Merchandise Planning & Projects Manager

The Merchandise Planning and Projects Manager coordinates and executes merchandising projects and recurring business activities that support store readiness, merchandising execution and category initiatives. This role provides dedicated run-the-business capacity.

The position serves as a central coordinator across Merchandising, Support and Services, Sales and Operations, Supply Chain, Procurement, Asset Development, vendors and other partners. The role owns schedules, communications, issue resolution and execution follow-through for assigned work.

Responsibilities

• Lead assigned merchandise projects from planning through implementation, including scope, schedule, milestones, dependencies, risks, decisions and closeout.
• Coordinate new store merchandising activities, including readiness milestones, store-specific requirements, vendor timing, merchandising inputs and opening follow-up.
• Support PMC-related planning and execution by maintaining schedules, inputs, decisions, communications, and completion tracking.
• Coordinate fixture planning, specifications, sourcing, ordering, delivery, installation and issue resolution with internal partners and third-party vendors.
• Manage reset-vendor coordination, including scopes, schedules, store access, execution standards, punch items, documentation and performance follow-up.
• Support Murphy Mall sourcing and fulfillment activities by coordinating business requirements, suppliers, timing, approvals and stakeholder communications.
• Coordinate store layout and merchandise placement planning, including alignment of layouts, fixtures, assortments, signage and operational requirements.
• Provide project management support to Food and Beverage and Merchandise category teams for tests, launches, assortment changes, equipment changes and other initiatives.
• Develop and maintain project charters, integrated project plans, workback calendars, action logs, RAID logs, success criteria, measurement plans and status reporting for assigned initiatives.
• Track approvals, deliverables, budgets and vendor commitments; identify variances or obstacles early and escalate with recommended actions.
• Partner with Merchandise Analytics to define dashboard requirements, establish reporting views, measure project ROI, monitor performance against success criteria, and identify insights that inform project decisions.
• Present project performance, key learnings, ROI results, risks and recommended next steps to executive-level audiences, including recommendations to wind down, continue as a pilot or scale initiatives based on results.
• Lead recurring working sessions as assigned, document decisions and actions, and ensure owners complete commitments by the agreed dates.
• Maintain accurate project files, playbooks, templates, store lists, vendor documentation and records in approved company systems.
• Support post-implementation reviews and performance analysis; document lessons learned and recommend process improvements.
• Perform other related duties or projects as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor degree in business, project management, retail operations, merchandising or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Four or more years of relevant business, retail, merchandising or project experience preferred.
• Experience coordinating cross-functional initiatives, vendors and field execution preferred.
• Strong project planning, organization, communication and follow-through.
• Ability to influence without direct authority and resolve issues across multiple teams.
• Working knowledge of retail merchandising, store operations, fixtures, layouts, vendors and supply chain coordination.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Teams, Word, Excel and PowerPoint; experience with project-tracking tools preferred.
• Ability to manage concurrent priorities and travel based on business need.