Harbor Freight Tools · 2 weeks ago
Director, Merchandising Strategy & Operations - Remote
United States
Full-time
Remote
Director/Executive
$165K/yr - $206K/yr
10+ years expHarbor Freight Tools is a national tool retailer with a strong growth trajectory, and they are seeking a Director of Merchandising Strategy and Operations. This role is responsible for defining and driving the Merchandising department’s initiatives, managing budgets, and leading a team of strategy and operations professionals to align with company goals.
ManufacturingRetail
Responsibilities
Partner with the SVP of Merchandising and senior leaders to define and operationalize the department’s strategic priorities, KPIs, OKRs, and fiscal-year focus areas 10%
Own the development, management, and tracking of the Merchandising department’s operating budget, ensuring spend is aligned to strategic priorities and delivers measurable value 10%
Lead annual and in-year planning processes, including budget planning, headcount planning, and initiative funding decisions 5%
Drive department-wide strategic initiatives and special projects requiring a high level of strategy, structure, and project management, often spanning multiple functions 10%
Align resources across initiatives, balancing headcount, external spend, and timelines to ensure focus on the highest-impact work 5%
Partner with Finance to monitor budget performance, forecast risks and opportunities, and support variance analysis and corrective actions 5%
Own the operating rhythm for the department, including prioritization frameworks, initiative tracking, executive reporting, and escalation of risks and trade-offs 5%
Lead, develop, and mentor a team of senior strategy and operations professionals responsible for driving complex initiatives and operational improvements 15%
Establish governance, processes, and decision frameworks to improve execution discipline, financial rigor, and efficiency across the Merchandising organization 5%
Develop and maintain analytical tools and dashboards to track progress against strategic initiatives, KPIs, financial targets, and budget adherence 5%
Identify and deliver opportunities to improve cost efficiency, eliminate redundancy, and redeploy resources toward higher-value initiatives 5%
Conduct regular reviews of major initiatives to assess progress, ROI, risks, and outcomes, and recommend course corrections as needed 5%
Manage and reprioritize workloads across initiatives to reflect changing business needs, budget constraints, and leadership direction 5%
Assess systems, tools, and processes to ensure scalability and cost-effectiveness as the merchandising organization and business continue to grow 5%
Serve as a trusted thought partner to senior leaders, providing clear insights, financial perspective, and structured recommendations to support decision-making 5%
Qualification
Required
Minimum: 4 Year / Bachelors Degree
Required: Bachelors' Degree, preferably with a Business major or related field; MBA preferred
Minimum of 10 years of relevant experience required
Minimum 6 years of people leadership experience required
Minimum of 2 years of management consulting, strategy, or business operations experience
Skilled problem solver who can communicate urgency and influence others while remaining calm and collected
Strong leader of people
Ability to synthesize complex information into a high-level strategic message and interpret business factors into recommended solutions
Excellent written and verbal communication skills and demonstrated interpersonal skills
Excellent time management and planning skills, organized with the ability to multitask, exceptional follow-up skills and able to meet deadlines
Strong attention to detail and a high aptitude for problem solving
Highly analytical, with desire to make data-driven decisions
Results-oriented and self-starter, able to execute and carry out strategy and operational plans with limited direction
Self-starter, can take limited direction and run with a project
Willingness to “roll up your sleeves” to get the job done
Strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel and PowerPoint (Tableau a plus)
Preferred
Previous experience managing and leading others is preferred
Project management and retail experience preferred
Benefits
Comprehensive and competitive benefits to Associates (and their families) such as medical, dental, vision, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability
401k plan
Paid time off up to 236 hours per year (inclusive of PTO, floating holidays, and paid holidays)
Paid sick time up to 80 hours per year unless otherwise required by law
Company
Harbor Freight Tools
Harbor Freight Tools is a leader in providing high-quality tools at the lowest prices in the industry.
10001+ employees
H1B Sponsorship
Harbor Freight Tools has a track record of offering H1B sponsorships. Please note that this does not
guarantee sponsorship for this specific role. Below presents additional info for your
reference. (Data Powered by US Department of Labor)
Distribution of Different Job Fields Receiving Sponsorship
Represents job field similar to this job
Trends of Total Sponsorships
2025 (2)
2024 (3)
2023 (2)
2022 (6)
2021 (4)
2020 (1)
Funding
Current Stage
Late StageLeadership Team
Jean-Michel Kientz
Chief Technology Officer
Tomas Kokko
EVP & Chief Financial Officer
Recent News
2025-12-03
2025-11-30
vermontbiz.com
2025-11-10
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