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ALLAN’S COMMENTS: We are working with Academy Sports + Outdoors in their search for a Sitewide Ecommerce Merchandising Manager based in truly affordable Katy, Texas, just 30 minutes from downtown Houston (where it almost never snows) and 90 minutes to Galveston beach.

See for yourself …

About the Company

The concept behind Academy Sports + Outdoors is dead simple: The company makes it easy for everyone to enjoy more sports and outdoors. Period. A typical Academy store carries a wide range of hunting, fishing and camping equipment, patio sets and barbecue grills, along with sports and recreation products, at everyday low prices.

Ever been to one of Academy’s 250+ stores? A 20-minute visit might cost you two hours because you’ll simply lose track of the time. In a good way.

This spring I wandered into my local Academy for a slingshot. An hour later, slingshot in tow, I’d also grabbed a jump rope — evidently, for the same reason people climb Mount Everest: Because it was there. Within two hours I had firmly secured bragging rights for the summer by shellacking my 13-year-old daughter in a jump roping contest.

#AWESOMESAUCE

Anyway. We have recruited for Academy before and it’s a hoot. These folks are always looking for resourceful, business-oriented problem solvers who will try new things and lead by example. Academy’s customer-centric culture is all about teamwork and inclusivity, and going the extra mile for the customer will ensure that you go far in your career.

About the Role

Reporting to the Academy’s Senior Director of Omnichannel Merchandising, we’re looking for a proven Sitewide Ecommerce Merchandiser who can partner with Category Merchants, the OminChannel teams, Marketing teams, IT, and Product to optimize customer engagement. You’ll work across the entire site and won’t focus on just one category. Meaning, you’ll serve as a point of contact to streamline projects, improve processes, identify and lead Testing and QA.

(That’s in addition to improving marketing partnerships and driving marketing plans.)

You’ll manage a small team but will work cross-functionally on issues related to site enhancements, promotions, marketing initiatives, and merchandising tactics while serving as a strong project manager.

This role is not about the day-to-day merchandising of ONE category. It’s more about optimizing sitewide merchandising results while working with the individual category-level merchants and partnering with cross-functional teams that will impact your area of the business.

This is a VERY high-profile job due to its level of cross-functional responsibility. To be successful in this position, not only must you have “game” in the areas of ecommerce Merchandising, Marketing, Promotion, Project Management, but also you’ll need to be …

Optimistic: You usually wake up happy and have an uplifting demeanor. You approach new tasks with eagerness, and you almost always find something good to say even in a bad situation. You look forward to the future and move in a purposeful way.

Proactive: You’re a rational A-player who thinks before acting. You have strong foresight and are typically able to see how things are interconnected. You’re great at prioritizing and can think on your feet, too.

Analytical: You love running experiments and can be found reading up on new topics to gain a better understanding of them. You love posing theories and attempting to prove them, and you’re always digging deeper for patterns and cause/effect relationships.

Organized: It’s your nature to schedule events in advance and co-workers describe you as detail-oriented. You have great time management skills, partially because you can anticipate setbacks and difficulties. You’re a “list person” who can keep to a schedule without being married to it. You tend to think sequentially (in terms of steps), and you often find yourself thinking “We need a process for this!”

Confident: You tend to walk with purpose and meet challenges head-on. You’ll always try new things, yet you’re humble enough to learn from failure. You’ve got a great work ethic and you know how to “work a building.”

You won’t believe how much we know about this search …

We spent nearly an hour on the phone with Academy’s Senior Director of Omnichannel Merchandising teasing out exactly what you’ll need to KNOW and DO to hit the ground running in this role. Some of the things I can share with highly qualified candidates include …

1. The “real” background requirements for this position, along with the top five things all resumes MUST have to be considered for the role.
2. The top five problems that exist due to this position being open. These are the little brush fires you will be expected to put out during your first month on the job. Every job has these — and this one’s no different.
3. What your average day / week will look like in this role. There’s what you read in the standard job posting … then there’s reality. We’ve got the reality.
4. The leading and lagging KPIs that will determine your success in this role. In a nutshell: How you keep score in this role.
5. The major projects you’ll need to complete by Day 100 to be considered a home-run in this position. We’ve got the lowdown on how you can plug-and-play and drive REAL value in this job.

We have a massive amount of proprietary intel to share with qualified candidates. Our industry research for this assignment exceeds 50 pages! Be sure to text Allan Seibert at (706) 318-1196 for this info. Or simply use the email link when you apply for the role below.

Skills:

• Demonstrated experience creating and implementing online merchandising & marketing strategies for a multi-channel retailer.
• Proven history of managing sales and profitability targets as well as a solid understanding how those levers impact the P&L
• Excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills, with the ability to interface effectively with individuals at various levels, both internally and externally
• Analytical, with strong problem-solving abilities and creative resolution skills
• Self-motivated, with the ability to work on multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
• Proven ability to recognize and adapt to company culture
• Ability to analyze, organize and integrate large amounts of complex information into clear, concise presentations.
• Leads by example and models a passion for the business as well as demonstrates a proactive and solution orientated style
• Ability to remain organized, pay strict attention to detail, and meet critical deadlines within a high volume, fast-paced environment
• Excellent analytic skills with the ability to use key tools to dive deep and provide analysis consistently on performance metrics
• Strong Excel capabilities preferred and capability to use Web Analytics platforms.

Responsibilities:

• Partner with Omnichannel Merchandising and Marketing to implement enterprise initiatives that drive customer engagement & conversion.
• Build & manage an Omnichannel marketing calendar to align priorities, track history & headwinds, and set goals; Calendar to include: weekly ad stories, promotions, online-only events, holidays & micro-moments, site & traffic changes, etc
• Leader & liaison between Omnichannel Merchandising & Marketing; Take on the role of a lead organizer who streamlines processes and communication to cross-functional business leaders
• Lead collaboration & proofing of Homepage, Emails, and Page Banners; Develop processes for planning, organization, and communication; Partner with analytics to develop performance recaps and address opportunities to improve engagement & conversion
• Partner with the pricing team to execute seamless pricing for promotions; Plan, organize, and execute any promotions through CMC; Manage online Map Flag process
• Partner with Product Team and IT as the central point of contact for Omnichannel Merchandising as it relates to testing and QA.
• Establish and improve Omnichannel Merchandising testing processes.
• Partner with marketing to activate enterprise marketing plans as well as develop Omnichannel supportive campaigns to activate balance of assortment
• Partner with merchant group to activate all significant product launches with the necessary supporting marketing and web-specific activities to compete on a premium level
• Manage and oversee the Omnichannel merchandising/marketing team who are responsible for curating and optimizing the site experience
• Train, motivate, direct, coach, and evaluate team members to ensure that the team is committed to achieving team initiatives; Provide leadership and individual developmental growth to marketing specialists/ecommerce merchandisers
• Influence cross-functional business leaders in establishing business objectives and goals specific to Omnichannel
• Collaborate with Digital Marketing teams to support strategies for traffic-generating channels to ensure the best possible customer experience
• Position and present products/categories within site experience to accelerate conversion, elevate UPT, and raise AOV
• Optimize online shopping experiences to increase conversion through site presentation and product merchandising by analyzing sales, web metrics, and industry best practices
• Lead team to understand current trends and competitive landscape; Apply knowledge to drive improved site experiences and conversion growth
• Recap monthly reviews of successes & opportunities; Create & deliver forward-looking plans to address opportunities, activate seasonal categories, or further leverage momentum
• Work with the analytics team to measure the effectiveness of category marketing campaigns to evaluate and improve future performance
• Partner with Product Management as key stakeholder to influence capability and enhancement roadmap
• Lead team to use data-driven business insights to address customer opportunities through site improvements
• Execute on-going competitive analysis as well as recommended strategies and tactics to improve our value equation to the customer
• Identify unique, underdeveloped, emerging or new, products/categories, based on statistical analysis, competitive landscape, customer feedback, and web analytics
• Lead various category and campaign strategies and develop execution plans to drive the business by highlighting trends, promotions, and aligning to members’ needs
• Develop a thorough understanding of Academy’s policy, procedures and safety rules
• Duties may change; team members may be required to perform other duties as assigned

Additional Requirements:

• 5+ years of work experience within ecommerce, merchandising and/or marketing
• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising or relevant field of study
• Willing to move to Houston, TX