, Supply Chain, Finance, Marketing, Inventory, Store Operations, and eCommerce.

• Influences executive and senior leaders to resolve competing priorities, remove barriers, and accelerate execution.

• Creates clear governance, decision rights, and accountability for strategic category initiatives and cross-functional work.

• Communicates the strategy and business rationale with clarity to internal and external audiences, ensuring consistent understanding and execution.

Talent and Organizational Leadership

• Builds and leads a high-performing organization of category leaders and teams, with clear expectations for strategy, commercial judgment, collaboration, and results.

• Develops succession plans and a strong leadership pipeline through coaching, differentiated development, talent movement, and meaningful career opportunities.

• Sets the standard for inclusive leadership, constructive challenge, disciplined decision-making, and enterprise collaboration.

• Designs organizational capabilities, roles, processes, and ways of working needed to deliver the category strategy.

• Creates an environment where teams use data, customer insight, and financial acumen to maketimely, high-quality decisions.

Qualifications:

• 15+ years of progressive experience in category management, merchandising, strategic sourcing, procurement, supplier management, or a related commercial discipline, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

• 7-10+ years of significantpeopleleadership experience, including leading leaders and building high-performing teams.

• Demonstrated ownership of a large, complex category portfolio and delivery of measurable outcomes across sales, margin, inventory, working capital, cash flow, and/or return on invested capital.

• Proven success shaping enterprise strategy, leading transformation, and influencing executive stakeholders across multiple functions.

• Extensive experience leading complex supplier relationships and high-value negotiations.

• Exceptional financial acumen, analytical judgment, strategic thinking, communication, and executive presence.

• Undergraduate degree in Business Administration or a related field preferred; advanced degree is a plus.

Leadership Expectations:

• Thinks enterprise-first and makes decisions thatoptimizetotal company value.

• Sets a compelling direction and converts strategy into disciplined execution.

• Builds trust, aligns stakeholders, and communicates with clarity and consistency.

• Develops leaders, strengthens organizational capability, and holds teams accountable for results.

• Balances customer needs, commercial outcomes, operational realities, and long-term growth.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and do not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because of race, color, sex, age national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a veteran and basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class. We comply with all applicable federal, state, and local laws.

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