The posting
Merchandising, Senior Manager – Performance Footwear
Now that you've found the job description, what's next?
At The North Face we dare to lead the world forward through Exploration. We were born to Explore, Disrupt and to Lead. We were born to Love Wild Places and to Spark Curiosity. We believe that exploration is a mindset, both on the mountain and off the mountain, and it infuses everything we do. As a community of explorers, we stay curious about new ideas, places, and people.
So, before we get to the job details, take a minute to learn a little more about us, our values and our culture. If you can see yourself working side-by-side with a team of adventure-loving people, The North Face just may be the place for you.
To learn more about our values and culture, visit The North Face Careers or www.thenorthface.com.
What will you do?
A day in the life of a Senior Manager, Merchandising – Performance Footwear at The North Face looks a little like this:
- You help shape the long-term vision and strategy for the Performance Footwear business, identifying opportunities to drive consumer relevance, brand elevation, and sustainable growth.
- You lead category-level consumer, marketplace, and competitive analysis to uncover emerging opportunities and translate insights into actionable product strategies.
- You partner closely with Brand Innovation, Design, and Development teams to influence future innovation pipelines and seasonal product direction.
- You own the product strategy and execution for the Performance Footwear category, including Trail Running, Hiking, and Mountaineering, ensuring a balanced product assortment that delivers against both consumer and business objectives.
- You oversee the creation of seasonal product briefs, providing clear direction on consumer needs, product positioning, pricing, and assortment architecture.
- You lead cross-functional product pods and drive key product decisions throughout the product creation process, including participation in development and factory visits.
- You are accountable for delivering category financial targets, including margin, productivity, and overall business performance.
- You drive global assortment plans and align category strategies with regional merchandising and financial objectives across key go-to-market milestones.
- You develop differentiated assortment and segmentation strategies across consumers, channels, tiers, and geographies to maximize growth opportunities.
- You collaborate closely with Planning, Brand Marketing, Sales, and Sourcing partners to ensure the category vision is successfully brought to life across wholesale, DTC, digital, and retail channels.
- You present category vision, product strategies, innovation priorities, and seasonal assortments to senior leadership and key external partners, inspiring confidence through deep expertise in the consumer, product, and marketplace.
- You lead and develop a team of merchandising professionals, fostering a high-performance culture focused on growth, collaboration, and accountability.
What do you need to succeed?
We all have unique skills that we bring to work and celebrate every day. For this role, there are foundational skills you'll need to succeed and excel. Additionally, while formal education in a related field is great to have, we are most interested in your merchandising expertise, leadership capabilities, and proven ability to drive product and business results.
The foundational skills you will need in this position are:
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Marketing, Merchandising, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
- 8+ years of experience in merchandising, product management, or a related product creation function, preferably within the footwear industry.
- Strong experience leading technical footwear categories, preferably performance running, trail running, hiking, mountaineering, or outdoor footwear.
- Deep understanding of footwear product creation, including merchandising, design, development, sourcing, testing, and go-to-market execution.
- Proven success developing category strategies, product assortments, and line plans that drive business growth.
- Strong financial acumen, including experience managing margins, pricing architecture, and category profitability.
- Deep understanding of performance consumers, market trends, and competitive dynamics.
- Exceptional communication, presentation, and influencing skills, including experience presenting to senior leaders and external partners.
- Proven ability to lead and develop teams while building strong partnerships across global, cross-functional organizations.
- Strong analytical and strategic thinking capabilities with the ability to turn insights into action.
- High degree of agility, adaptability, and comfort operating in a fast-paced, evolving environment.
- Growth mindset with a passion for product, innovation, and consumer-led decision making.
There are also a few skills that are not required but preferred:
- Experience within the outdoor, performance, or premium footwear industry.
- Global merchandising experience across multiple regions and channels.
- Strong understanding of footwear innovation, materials, performance technologies, and testing processes.
- Experience building franchise strategies and managing large-volume product businesses.
- International work experience and understanding of diverse consumer and market needs.
- Passion for outdoor exploration, trail running, hiking, climbing, or mountain sports.
What do we offer you?
At The North Face, we know you expect as much from us as we do from you. That is why we make a commitment to support and grow our people. We offer extensive development and growth opportunities for your current and future positions, a competitive compensation package, and a strong benefits package that includes medical, dental, vision, and 401(k).
Our commitment extends beyond this and into your daily work life. We strive to foster a diverse and inclusive culture based on respect, connection, and authenticity. Our focus on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is at the foundation of who we are and what we do.
To learn more about The North Face's benefits package, visit MyVFBenefits.com and click "Looking to Join VF".
Now WE have a question for YOU.
Are you in?
Hiring Range:
$120,960.00 USD - $151,200.00 USD annually
Incentive Potential: This position is eligible for additional compensation awards that may include an annual incentive plan, sales incentive, or commission potential. Specific details of the additional compensation eligibility for this position will be provided during the recruiting and interview process.
Benefits at VF Corporation: You can review a general overview of each benefit program offered, including this year's medical plan rates on www.MyVFbenefits.com and by clicking Looking to Join VF? Detailed information on your benefits will be provided during the hiring process.
Please note, our hiring ranges are determined and built from market pay data. In determining the specific compensation for this position, we comply with all local, state, and federal laws.
At VF, we value a diverse, inclusive workforce and we provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees. All qualified applicants for employment will be considered without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, national origin or ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition, family care status, marital status, domestic partner status, sexual orientation, genetic information, military or veteran status, or any other basis protected by federal, state or local laws. If you require accommodations during the application process, please contact us at [email protected]. VF will provide reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals to the extent required by applicable law.
Pursuant to all applicable local Fair Chance Ordinance requirements, including but not limited to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, VF will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.
