Director Merchandising GTM Commercial Planning & Ops

Discover greater levels of performance. With over 1,400 stores throughout the U.S. and an innovative omni-channel ecosystem, Ulta Beauty is revolutionizing the beauty retail experience. Ulta Beauty is expanding its digital capabilities, opening new stores on a continual basis, and redesigning existing locations with the latest design and technological advancements for heightened guest experiences. We’re thriving through consistent innovation and a bold commitment to re-imagination.

About the role

The Director, Merchandising Go to Market Commercial Planning & Operations provides strategic and operational leadership for the planning, alignment, and execution of key merchandising initiatives and product launches across all channels. This role leads governance and cross-functional processes that translate merchandising strategies into coordinated, customer-focused execution in support of financial and business objectives. Serving as the strategic integration point across Merchandising, Marketing, Visual Merchandising, Store Operations, Digital, Planning & Allocation, and other key functions, the Director ensures customer-facing messaging and creative assets align with brand strategies, product priorities, and business objectives.

Responsibilities

• Lead the development and execution of integrated go-to-market merchandising calendar and strategies for key business initiatives, key moments (holiday), product launches, promotional campaigns, and enterprise priorities, in alignment with the broader cross-functional go-to-market strategy.
• Set direction and establish priorities, milestones, and decision points for merchandise category activities, ensuring cross-functional teams are aligned to deliver against plans, timelines, milestones, and business objectives.
• Ensure alignment across merchandising strategies, financial objectives, customer experience objectives, brand strategies, and operational execution, identifying and resolving competing priorities and business trade-offs.
• Establish and continuously evolve cross-functional go-to-market process development across stores, digital channels, marketing, and supporting functions.
• Anticipate and resolve complex cross-functional risks, dependencies, and execution barriers. Drive decisions and appropriate escalation to protect business priorities and outcomes.
• Apply strong financial and commercial acumen to assess the sales, margin, brand, and customer implications of competing priorities. Collaborate with Central Planning and Finance teams to scope business impact.
• Lead merchandise concept development and review processes from initial ideation through final execution, in partnership with marketing and visual leadership.
• Oversee cross-functional concept reviews to drive timely decisions, alignment, and assess strategic fit, customer impact, operational feasibility, sales volume impacts, and brand consistency.
• Establish governance, decision rights, accountability, and escalation mechanisms to ensure risks, dependencies, and action items are proactively identified and resolved.
• Prepare merchandising key stories, product priorities, and synthesize into key themes to support the storytelling process. Create product launch and storytelling briefs for in-store and digital execution.
• Partner with Marketing, Creative, Visual, Merchandising, and Digital teams to develop and ensure product connects to compelling customer-facing narratives and experiences.
• Ensure product supports marketing creative, visual presentation, digital content, and in-store experiences to deliver a cohesive and differentiated brand experience in line with Ulta Beauty’s broader brand guidelines.
• Translate business objectives and product strategies into clear, engaging customer stories in partnership with marketing leaders.
• Drive the leadership review processes and executive sign-off across major initiatives and campaigns. Manage decision conflicts in reaching consensus.
• Create and deliver executive presentations, recommendations, summaries, and decision-making materials, including financial implications of trade-offs.
• Lead multiple complex merchandising initiatives simultaneously, establishing priorities and ensuring resources and organizational efforts are aligned to the highest-impact business objectives.
• Drive project execution through clear communication, milestone management, and issue resolution. Implement best practices and continuous improvements within go-to-market processes.
• Define measures of effectiveness and leverage performance insights, stakeholder feedback, and business results to identify opportunities for continuous improvement.
• Lead organizational change and adoption associated with new initiatives and programs.
• Provide leadership during significant execution disruptions, including product, fixture, or supply delays, by assessing business and customer impact, directing cross-functional contingency planning, and driving alignment on alternative merchandising and execution strategies.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Communications, Retail Management, or related field.
• 15+ years of progressive experience in retail, merchandising, marketing, brand management, go-to-market strategy, project management, or related disciplines.
• Demonstrated success leading large-scale cross-functional initiatives from concept through execution.
• Experience managing executive reviews, stakeholder alignment, and approval processes.
• Strong understanding of retail, customer experience, marketing, and operational execution.
• Experience working in omnichannel retail environments collaborating across merchandising, marketing, digital, stores, and other functions strongly preferred.
• Experience developing customer-facing campaigns, storytelling frameworks, and launch strategies preferred.
• Strategic thinking, financial and business acumen, and an enterprise mindset with a customer focus.
• Exceptional project and program management skills including facilitation and stakeholder management.
• Ability to connect product strategy, customer insights, and brand messaging into compelling go-to-market narratives.
• Ability to influence and drive alignment without direct authority.
• Ability to create executive-level PowerPoint presentations.
• Excellent organizational, prioritization, and decision-making abilities.
• Strong problem-solving and conflict-resolution skills.
• Ability to balance creative vision with operational execution and business results.

Pay

The pay range for this position is $147,300.00 - $185,000.00 per year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to, relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs.

Benefits

Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page.