Merchandising Manager, Mens Footwear & Special Projects

Tecovas is the first direct-to-consumer western brand, founded with the simple goal of making the world’s best western boots, apparel, and leather goods - and selling them at a fair price. We are a brand revolutionizing a category and welcoming first-time boot buyers and Western enthusiasts alike. 

Tecovas is looking for a Merchandising Manager who will maintain, evolve, and amplify a portfolio of products within Mens Footwear and lead the development of special projects and new categories of products.  As the Merchandising Manager, you will work closely with the Design, Development, Marketing, and Planning teams to execute on our seasonal product strategies and deliver on our collective customer and operating goals. You will possess excellent product acumen with deep product experience to create compelling product briefs, global line plans, GTM strategies, and storytelling for our customers. You will be responsible for wholly-owning your product lines using seasonal performance analytics, market research, customer insights, surveys and cross-functional planning to create the optimal product lines for future seasons. 

This role is required to be based in Austin, TX. Candidates must either be currently located in or willing to relocate to Austin, TX.

What you’ll do:

• Work directly with Design & Development and Merchandise Planning teams to build, own and manage a portion of the Tecovas Men’s footwear assortment from concept to commercialization to GTM, including work & rugged boots and western adjacent styles.
• Lead projects to expand into new product lines and categories, from strategy-setting to coordination with cross-functional teams to develop products and launch across channels. 
• Define and communicate product and assortment requirements by translating sales and channel performance, customer feedback, product reviews and market insights into product briefs for seasonal and core footwear offerings.
• Create and communicate product vision for upcoming seasons and identify white space for new product and customer opportunities.
• Research and prepare market and competitive landscape studies for presentation to cross-functional teams ahead of seasonal planning. 
• Develop collection and assortment strategies and development calendars to support target business initiatives and operating goals.
• Develop categorical pricing and margin strategies that support Marketing and Finance goals. 
• Develop and maintain a product roadmap of seasonal releases and synchronize with Marketing’s content and brand calendars.
• Work with branding, marketing and Channel teams to promote a complete understanding of key personas and customer cohorts that support product direction. 
• Analyze and communicate product sales data to support cross-functional understanding and promote future seasonal stories. 
• Coordinate with retail sales, customer service and insights to pull feedback into product design and development. 
• Work with the design and development teams throughout the product cycle to refine, improve, or reinvent the components of the product line in order to properly address market needs. 
• Partner with Planning team to set seasonal buy forecasting and exit strategies
• Create cohesion across Mens categories
• In partnership with Design, present the product line seasonally to internal teams
• Manage business end to end, including PLM data and samples
• Create strong and collaborative cross functional relationships

Experience we’re looking for:

• 5+ years of prior experience in an analytically-driven product line management position
• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Merchandising, Development, Design or related Product-oriented discipline.
• Direct professional experience in a high-functioning Apparel, Footwear, Outdoor, Action-Sports or Lifestyle brand is desired.
• Experience being involved in a retail buying process
• Deep comfortability with retail-math and inventory-related performance metrics.
• A previous experience and familiarity with PLM software and data visualization tools are preferred.
• A proven ability to establish, lead and drive processes in order to deliver cross-functional results.
• Ability to manage product development and GTM milestones for multiple categories with different timelines simultaneously
• A proven aptitude for both strategic thinking and detail-oriented operational management.
• A professional track record operating as a productive and collaborative team member.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills, including meeting facilitation and presentation delivery.
• Willingness to travel periodically for work (domestically and internationally)

What