How to hire a director of merchandising & marketing

How to hire a director of merchandising & marketing, step by step

Here's a step-by-step director of merchandising & marketing hiring guide:

• Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
• Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
• Step 3: Make a budget
• Step 4: Write a director of merchandising & marketing job description
• Step 5: Post your job
• Step 6: Interview candidates
• Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new director of merchandising & marketing
• Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

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1. Identify your hiring needs

   Before you start hiring a director of merchandising & marketing, identify what type of worker you actually need. Certain positions might call for a full-time employee, while others can be done by a part-time worker or contractor.

   Determine employee vs contractor status

   Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

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   Hiring the perfect director of merchandising & marketing also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

   This list presents director of merchandising & marketing salaries for various positions.

   Type of Director Of Merchandising & Marketing	Description	Hourly rate
   Director Of Merchandising & Marketing	Advertising, promotions, and marketing managers plan programs to generate interest in products or services. They work with art directors, sales agents, and financial staff members.	$30-90
   Global Director	The duties of a global director will vary on one's line of work or company of employment. Typically, their responsibilities will revolve around overseeing and leading a diverse range of employees or departments, developing new strategies and programs for global markets, and ensuring that all products and services are inclusive and public friendly... Show more	$51-110
   Group Director	A group director is responsible for monitoring the operations of a specific team in an organization, ensuring that the group meets daily targets, providing the highest customer satisfaction for the company's services. Group directors work with senior management to identify business opportunities that would bring more revenues and increase the company's profitability... Show more	$47-107

   Show more

2. Create an ideal candidate profile

   Common skills:

   • Trade Shows
   • Consumer Insights
   • Integrated Marketing
   • Apparel
   • Merchandise Sales
   • ROI
   • Product Management
   • E-Commerce
   • Product Development
   • SEO
   • Facebook
   • Photo Shoots
   • POS
   • Logistics

   Check all skills

   Responsibilities:

   • Recommend assortments, planograms and products for retailers to achieve maximum ROI.
   • Manage all internal company-wide communications, including company intranet, quarterly all- company meetings broadcast to all locations and executive communications.
   • Deliver notable labor cost savings by implementing a new automate retail point-of-sale (POS) system.
   • Bring brand to life through in store visual elements including iconic character moments, fixture design, graphics and POS.
   • Monitor and analyze product performance and ROI to make recommendations and develop future promotions strategies.
   • Re-Create and deploy the marketing message and relate identity materials, translating it for those unfamiliar with e-business technology and terminology.

3. Make a budget

   Including a salary range in your director of merchandising & marketing job description is a great way to entice the best and brightest candidates. A director of merchandising & marketing salary can vary based on several factors:

   • Location. For example, directors of merchandising & marketing' average salary in hawaii is 52% less than in california.
   • Seniority. Entry-level directors of merchandising & marketing earn 66% less than senior-level directors of merchandising & marketing.
   • Certifications. A director of merchandising & marketing with a few certifications under their belt will likely demand a higher salary.
   • Company. Working for a prestigious company or an exciting start-up can make a huge difference in a director of merchandising & marketing's salary.

   Average director of merchandising & marketing salary

   $110,497yearly

   $53.12 hourly rate

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   Entry-level director of merchandising & marketing salary

   $64,000 yearly salary

   Updated January 21, 2026

4. Writing a director of merchandising & marketing job description

   A director of merchandising & marketing job description should include a summary of the role, required skills, and a list of responsibilities. It's also good to include a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager. Below, you can find an example of a director of merchandising & marketing job description:

   Director of merchandising & marketing job description example

   The Senior Director of Merchandising and Marketing is responsible for creating a merchandising and marketing strategy that will envision, implement and drive marketplace and merchandising strategies that maximize growth and profitability in accordance with Monro's organizational objectives. The Senior Director of Merchandising and Marketing is responsible for streamlining all merchandising and marketing processes, including assortment planning, vendor selection, and parts and tire acquisition, to realize cost savings will at the same time result in increased sales opportunities. The Senior Director of Merchandising and Marketing is a ground-breaking leader with creative, strategic, and financial acumen coupled with the strong business intellect necessary for taking the business to the next level. The Senior Director of Merchandising and Marketing is also an experienced leader with a deep knowledge of automotive OE and aftermarket industry coupled with a strong business intellect and financial acumen.
   Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
   
   · Responsibility for the achievement of Merchandising Department business targets and goals and the identification of plans to address variances from those targets and goals.
   
   · Monitors and approves of all marketing strategies to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of these teams, which leads to the achievement of the marketing department's goals and objectives.
   
   · Participate in the development and activation of Monro's Strategic Plan for tires, parts, and services.
   
   · Initiates and implements measurable strategies that aid in driving the business's revenue goals and increasing awareness at all levels of the business's reach - regional, national, or beyond.
   
   · Supports the Senior Leadership in guiding the development, deployment, and effectiveness monitoring of all merchandising activities.
   
   · Establish operating budgets and monitor actuals versus budget for the department and related programs.
   
   · Analyzes all category performance using industry trends to understand future market potential.
   
   · Analyzes current marketing strategies and implements changes.
   
   · Provide strategic guidance for, review, and approve all merchandising marketing, promotional, pricing, and category business plans.
   
   · Provide strategic guidance for, review, and approve new and refined merchandising processes and procedures along with expected costs and business benefits.
   
   · Provide recommendations related to new and improved processes, their business benefits, and their operational implications.
   
   · Identify, monitor, and address specific issues to achieve Monro's goals for the tires, commercial, fleet, OE, and aftermarket parts.
   
   · Selects and manages all third-party marketing agency partners establishing timelines of activities and tracking results.
   
   · Oversees all marketing activities, including but not limited to website, digital, in-store, print, creative, branding, and market segmentation.
   
   · Maximizes opportunities for online revenue generation through multiple channels.
   
   · Works closely with Operations, HR, Finance, and IT to ensure the organization has the necessary tools needed to implement and execute strategies.
   
   · Drives process around the development and adoption of innovative product assortments, partnering with the best-in-class suppliers/vendors.
   
   · Owns merchandising strategies, including brick-and-mortar and e-commerce. Integrates e-commerce into all aspects of the business model.
   
   · Subject matter expertise related to process content and the training needs required to ensure those processes are fully understood.
   
   · Identify and communicate key responsibilities and practices to ensure the organization promotes a successful attitude, confidence in leadership, and teamwork to achieve business results.
   
   · Ensure the effective and actionable communication of Monro's strategic direction.
   
   · Ensure business practices adhere to legal compliance requirements.
   
   · Leads, manages, and develops merchandising and marketing teams creating succession plans for the entire department. Participate in talent recruiting, staffing, and development of future leaders in the organization
   
   · Responsible for holding team accountable for achieving results, providing feedback, coaching, and performance management to course correct.
   
   · Sets KPIs for all marketing and merchandising activities at Monro.
   
   · Accepts other duties as assigned.
   
   Management Responsibility:
   
   The Senior Director of Merchandising and Marketing will lead, develop, manage and coach the respective teams and collaborate with the Vice President of Marketing, Merchandising and Commercial and Senior Leadership Team on marketing and merchandising initiatives.

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5. Post your job

   To find the right director of merchandising & marketing for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

   • Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
   • Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with directors of merchandising & marketing they would recommend.
   • Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit directors of merchandising & marketing who meet your education requirements.
   • Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.

   To find director of merchandising & marketing candidates, you can consider the following options:

   • Post your job opening on Zippia or other job search websites.
   • Use niche websites that focus on engineering and technology jobs, such as swipe files, exit five, marketinghire, american marketing association.
   • Post your job on free job posting websites.

6. Interview candidates

   Recruiting directors of merchandising & marketing requires you to bring your A-game to the interview process. The first interview should introduce the company and the role to the candidate as much as they present their background experience and reasons for applying for the job. During later interviews, you can go into more detail about the technical details of the job and ask behavioral questions to gauge how they'd fit into your current company culture.

   Remember to include a few questions that allow candidates to expand on their strengths in their own words. Asking about their unique skills might reveal things you'd miss otherwise. At this point, good candidates can move on to the technical interview.

   The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.

7. Send a job offer and onboard your new director of merchandising & marketing

   Once you've found the director of merchandising & marketing candidate you'd like to hire, it's time to write an offer letter. This should include an explicit job offer that includes the salary and the details of any other perks. Qualified candidates might be looking at multiple positions, so your offer must be competitive if you like the candidate. Also, be prepared for a negotiation stage, as candidates may way want to tweak the details of your initial offer. Once you've settled on these details, you can draft a contract to formalize your agreement.

   It's also good etiquette to follow up with applicants who don't get the job by sending them an email letting them know that the position has been filled.

   After that, you can create an onboarding schedule for a new director of merchandising & marketing. Human Resources and the hiring manager should complete Employee Action Forms. Human Resources should also ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc., and that new employee files are created.

8. Go through the hiring process checklist

   • Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
   • Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
   • Define job responsibilities and requirements
   • Establish budget and timeline
   • Determine hiring decision makers for the role
   • Write job description
   • Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
   • Promote the job internally
   • Process applications through applicant tracking system
   • Review resumes and cover letters
   • Shortlist candidates for screening
   • Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
   • Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
   • Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
   • Conduct background checks on top candidates
   • Check references of top candidates
   • Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
   • Extend offer to top candidate(s)
   • Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
   • Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
   • Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
   • Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)

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