Skills & Competencies for Merchandising Director

Merchandising Director job profile

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JOB SUMMARY for Merchandising Director

Directs and develops merchandising plans and operational systems to achieve financial objectives.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES for Merchandising Director

Utilizes sales, research, and trend analytics to develop strategies for merchandise categories and optimize product assortments. Develops merchandise plans and pricing that support key strategic initiatives, launches, top sellers, seasonal campaigns, and trends. Partners across functions to manage vendor relationships, identify new vendors, and negotiate favorable contract terms.

Merchandising Director SALARY RANGE

BASE 50%
$194,249
TOTAL 50%
$225,382
Job Level
M04
Job Code
SM15000256
Education/Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Reports To
Top Management

Merchandising Director Skills and Competencies List

Proficiency Levels and Behavioural Indicators
Salary.com identifies five increasing levels of proficiency for each skill/competency. Some jobs require only a relatively low level of proficiency in each skill/competency, while other jobs will require a more advanced level of proficiency in the same skill/competency. These levels rate the degree of proficiency (skill level, expertise) we expect the incumbent to perform in the given skill/competency for the given job. Note that we intentionally do not associate timeframes or years of experience in performing the skill/competency because that can be misleading. Proficiency levels identify what the incumbent knows and can do rather than how long they have been doing it. Also, note that the proficiency levels are cumulative, e.g., a level 4 proficiency implies the ability to perform all the behaviors at the lower levels.
Check each Merchandising Director skill and competencie below to view definitions.
INDUSTRY COMPETENCIES JOB FAMILY COMPETENCIES CORE COMPETENCIES
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6 hard skills or competencies (industry competencies) for Merchandising Director

1 Industry Competency – Retail Industry
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Applying comprehensive knowledge of retail principles, inventory management, pricing strategies, and consumer behavior to effectively manage and operate retail businesses.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the application of upselling, cross-selling, and closing sales techniques in retail operations.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Conducts research on current and upcoming distribution channels tailored to a specific product category.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Analyzes consumer buying patterns and trends to predict product and service demands.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates and leverages KPIs to assess the effectiveness of retail sales strategies and promotional methods.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Designs and executes customer segmentation and personalization techniques to deliver tailored marketing promotions.
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2 Industry Competency – Retail Strategy Management
Proficiency Level -2
Skill definition-Developing and implementing retail strategies, to support the strategic decisions and actions that effectively enhance the sales and growth of an organization.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Explains how managing retail strategy correctly can improve brand awareness and increase sales.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Documents insights of retail campaigns for strategists to manage and analyze.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Communicates the retail and promotional strategies to store staff to promote the correct visual merchandising.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Leverages online platforms to manage and improve our retail operations and optimize our online presence.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds scalable and manageable retail strategies and platforms to compete with online giants.
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3 Merchandising Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 5

5 general skills or competencies (Job family competencies) for Merchandising Director

1 Job Family Competencies – Digital Marketing Strategy
Proficiency Level -3
Skill definition-Researching, planning, implementing, and evaluating digital marketing activities to reach target audiences and achieve business goals.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Identifies market segmentation techniques, such as demographic and psychographic segmentation.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Develops compelling and engaging content for various distribution channels.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Communicates the digital marketing plan, including roles, responsibilities and expectations, to relevant personnel.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Closely monitors and assesses customer traffic and conversion rates.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Defines and sets clear and measurable goals for the digital marketing strategy.
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2 Job Family Competencies – Marketing Operations
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Designing, executing, and optimizing systems, tools, and processes to ensure the smooth and efficient operations of marketing activities.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes the key concepts and components of marketing operations.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Applies the knowledge of marketing concepts to meet our established business objectives.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Contributes to the design and implementation of new marketing processes within our organization.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Evaluates performance metrics to measure the performance of our marketing campaigns and strategies.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds and executes marketing operations roadmap to reduce inefficiencies.
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3 Merchandising Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 5

13 soft skills or competencies (core competencies) for Merchandising Director

1 Core Competencies – Business Acumen
Proficiency Level -4
Skill definition-Insight into our organization's business, goals, and values. Ability to design and implement initiatives that facilitate successful outcomes.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Describes how our business makes money and our key business objectives.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Assists in designing business models and operating plans.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Analyses the business impact of demographic changes; suggests effective responses.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Consults on the selection and adjustment of the go-to-market strategy.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Builds a mentoring model to ensure a continuous increase of business sense within our business.
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2 Core Competencies – Business Performance Management
Proficiency Level -3
Skill definition-Applying business intelligence to monitor and manage overall business performance towards goals.
Level 1 Behaviors
(General Familiarity)
Cites the processes involved in business performance management.
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Level 2 Behaviors
(Light Experience)
Designs new reports to surface new action items.
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Level 3 Behaviors
(Moderate Experience)
Collates data to help in assessing our organization's operation holistically.
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Level 4 Behaviors
(Extensive Experience)
Creates an environment where staff can perform to the best of their abilities.
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Level 5 Behaviors
(Mastery)
Creates interventions based on the data reviewed to improve future performance.
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3 Merchandising Director - Skill and Competency
Proficiency Level - 3
4 Skill and Competency - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 4
5 Competency for - Merchandising Director
Proficiency Level - 5

Summary of Merchandising Director skills and competencies

There are 6 hard skills for Merchandising Director, Retail Industry, Retail Strategy Management, Merchandising, etc.
5 general skills for Merchandising Director, Digital Marketing Strategy, Marketing Operations, Promotion, etc.
13 soft skills for Merchandising Director, Business Acumen, Business Performance Management, Budgeting, etc.
While the list totals 24 distinct skills, it's important to note that not all are required to be mastered to the same degree. Some skills may only need a basic understanding, whereas others demand a higher level of expertise.
For instance, as a Merchandising Director, he or she needs to be skilled in Business Acumen, be skilled in Business Performance Management, and be skilled in Budgeting.

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