Duties
Management: Serves as the Branch Head/Program Manager oversees a complex, Marine Corps-wide merchandise operation, ensuring it aligns with policies, regulations, and operational goals. This role involves developing operational guidelines, implementing merchandising strategies, and driving customer-centric approaches to enhance loyalty and shopping experience. The Branch Head leads the development of program plans, integrates projects, and manages resources to meet Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) objectives. The role requires negotiation, conflict resolution, and collaboration with internal and external stakeholders to ensure successful program execution.
Responsible for implementing a comprehensive merchandise strategy, mitigating operational risks, maintaining quality assurance, and solving problems as they arise. The position also includes presenting expert briefings, conducting program reviews, and identifying documentation requirements.
Drives customer-centric merchandising strategies to enhance loyalty and shopping experience. Stay updated on industry trends, ensuring the team adapts quickly to new market changes. Develops programs to meet customer demand and local needs. Build strategic alliances with retail partners, suppliers, and Military Resale organizations, while coaching the team to strengthen supplier relationships.
Continuously evaluates program operations, monitoring progress toward goals and making adjustments for improvement. Identifies issues, assesses information accuracy, and uses sound judgment to recommend program enhancements. Stays current on process engineering methods, metrics, and tools, proposing new approaches based on expertise and evaluation of needs and trends. Organizes work, sets priorities, and determines resource needs, establishing both short- and long-term goals and strategies. Coordinates with other organizations to achieve objectives and evaluates outcomes.
Develops minimum standards for program policies and procedures and ensuring compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements. The Branch Head also provides leadership in coordinating efforts across various teams and organizations.
Reviews program changes to ensure compliance with statutory and regulatory requirements, identifying and recommending corrective actions for inconsistencies with federal law.
Determine the need for coordination efforts, formulating strategies to achieve results through collaboration while managing conflicting objectives. Advises and counsels agency representatives, patrons, and federal or local officials. Negotiates with professional societies and organizations to resolve conflicts and disputes over guidelines and program operations.
Supervision: Manages performance-level employees, including assigning tasks, providing feedback, and ensuring adherence to EEO principles and sexual harassment prevention. The role also involves overseeing Divisional Merchandise Managers to ensure product offerings align with the MCX brand and customer expectations.
Ensure Divisional Merchandise Managers and buying teams align products with the MCX brand and customer expectations. Drives plans to meet financial goals and in-stock metrics. Develops pricing strategies based on cost, competition, and demand while ensuring profitability and value for MCX patrons.
Oversees markdown and promotional strategies, aligning sales and promotional activities with corporate goals. This requires close collaboration with Visual Merchandising and Store Support teams to ensure effective execution at the command level.
Analysis and Evaluation: Use analytical skills and management expertise to evaluate planning processes and recommend improvements. Responds to audit requests and briefs executive leadership on Marine Corps-wide programs.
Demonstrates strong analytical and problem-solving skills with a data-driven approach. Recommends corrective actions and conducts follow-up inspections. Plans and analyze current and projected programs to achieve goals. Collects, verifies, and adjusts data, performing both manual and automated qualitative analysis. Evaluates results and consults with experts to identify key trends and produce meaningful data.
Proficient in merchandising tools, systems, and analytics. Uses data to inform decisions on assortments, inventory, and pricing strategies. Reviews program changes for compliance with federal, state, and regulatory requirements.
Strong communication and interpersonal skills for collaboration and influence at all organizational levels.
Budgeting: Formulates and monitors the operating and capital budgets, establishing proactive controls and taking corrective action when variances occur. The role includes preparing financial reports, analyzing profit and loss statements, and forecasting budgets for short- and long-term planning. The Branch Head presents financial summaries to executive personnel to inform decision-making.