Brand Merchandising

Brand Merchandising Specialist (14814-1)

Industry: Global Athletic Footwear & Apparel
Job Title: Brand Merchandising (14814-1)
Employment Type: Freelance
Location: North America (remote or hybrid; no relocation support, must be able to start immediately)
Contract End Date: November 30 (fixed term)

We are seeking a freelance Brand Merchandising Specialist to temporarily backfill a Channel Merchant position on the North America Soccer & Field Sports merchandising team. This role sits at the intersection of sport merchandising and commercial execution, ensuring that category strategies are translated into sharp, channel-right assortments for wholesale partners and direct-to-consumer doors across North America.

The ideal candidate combines strong channel merchandising skills with an ability to turn complex product, consumer, and marketplace information into clear, actionable go-to-market plans.

Key Responsibilities

• Support and manage channel-specific assortments for Soccer & Field Sports in North America, aligning with consumer needs, account strategies, and marketplace capacity.
• Translate sport and product strategies into tiered, channel-right assortments that protect consumer intent while reflecting operational, financial, and space constraints.
• Partner with Sales and cross-functional teams to build, refine, and deliver go-to-market tools, stories, and presentations that highlight seasonal priorities and product narratives.
• Operate multiple seasons in parallel—using in-season performance, bookings, and partner feedback to refine current assortments and inform future line plans.
• Contribute to GTM milestones (internal sales meetings, account presentations, seasonal reviews) through clear, visually compelling presentations and line views.
• Run and interpret business reports (sell-through, bookings, margin, inventory, and digital KPIs) and translate insights into concise recommendations and actions.
• Ensure data accuracy and alignment across systems, tools, and line plans to support clean hand-offs to Planning, Operations, and partners.

Collaboration & Stakeholders

In this role you will work closely with:

• North America Channel Merchants within the Soccer & Field Sports category
• Product and Sport Merchandising teams responsible for line architecture and consumer concepts
• Sales, Planning, and Brand Marketing partners focused on channel and account strategies
• Marketplace, Finance, Operations, and Insights & Analytics teams to leverage both quantitative and qualitative inputs

You will be expected to rapidly integrate into established ways of working, operate with a high degree of autonomy, and maintain clear, consistent communication across a large, matrixed environment.

Profile We’re Seeking

A channel-aware merchandiser or commercial planner who is passionate about sport, comfortable with ambiguity, and confident leading discussions with cross-functional partners. You should be able to simplify complexity, influence decision-making, and maintain a strong consumer and marketplace lens in everything you do.

Must-Have Qualifications & Experience

• 3+ years of experience in channel merchandising, sales, or retail planning (vertical retail, multi-brand wholesale, or digital commerce).
• Demonstrated presentation and storytelling skills, with experience building and delivering structured presentations for internal and external stakeholders.
• Proven success working cross-functionally in large or matrixed organizations; able to work independently and make progress with limited guidance.
• Solid understanding of retail and/or digital performance metrics (e.g., sell-through, margin, inventory productivity, bookings) and how to drive action from insights.
• Ability to manage multiple seasons, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously while maintaining strong attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Immediate availability and ability to work effectively within North America time zones; no relocation support.

Nice-to-Have Skills

• Advanced Excel capabilities (pivot tables, complex formulas, data summarization and visualization).
• Experience in related categories such as sporting goods, performance apparel, footwear, or athletic equipment.
• Familiarity with merchandising assortment or planning tools and visualization platforms.
• Background in channel-specific assortment planning for key wholesale and digital partners.

Key Competencies for Success

• Channel Assortment Management: Ability to build and refine channel-specific line views that balance consumer insights, brand positioning, and account needs.
• Marketplace Acumen: Understanding of wholesale, specialty, and direct-to-consumer dynamics in North America and how they influence merchandise strategies.
• Cross-Functional Influence: Skilled at partnering with Merchandising, Sales, Planning, and Brand teams to drive alignment on seasonal priorities and assortments.
• Process & Calendar Discipline: Comfortable working against fixed milestones and calendars, delivering high-quality work on time.
• Storytelling & Communication: Able to convert data, product features, and consumer insights into concise, compelling narratives for GTM moments and sales tools.
• Insight-Driven Mindset: Uses performance data, bookings, and partner feedback to continuously refine assortments and improve ways of working.

This freelance position is ideal for a merchandising or commercial professional who can quickly step into an existing portfolio of work and help deliver a sharp, consumer-right Soccer & Field Sports marketplace execution across North America by the end of the contract term.