Senior Brand Operations Director - Merrell

Merrell exists to share the simple power of being outside with everyone. We believe the "outdoors" is a much broader space than just the mountain summit; it’s any space beyond your front door. Our mission is to help our community rethink the outdoors by building gear that works everywhere, from technical alpine ridges to urban city streets. We don't just follow the trail; we help define where it goes next.

We are a team that lives at the intersection of elite performance and modern style. Our history on the trail and commitment to innovation has made us the most awarded brand in the outdoor space. Recently, our MTL SpeedARC Peak won the prestigious ISPO Award for its breakthrough trail-racing tech, while the SpeedARC Surge BOA was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions for its modern, futuristic design and energy return. Whether it’s the Moab 3 being named “Best Hiking Shoe” by CNN Underscored and Popular Mechanics, or the Jungle Moc being recognized by HuffPicks as the gold standard for comfort, we are consistently recognized for building the most reliable, and most innovative, gear in the world.

The Senior Brand Operations Director plays a crucial role in managing and overseeing the operational aspects of the brand to drive against business goals and strategic objectives. This position is a vital member of the leadership team reporting directly to the brand president and works closely with all functional areas of the brand and global teams to ensure strategy development & implementation, effective decision making, and cohesive brand messaging.

Primary Duties:

• Own the operating cadence of Merrell leadership team, including strategic planning, quarterly business reviews, and execution tracking.

• Partner with the leadership team to translate brand strategic priorities into clear plans, with defined owners, milestones, and metrics and serve as a connective tissue across the leadership team to ensure we move with speed and efficiency.

• Act as a strategic adviser to all brand leadership and global partners helping to develop and implement brand strategies and track execution against top strategic initiatives and proactively flag risks, dependencies, or misalignment.

• Create and implement annual business priorities, ensuring alignment, progress and delivery of the priorities.

• Provides strategic end-to-end project management to lead complex, cross-functional projects that advance key brand initiatives with the ability to pivot based on evolving opportunities and challenges while engaging stakeholders across the portfolio.

• Drive change initiatives that improve speed, decision quality, and cross-functional effectiveness.

• Prepare the Brand President for important meetings by developing and owning the production of concise briefs, key information and analysis, and high-quality presentations and reports, including Board materials, Analyst meetings, earnings calls, and Distributor Partner meetings.

• Own the process, cadence, and cross-functional integration of the global brand Go-to-Market strategy in partnership with Merchandising, Marketing, and Commercial teams.

• Utilize and interpret data to provide analytical recommendations to shape strategies and optimize brand performance.

• Serve as an extension of the Brand President in select meetings and forums, ensuring alignment and follow-through.

• Partner with Finance to align brand strategies with budgetary constraints and financial goals ensuring that brand initiatives are cost-effective and deliver a strong return on investment.

• Identify, develop, and maintain areas of operational excellence to drive process and rigger while streamlining operations and implementing best practice.

• Monitors and reports progress of various initiatives to provide insights and recommendations to the brand president and leadership team.

• Proactively shape and expand the Business Operations role by synthesizing data, connecting cross-functional insights, and establishing new standards of excellence as the function matures.

• Performs duties consistent with the Company’s AAP/EEO goals and policies.

• Performs other duties as required/assigned by manager.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities Required:

• Bachelor’s degree required 10+ years of strategy, business operations, consulting, marketing, or project management roles

• Excellent strategic mindset with strong commercial acumen

• Experience working closely with senior executives and navigating complex organizations, with exposure to high-stakes decision-making

• Proven track record of working a dynamic fast-paced environment across multiple time horizons

• Strong business and financial acumen; expert with data and metrics

• Exceptional communication and presentation skills, with ability to synthesize complex data and information into clear insights and actions and attention to detail

• Highly collaborative and able to work in global matrix environment

• High judgment, discretion, and emotional intelligence

• Able to operate effectively with influence rather than authority on matters of significance, with orientation toward impact, not visibility

• Comfortable operating with ambiguity and in fast-changing environments

• Proactive and anticipates needs before they arise with a bias for action with strong follow-through

• Exceptional ability to produce and present concise, executive-ready analyses and presentations that drive decisions utilizing Microsoft office (especially PowerPoint, Excel, and Copilot)

• Ability to invoke innovative concepts and creatively solve problems

Working Conditions:

Normal office environment. Some travel may be required.

Wolverine Worldwide has a flexible, hybrid work schedule, with three days in office and two days remote.

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Wolverine World Wide, Inc. (NYSE:WWW) is one of the world’s leading designers, marketers, and licensors of footwear and apparel; It’s global footprint spans 170 countries and territories. The Company’s portfolio includes Merrell®, Saucony®, Sweaty Betty®, Hush Puppies®, Wolverine®, Chaco®, Bates®, HYTEST®, and Stride Rite®. The Company is also the global footwear licensee of brands Cat® and Harley-Davidson®.

Wolverine Worldwide is driven by a Vision to Make. Every Day. Better. for its consumers, partners, communities, and shareholders.

In 2025, the Company was recognized by Footwear News as Company of the Year, by Forbes as one of America’s Dream Employers, America’s Best Employers for Women, and America’s Best Employers for Company Culture, and by Inspiring Workplaces as one of the Most Inspiring Workplaces Globally.

Wolverine Worldwide is a Certified™ Great Place To Work®.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties and skills which may be required.

Wolverine Worldwide, Inc. is committed to creating a company that is as diverse as our consumers. We value the differences in one another and believe our differences make us stronger. Our diverse and inclusive corporate culture starts with the recruitment process. We are committed to being an equal opportunity employer. We aim to create equal opportunities for our associates, customers, and suppliers regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other legally protected characteristic.