Director Solution Design Consultant – Merchandising, Strategy & Insights Group
Cincinnati

SUMMARY:

At 84.51°, people are the key to everything. We are dedicated to always doing what’s right and never compromising on our values. That’s why we have created a culture where every opinion is respected, and contrary thinking is encouraged. Making life more rewarding for our community and our associates is an essential part of the process. Our team is known for their enthusiasm, camaraderie and sense of fun. We work hard and we play just as hard. That’s why we engage in a range of official and unofficial activities to get together, serve the community, and have fun. We continually seek people who make us better. In order to continue to grow, we need more great people who want to join us in doing cool, industry-changing, brain-stimulating work. 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

In this role you will be a part of the Strategy & Insights Group within the Merchandising Analytics & Operations Business Team, which is responsible for partnering with Merchandising and their supporting teams to build a customer centric data-driven strategic foundation that enables the organization to achieve sustainable growth.

As the Solution Design Director of the Strategy & Insights Group, you are responsible for developing and executing a technical roadmap that supports short-, mid- and long-term goals for Customer Centric Category Management (3CM) efforts.

Key Work Plan Areas include:

• Assessing strength and sustainability of Category DNA, Roles, Intents & Guardrails, and developing/maintaining a roadmap for continuous evolution.
• Partnering with a dedicated DSR, the CR Team, and the Strategy COE to identify data, insight and solution needs for the 3CM Category Assessment, Strategy Development, implementation and measurement processes.
• Partnering cross-functionally to create synergies and alignment across teams, within 84.51° and at Kroger. This includes our team’s use of other team’s sciences and their adoption of ours as well as demonstrated application of 3CM solutions in other functions to drive incremental value beyond the 3CM strategy process.
• Developing and enabling innovation that enables 3CM principles and helps Merchandisers feel empowered to make strategic data-driven decisions and drive alignment across the organization.

Your primary area of focus is enhancing, developing, and delivering core capabilities related to 3CM (i.e. category roles, intents, guardrails, etc.). This will span across merchandising and operations, leveraging our industry leading customer insights to drive holistic category strategies that are relevant to our customers. This includes assortment, pricing, promotion, space management, visual display, and the customer experience. To operate effectively in this domain, you are expected to know the current state of the business, the latest trends, and the innovations that are impacting and disrupting this area – all from a customer perspective. 

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND EXPERIENCE:

Successful candidates thrive in a fast-paced environment, a little unorthodox at times, and possess the following:

• 10+ years of relevant experience
• Critical thinking skills
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Solution Design skills
• Relationship management skills
• Strong business and technical acumen
• Strong communication skills
• Education: Bachelor’s degree (Master’s Degree preferred but not required)

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