Retail Marketing and Visual Design Manager- Hotel Chocolat

Overview Retail Marketing and Visual Design Manager – Chicago, IL (Hybrid: on-site 3 days a week). Hotel Chocolat has built a strong position as the UK’s favorite premium chocolate brand. Reporting directly to the US Marketing Lead, you will be accountable for visual merchandising of our product portfolio across all US retail stores and cafes, including existing locations and new locations in 2026 and beyond as the store network expands. This role defines store layouts and product ranges for each store format and is directly responsible for store-specific planograms, seasonal product layouts, and in-store execution of seasonal campaigns. It includes end-to-end planning and execution of retail expansion, Visual Merchandise planning, and ownership of external partnership timelines and deliverables to deliver a seamless, on-brand customer journey through the store. What we’re looking for Bachelor’s degree preferred or equivalent work experience 4+ years of experience in Retail Visual Merchandising and range planning and execution in a multi-site retailer Experience of the retail environment and customer experience within physical retail Experience with planogram software tools and Microsoft Office suite Experience leading the creation and execution of retail marketing assets Experience writing strong creative briefs and leading creative development through agencies or in-house teams Demonstrable experience working with in-house or agency creative teams Comfortable operating at pace in a busy trading environment Strong communicator who can engage effectively with all levels Highly organized with meticulous attention to detail Nice to have Experience working with luxury or premium brands across retail and food & beverage sectors What would be your key responsibilities? Core Range & Retail Expansion Drive creation of Visual Merchandizing guidelines for all US stores in collaboration with trading, operational and property teams. Lead execution of VM guidelines for all US stores. Define and execute planograms across all retail locations: recommend optimum range count for each store to maximize trading density; create product layouts and store-specific planograms to ensure optimized sales and consistent execution across all stores. Work closely with US Marketing & Retail teams and UK-based in-house studio to lead briefing, development, and execution of all in-store marketing materials (POS, digital screen content, menu boards, etc.) Support and consult the US team on retail marketing technology requirements such as digital screen CMS and applications Lead visual merchandising for all new store openings: briefing, development and execution of marketing materials for new store openings, balancing seasonal campaigns with new store introductions Collaborate with US Retail team, store teams, operations, and demand planning to ensure alignment on stock packaging and VM minimums for store launches Collaborate with UK creative team, US teams, and US store fit design partners on fixtures and fittings to ensure the store is set up for success Seasonal Recommend optimum seasonal range count for each store each season to maximize trading density Create seasonal product layouts and store-specific planograms, ensuring product and POS placement align with campaign objectives, sales, and hero products Plan and execute the retail launch for all seasonal campaigns in-store, including briefing, development, and execution of seasonal in-store marketing material Drive the creation of seasonal guidelines for store implementation Analyze campaign and VM performance to make recommendations for future campaigns and launches to maximise revenue and profitability General Define the critical path for each project, ensuring stakeholders are aligned and informed of progress Capture and apply learnings after each project to optimize future projects and identify new opportunities Potential to collaborate with US Marketing & Digital teams, along with in-house studio, to optimize digital merchandising on owned dcom site What can you expect from Hotel Chocolat? We offer a range extending from luxury giftable chocolates to alcohol and our Velvetiser™; our mission is to make people and nature happy through chocolate. Beneficiaries include customers, colleagues, cacao farmers, and suppliers. A competitive salary and incentives based on performance 50% unlimited staff discount 70% discount off a stay in our Hotel in St Lucia Flexible working arrangements may be discussed to balance work and home life A chance to work in an exciting, innovative and expanding company The base pay range for this position at commencement of employment is USD $108,160-$148,720. The total compensation package includes variable pay, medical and dental benefits, participation in a 401k plan, and paid time off benefits. Details of participation in these benefit plans will be provided if an applicant receives an offer of employment. Mars does not sponsor visas for this role. This position is not eligible for relocation benefits. #J-18808-Ljbffr