Retail Experience Strategist

About the role

Overview of the RoleA leading global sportswear and consumer brand is seeking a Retail Experience Strategist to shape seasonal consumer experiences across retail and digital commerce channels.This role sits at the intersection of brand marketing, merchandising, product strategy, retail experience, and digital commerce. The Retail Experience Strategist is responsible for translating seasonal sport priorities, product stories, marketplace opportunities, and business objectives into compelling consumer-facing experiences that drive engagement, brand connection, and commercial performance.The ideal candidate combines the strategic mindset of a marketer with the commercial instincts of a merchant. This person excels at identifying business opportunities, developing recommendations, influencing stakeholders, and bringing integrated retail experiences to life across digital and physical channels.Unlike traditional operations, project management, or production-focused roles, this position requires ownership of strategic recommendations and consumer experience decisions.

Basics

• Duration: 8 months, could extend
• Hours: Standard Schedule; 40 hours per week
• Location: Hybrid; Beaverton, OR (4x onsite a week, remote on Fridays)

Required Qualifications

• Experience developing retail experience, ecommerce, merchandising, brand marketing, product marketing, or consumer experience strategies
• Proven ability to take a business challenge from discovery through recommendation, stakeholder alignment, and execution
• Strong executive communication and influence skills with experience presenting recommendations to senior leaders

Responsibilities

• Seasonal Experience Strategy: Translate seasonal sport, product, and marketplace priorities into cohesive consumer-facing experiences; gather insights and context from brand, merchandising, product, and marketplace leaders; identify consumer needs, business opportunities, and seasonal priorities; develop strategic recommendations for how products, sport moments, and stories should come to life; connect product priorities to broader brand, consumer, and commercial objectives.
• Product Storytelling & Merchandising Strategy: Partner with merchandising and product teams to shape seasonal assortments; translate product and assortment strategies into compelling consumer journeys; evaluate product mixes, style architecture, color stories, outfitting strategies, and assortment placement; support seasonal launches, athlete moments, and key brand initiatives; ensure assortments are consumer-centered, commercially relevant, and strategically aligned.
• Digital & Retail Experience Development: Develop recommendations for product detail pages, product discovery, navigation, filtering, content, imagery, and digital merchandising; create and influence strategic briefs that guide creative and ecommerce teams; partner with content, commerce, creative, and product teams to activate experiences; lead cross-functional reviews and decision-making sessions; evaluate experiences from both strategic and executional perspectives.
• Strategic Leadership: Lead initiatives from initial context gathering through recommendation, alignment, and activation; develop clear points of view grounded in consumer insights, product priorities, and business goals; present recommendations to senior stakeholders; constructively challenge assumptions and advocate for the best consumer and business outcome; influence decision-making across highly matrixed organizations.

In this position, you may have access to client or customer systems, confidential and/or proprietary information or data. This position is onsite and requires you to work closely with other individuals in a collaborative team environment.

Benefits

• Creative Circle's Freelance Employee benefits package includes eligibility for Minimum Essential Coverage (MEC) medical plan, dental/vision/term life package, discount prescription program, critical illness, accident, tele-behavioral health, and 401(k) plan.
• Sick leave is provided to Candidates whose assignment work location is in a state or city subject to sick leave laws.
• A Minimum Value (MV) PPO medical plan, Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and paid holiday eligibility are based on length and dates of service.