Director - Merchandising Operations
FERGUSON, Newport News, VA, United States
Director - Merchandising Operations
Senior leadership role responsible for defining and advancing the strategy, governance, and performance of core digital commerce capabilities that power the customer shopping experience and drive business growth. The director oversees a multi‑functional organization spanning product data enrichment, taxonomy, search, personalization, recommendations, and ratings & reviews, ensuring these capabilities deliver scalable, high‑quality digital experiences and measurable business outcomes.
Location This position may be remote or hybrid in accordance with company policy.
Key Responsibilities
Define and lead the long‑term strategy for merchandising operations, ensuring alignment with enterprise digital commerce and customer experience goals.
Translate enterprise priorities into clear functional strategies, roadmaps, and measurable outcomes across all merchandising operations capabilities.
Drive improvements in key performance indicators including conversion, revenue, speed‑to‑market, data quality, and customer engagement.
Establish analytics as a core capability to measure Merch Operations performance, inform decision‑making, and optimize the digital shopping experience.
Lead product data alignment initiatives to support the future integration of disparate product data systems into a unified MDM/PIM environment.
Play a leadership role in digital and enterprise product data enrichment, including governance, strategy, and execution across channels.
Establish and enforce standards for data quality, completeness, accuracy, and consistency across product content.
Balance speed‑to‑market with data integrity, ensuring scalable processes for enriching vendor and internal product data.
Partner cross‑functionally to define and evolve sources of truth, data models, and workflows that support enterprise and digital needs.
Ensure product data enables downstream capabilities including search relevance, recommendations, SEO performance, and overall site experience.
Leverage platform capabilities to drive measurable improvements in relevance, discoverability, and engagement, enabling sales, conversion, and margin improvements via product data enrichment, site search, recommendations/personalization, reviews, and site taxonomies.
Ensure these capabilities are aligned and optimized to improve the end‑to‑end customer experience.
Define and lead the vision for AI‑enabled capabilities across merchandising operations, and execute AI use cases in partnership with AI Enterprise teams.
Evaluate, prioritize, and guide adoption of AI to improve scalability, automation, relevance, and data quality.
Lead a team of managers responsible for distinct functional areas, ensuring strong alignment, accountability, and performance across teams.
Build leadership capability within the organization through manager development, coaching, operating models, and career pathing/succession planning.
Ensure digital and enterprise strategy and priorities are translated into actionable goals at every level of the organization.
Foster a high‑performance culture focused on outcomes, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Serve as a key partner to Digital, Product, IT, Merchandising, and Vendor Management teams to align priorities and remove organizational barriers.
Influence enterprise decisions related to product data, digital experience, and merchandising capabilities.
Drive standardization of processes, tools, and governance models across previously fragmented teams.
Qualifications Required Experience
10+ years of experience in ecommerce, digital merchandising, merchandising operations, product data, or related fields.
Proven experience leading managers and building high‑performing, multi‑layered teams.
Demonstrated success driving strategy and execution across complex, cross‑functional organizations.
Experience with product data, taxonomy, site search, personalization, or related digital commerce capabilities.
Preferred Experience
Experience leading or supporting enterprise product data enrichment and PIM strategies.
Familiarity with AI/ML applications in ecommerce (search, recommendations, content, data enrichment).
Experience in large‑scale, multi‑brand or multi‑site ecommerce environments.
Benefits At Ferguson we care for each other. We value our well‑being as much as our hard work and are committed to a holistic approach toward benefits plans and programs that support the mental, physical, and financial well‑being of our associates. Our competitive offering includes health, dental, vision, paid time off, life insurance, a 401(k) with a company match, mental health coverage, gender‑affirming and family‑building benefits, paid parental leave, associate discounts, community involvement opportunities, and more.
Pay Range $9,409.50 - $17,833.30
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Ferguson complies with all wage regulations. The starting wage may be higher in certain locations based on local or state wage requirements. Ferguson is an equal opportunity employer and a government contractor that abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60‑300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60‑741.5(A). Ferguson Enterprises, LLC is an equal employment employer F/M/Disability/Vet/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity. Equal Employment Opportunity and Reasonable Accommodation Information.
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Location This position may be remote or hybrid in accordance with company policy.
Key Responsibilities
Define and lead the long‑term strategy for merchandising operations, ensuring alignment with enterprise digital commerce and customer experience goals.
Translate enterprise priorities into clear functional strategies, roadmaps, and measurable outcomes across all merchandising operations capabilities.
Drive improvements in key performance indicators including conversion, revenue, speed‑to‑market, data quality, and customer engagement.
Establish analytics as a core capability to measure Merch Operations performance, inform decision‑making, and optimize the digital shopping experience.
Lead product data alignment initiatives to support the future integration of disparate product data systems into a unified MDM/PIM environment.
Play a leadership role in digital and enterprise product data enrichment, including governance, strategy, and execution across channels.
Establish and enforce standards for data quality, completeness, accuracy, and consistency across product content.
Balance speed‑to‑market with data integrity, ensuring scalable processes for enriching vendor and internal product data.
Partner cross‑functionally to define and evolve sources of truth, data models, and workflows that support enterprise and digital needs.
Ensure product data enables downstream capabilities including search relevance, recommendations, SEO performance, and overall site experience.
Leverage platform capabilities to drive measurable improvements in relevance, discoverability, and engagement, enabling sales, conversion, and margin improvements via product data enrichment, site search, recommendations/personalization, reviews, and site taxonomies.
Ensure these capabilities are aligned and optimized to improve the end‑to‑end customer experience.
Define and lead the vision for AI‑enabled capabilities across merchandising operations, and execute AI use cases in partnership with AI Enterprise teams.
Evaluate, prioritize, and guide adoption of AI to improve scalability, automation, relevance, and data quality.
Lead a team of managers responsible for distinct functional areas, ensuring strong alignment, accountability, and performance across teams.
Build leadership capability within the organization through manager development, coaching, operating models, and career pathing/succession planning.
Ensure digital and enterprise strategy and priorities are translated into actionable goals at every level of the organization.
Foster a high‑performance culture focused on outcomes, accountability, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
Serve as a key partner to Digital, Product, IT, Merchandising, and Vendor Management teams to align priorities and remove organizational barriers.
Influence enterprise decisions related to product data, digital experience, and merchandising capabilities.
Drive standardization of processes, tools, and governance models across previously fragmented teams.
Qualifications Required Experience
10+ years of experience in ecommerce, digital merchandising, merchandising operations, product data, or related fields.
Proven experience leading managers and building high‑performing, multi‑layered teams.
Demonstrated success driving strategy and execution across complex, cross‑functional organizations.
Experience with product data, taxonomy, site search, personalization, or related digital commerce capabilities.
Preferred Experience
Experience leading or supporting enterprise product data enrichment and PIM strategies.
Familiarity with AI/ML applications in ecommerce (search, recommendations, content, data enrichment).
Experience in large‑scale, multi‑brand or multi‑site ecommerce environments.
Benefits At Ferguson we care for each other. We value our well‑being as much as our hard work and are committed to a holistic approach toward benefits plans and programs that support the mental, physical, and financial well‑being of our associates. Our competitive offering includes health, dental, vision, paid time off, life insurance, a 401(k) with a company match, mental health coverage, gender‑affirming and family‑building benefits, paid parental leave, associate discounts, community involvement opportunities, and more.
Pay Range $9,409.50 - $17,833.30
Equal Employment Opportunity Statement Ferguson complies with all wage regulations. The starting wage may be higher in certain locations based on local or state wage requirements. Ferguson is an equal opportunity employer and a government contractor that abides by the requirements of 41 CFR 60‑300.5(a) and 41 CFR 60‑741.5(A). Ferguson Enterprises, LLC is an equal employment employer F/M/Disability/Vet/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity. Equal Employment Opportunity and Reasonable Accommodation Information.
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