Department Merchandise Manager (DMM) – Plumbing/Heating & Cooling

The Job

The Department Merchandise Manager - Plumbing/Heating & Cooling is responsible for leadership and development of a merchant team for all aspects of Ace and EJD assortment strategy, development and execution through to retail for a respective group of categories to achieve wholesale and retail success as measured by sales, gross profit, margin rate, GMROI and other key metrics. This responsibility spans both B2C and B2B customer types. The position also provides leadership as a collective peer team regarding organizational structure & personnel, strategy, goals, prioritizing work plans and execution.

The oversight of the DMM team is the core of driving alignment and disciplined execution of the companys promise to deliver consumer relevant, high quality, differentiated, localized assortments to Ace retailers and wholesale customers at the lowest cost.

What youll do:

Strategy and Assortment Planning

• Interpret Ace corporate strategies to align with departmental strategic direction as it relates to inventory management of warehouse, overstock and seasonal SKUs, trend and industry relevant seasonal and/or core product assortments; profitable convenience, core and super planograms; and marketing initiatives.

• Lead the strategic planning process to grow respective categories in terms of sales and gross profit, as well as common strategies around shared initiatives to drive improvement within the enterprise.

• Oversight of all category metrics including sales plan, product GMROI, vendor supply chain goals, SKU optimization and inventory management

• Present 3-year strategies to officer team with departmental alignment and execute to plan.

• Oversee shifts in priorities throughout the year to report progress and shifts in execution.

• Oversee category growth plan with new, innovative, exclusive assortments and vendor partnerships for Ace and its affiliate channels (AIH, EJD, B2B, e-comm, ACENET Direct, etc.) while achieving SKU productivity and ACENET Direct goals.

• As determined, lead highly complex assortment and initiative development and execution (Level 3 POG) requiring cross-functional support.

Team and Cross-Functional Leadership

• Participate in overall leadership of merchandising team, assisting in setting annual goals, growth plans and execution via alignment with cross-functional areas of the company. Manage key vendor relationships and assigned growth projects.

• Continue to administer platforms to support process change/improvement and streamline organizational, system inefficiencies.

• Demonstrate leadership across the organization via strong cross-functional relationships with key business partners and teams, including category management, inventory, supply chain, consumer marketing and retail operations.

• Continually administer platforms to support process change/improvement and streamline organizational and system inefficiencies.

Team Building and Development

• Responsible for attracting and retaining best in class talent for the merchandising department. Facilitate/engage teams with leadership and business skills training, mentor future leaders and continually coach for excellence.

• Communicating roles and responsibilities, establishing goals, prioritizing workload, conducting talent reviews and support development.

Financial Performance

• Achieve yearly financial plans through oversight of strategic marketing planning, reduction in cost negotiations, increased retailer adoption and enterprise channel extensions (AIH, EJD, B2B, ACENET Direct, e-comm).

• Manage financial metric planning and grow overall team wholesale product gross profit income while maintaining rate via vendor extraneous income, liability account growth and oversight of SAP pricing/conditions.

• Manage and grow team New Store Allowance agreements.

• Manage team liability fund to fund category growth initiatives.

Category Reviews

• Oversee team category selection and goals for assortments (both B2B and B2C) via performance analysis and assessments of financial analysis, marketplace, consumer, and Ace retailer positioning.

• Provide oversight and mentoring to merchants through cross-functional review objective development, review plan, vendor engagement, negotiation and assortment build.

• Build with merchant execution targets and action plans with leadership alignment.

Promotional Planning

• Collectively plan with DMM team vendor marketing assessment targets and negotiation.

• Oversee monthly group promotional schedule of advertised categories/items across all mediums to drive awareness and increased transactions at retail.

Convention Planning

• Oversee team planning and execution of all vendor show programs including Power Buys, Saving Showcase, Discovery EDGE and merchant initiative areas.

• Lead retailer and cross-functional updates for team including field meetings, retailer group updates during the show.

Retailer Relationships and Communication

• Attend retailer group meetings and targeted retail store visits to build trust and rapport with field team and key stores to review alignment and opportunities in respective categories.

• Oversee team execution within all retailer touchpoints, including ACENET, to communicate new programs, changes or updates.

What you will need:

Knowledge, Experience, and Competencies:

Ace DMM Competencies

• Product passion Natural and fanatical curiosity around product and retail marketplace, demonstrated and put into action.

• Strategic thinking Ability to envision, create and present strategy to drive disruptive wholesale and/or retail growth in category sales and profit

• Results-oriented Ability to drive results to and above plan with full accountability, proactively shifting efforts as trends and business variables change

• Leadership Demonstrated and active leadership across the organization, vendors and retailers as authority in respective category.

• Negotiation skills Superior negotiation skills with proven results leveraging company scale, business drivers and strategies

• Presentation skills Ability to plan, assemble and present with excellence strategy, execution and updates to leadership, across the organization, vendors and retailers

Experience and Technical Requirements:

• 10+ years of business experience

• 5+ years managing product categories

• Strong strategic thinking and leadership skills. A track record of leading and directing teams is critical.

• Excellent problem-solving skills required

• Excellent interpersonal skills required

• Strong financial and business acumen

• Demonstrate strong decision-making skills

• Highly creative, flexible and adaptable with good follow-through

• Proven ability to multi-task projects and meet deadlines

• Excellent verbal and written communication skills

• Proficient in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Access, Power Point

• Ability to travel 25%

#LI-CK1

Compensation Details:

$150000 - $195000

Why should you join our team?

We live our values - W.E.L.I.G.H.T (Winning, Excellence, Love, Integrity, Gratitude, Humility, and Teamwork). Gratitude. Humility. Love. You dont often see values like these in most corporate statements, but Ace is different. These things are important to us. They represent our commitment to the company, our employees, to Ace retailers and to the Ace brand.

In addition to providing our employees a great culture, Ace also offers competitive benefits* that address lifes necessities and perks, many of which expand and improve year after year, including:

• Incentive opportunities, based on role/grade level (rapid company growth over the past 5 years resulted in incentives being paid out at an average of 126% of your target opportunity!)
• Generous 401(k) retirement savings plan with company contributions, averaging 9.6% per year of eligible earnings over the past 5 years
• Comprehensive health coverage (medical, dental, vision and disability up to 26 weeks short-term disability and long-term disability) & life insurance benefits for you and your dependents
• 21 days of vacation immediately available (prorated in the first year) and up to 6 paid holidays depending on the month of hire
• Company Car, phone and fuel card are provided for field-based positions
• Your career at Ace is more than just a job. Its a chance to be part of something meaningful. We help locally-owned businesses thrive and make an impact in their communities and we support our employees in doing the same by offering an annual Ace Cares Week, 20 hours off work per year to volunteer at an organization of your choice, opportunities to help Childrens Miracle Network Hospitals and the Ace Helpful Fund through the Ace Foundation
• Ace invests in every employee we hire, with a key focus on development and coaching. We offer on-site classes, facilitator-led courses, and a generous tuition assistance program, plus a performance management approach that goes beyond the typical annual review
• We know the work environment matters. Thats why Ace holds frequent campus events like Employee Appreciation Week, vendor demos, cookouts, and merchandise sales
• We bring them to you! Services such as mobile spas, auto maintenance, car wash and detailing, dry cleaning, dentists, eye doctors, flu shots, recycling and more!
• Employee discounts on Ace merchandise (including top brands like Weber, Traeger, Yeti, Craftsman, DeWalt and more), travel, fitness, computers and thousands more
• Birth/Adoption bonding paid time off
• Adoption cost reimbursement
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP) access to free visits to therapists and lawyers, guidance on financial matters, elder and childcare, and assistance with tickets to entertainment events
• Identity theft protection

* Benefits are provided in compliance with applicable policies.

We want to hear from you!
When most people think of career opportunities with Ace Hardware, they often think of the helpful cashiers and sales associates at their local store. However, have you also considered the people behind the scenes who select, promote, ship and process the invoices for more than 75,000 products? Maybe you haven't, but we'd like you to. Because together we help our customers take care of their homes. Come find out why a career with the Ace Hardware Corporation is one of America's best kept secrets.

Equal Opportunity Employer
Ace Hardware Corporation and its subsidiaries are committed to a policy of promoting equal employment opportunities. The company recognizes the importance of diversity and leveraging the skills and talents of all people to the mutual advantage of each individual and the organization. The company is committed to the prevention of employment discrimination related to race, religion, color, sex (including sexual harassment), gender identity, national origin, age, marital status, disability and military or veteran status, sexual orientation or any other action covered by federal or applicable state/local laws.

Disclaimer

The pay range for this position starts as listed in the job posting, but could be higher based on education and experience. Please note, compensation decisions are dependent on the facts and circumstances of each opening. We take into consideration the minimum requirements outlined in the job description, such as an individuals education, training and experience, the positions work location, required travel (if any), and external market conditions when determining the final salary for potential new hires.

Be aware that salary estimates published via alternate online job boards may not be a true representation of the actual pay range offered for this position. Please refer to the Ace position description for the accurate starting pay range information and feel free to discuss this with a Talent Acquisition professional if you are chosen to move forward with an interview.

This written Position Description is not intended to cover all aspects of the position listed. It is meant to cover the basic/general essential job functions of a particular position. Ace Hardware Corporation reserves the right to change job duties, including essential job functions, according to business necessity.