Consulting Partner Retail Merchandising- GROCERY

Seeking a seasoned Retail Merchandising leader for the North America Retail Business Consulting division. The ideal candidate will have deep retail expertise, hands on experience in retail merchandising, especially in grocery, and a proven track record of driving transformation and operational excellence across key topics such as assortment planning, space optimization, pricing and promotions, allocation, vendor management, and category strategy.

• Experience leading merchandising functions within retail organizations and delivering measurable results through change initiatives is essential. Consulting experience is highly advantageous but not required.
• In this position, you will lead large-scale merchandising transformation programs, redesign operating models, business processes, and planning cycles, and enable technology adoption across merchandising levers. Success requires deep industry knowledge, practical expertise, a commitment to diversity and inclusion, and the ability to build strong client relationships and shape the future of our consulting practice.

Key Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Develop and execute the merchandising consulting strategy for the North America market, aligning with the company’s global vision and objectives.
• Own and deliver the revenue targets for the merchandising consulting business for North America Retail.
• Lead high-impact merchandising strategy and transformation engagements, providing strategic insights and driving value for global clients, with a particular focus on grocery Retail and, ideally, broader general merchandise and discretionary categories.
• Determine Retailers’ merchandising objectives by assessing current assortment, space and floor planning, pricing, inventory management, planning processes and operating models to identify opportunities, gaps, and future threats.
• Collaborate with global leadership to ensure consistency and quality of service across regions.
• Leverage deep functional merchandising experience to shape change programs either within merchandising or in partnership with central strategy/operations teams.

Client Engagement & Business Development

• Build and maintain strong relationships with Chief Merchandising Officers, VPs of Merchandising, Pricing and Category leaders, and other key decision-makers in the Retail industry.
• Identify and pursue new business opportunities in merchandising strategy and operations, expanding the client base and driving revenue growth.
• Serve as a trusted advisor to clients, providing thought leadership on merchandising trends, pricing strategies, assortment optimization, data analytics and AI-driven planning.
• Develop new merchandising consulting propositions that enable clients to address future category and pricing challenges, leveraging your network and relationships to shape opportunities and drive pipeline growth.

Practice Leadership

• Play a leadership role in shaping and building the merchandising consulting capability, with functional depth across assortment planning, space & floor planning, pricing and promotions, vendor negotiations, allocation, category strategy, merchandise financial planning, and private label development.
• Initially, the role will focus on thought leadership, client development, delivery leadership and driving consulting revenue; over time, there will be opportunities to build and lead a growing team as the practice expands.
• Drive recruitment, training, and professional development initiatives as the team scales, ensuring it develops best-in-class merchandising capabilities and consulting expertise.
• Foster a collaborative and innovative culture, ensuring a free exchange of perspectives and ideas to drive client impact.
• Champion business process innovation and continuous improvement across merchandising functions, drawing on proven change management approaches.

Thought Leadership

• Represent the company at merchandising and Retail conferences, events, and forums (e.g., NRF Big Show, pricing & assortment forums), enhancing brand visibility and thought leadership in merchandising transformation.
• Create and publish Whitepapers on emerging retail trends and capabilities.

Operational Excellence

• Ensure the highest standards of merchandising project delivery, client satisfaction, and operational efficiency.
• Monitor and manage the Consulting practice’s financial performance, including budgeting, forecasting, and profitability analysis.

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