2+ years of experience in merchandise operations, retail operations, buying operations, inventory, vendor management, or a similar role.
Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
Strong ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, vendors, and cross-functional requests.
Proven ability to own processes end-to-end, proactively identify issues, and ensure tasks are fully closed out.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly when working with vendors and cross-functional teams.
Comfortable working independently and knowing when to escalate issues or ask for direction.
Strong proficiency in Google Sheets and Google Workspace, with comfort working with data and operational trackers.
Ability to quickly learn new systems and reconcile information across multiple tools.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift.
Willing to roll up your sleeves and pitch in wherever needed, whatever the task at hand.
Nice to have
Experience in apparel, fashion, e-commerce, retail, or consumer products.
Experience with purchase orders, vendor communication, invoices, shipments, inventory reconciliation, or RTVs.
Experience with ERP, PO management, EDI, inventory, or item information systems.
Experience with taxonomy, tagging, or e-commerce merchandising.
Experience with Looker or other analytics/reporting tools.
Experience supporting fulfillment, external sales, special acquisitions, or other non-standard inventory workflows.
Interest in developing a deeper understanding of merchandising and retail metrics.
Full description
The Merchandise Operations Manager is a highly operational role that serves as the connective point between Merch, external vendor partners, and internal teams including Receiving, Ops, and Retail. The core responsibility is to keep merchandise information accurate, current, and moving across teams and systems while supporting the flow of new inventory. This person owns the operational follow-through behind the merchandising function, keeps key tools and information current, coordinates handoffs across teams, and proactively identifies and resolves issues before they become larger problems.
Merchandise Operations ManagerReports to: Head of Merchandising
Core Responsibilities
Vendor + Order Management
Once the buying team has made assortment and buy decisions, own the operational follow-through with vendors.
Submit purchase orders and buying-team-directed order changes.
Obtain and track PO confirmations, shipping confirmations, and invoices.
Maintain visibility to outstanding orders and proactively flag late shipments, missing confirmations, discrepancies, or other issues that could impact timing.
Own vendor follow-up related to order discrepancies, including overages, shortages, shipment issues, and other order-related questions.
Coordinate with vendors to collect imagery and item information needed for tagging and launch.
Request ATS (available-to-sell) from vendors on occasion as needed.
Support the future implementation of an EDI or vendor communication system and become the resident subject matter expert once implemented.
Tagging + Merch Priorities
Own tagging and taxonomy attribution for incoming inventory.
Ensure upcoming POs are fully tagged, with imagery and required item information, no later than 30 days prior to shipment.
Own the Merch tagging Slack channel and coordinate additional tagging support as needed.
Maintain the Merch Priorities deck by adding upcoming tagged items, imagery, and other relevant information.
Maintain brand size charts and other item information as needed.
Conduct ongoing image and site audits and correct item information, taxonomy, or imagery issues.
Support the continued evolution of tagging processes and tools to improve efficiency and scalability.
Inventory Flow + Communication
Support Merch-side visibility to incoming and high-touch inventory while owning operational communication and follow-through with Receiving and Ops.
Maintain current order, priority, and inventory information across the Assortment Tracker, Invoice Tracker, Merch Priorities deck, and other relevant tools.
Support the Head of Merchandising in maintaining buying priorities and priority inventory visibility.
Merchandise Operations Manager at Armoire (Seattle, WA) — aijobsearch
Own communication to Receiving and Ops regarding upcoming orders, timing changes, delays, priority updates, and other relevant information.
Coordinate communication of vendor or order changes that may impact receipt timing, processing, or launch.
Support coordination across Merch, Receiving, Ops, and Retail for new category launches, retail assortments, and other inventory-related initiatives.
Conduct monthly audits of select item statuses, including Retail, to identify discrepancies and help maintain inventory integrity across high-touch inventory areas.
Investigate inventory status discrepancies and coordinate with the appropriate teams through resolution.
Systems + Reconciliation
Maintain the Assortment Tracker and Invoice Tracker.
Upload new orders and reconcile information across the Assortment Tracker, PO Tool/analytics, Looker, and other relevant systems.
Own identification and follow-through on discrepancies across systems to ensure information remains accurate and current.
Support ongoing improvements to merchandise tracking, reconciliation, and operational workflows.
Quality + Expert Reviews
Own the Merch side of the Quality sync and coordinate follow-up on relevant issues.
Own RTV coordination and vendor follow-up resulting from quality issues.
Generate and maintain Style Bar notes and flags for new items.
Lead or support in-person item audits as needed.
Maintain the list of styles requiring an Expert Review as identified by the Head of Merchandising.
Support the Head of Merchandising with reviewer identification, review writing, and other Expert Review needs.
Help refine the Expert Review process over time, including expanding participation across a broader range of sizes, body types, and style preferences.
Special Acquisitions + External Sales
Own the operational execution of special inventory acquisitions, external sales, and other non-standard inventory programs.
Coordinate with Ops, Receiving, and other internal teams to ensure appropriate staffing and resources are available for sorting, processing, packing, and fulfillment.
Coordinate incoming customer or partner orders and serve as the primary internal point of contact through fulfillment.
Maintain visibility to open orders and coordinate cross-functionally to ensure inventory is located, packed, shipped, and completed in a timely manner.
Own operational follow-through on fulfillment, shipping, inventory, or customer communication issues that arise.
Coordinate the organization and sorting of acquired inventory and other special inventory projects.
Support hands-on sorting or inventory pulls on occasion to support external client fulfillment or receive styles into inventory.
Maintain clear tracking and communication so all parties understand order status, ownership, and next steps.
General Merch Ops Support
Support the flow of merchandise information from Merch to Marketing and other teams, including style color IDs, imagery, outfits, featured collections, and other priorities.
Support ad hoc merchandise projects and operational needs as they arise.
Maintain documentation for repeatable Merch Ops workflows and support improvements to cross-functional handoffs.
This list reflects the core scope of the role; it isn't exhaustive, and responsibilities may shift as business needs evolve.
Opportunities for Growth
As this person becomes more familiar with the business, there will be opportunities to take on greater ownership and contribute to improving how Merch operates.
Areas of growth may include:
Developing a stronger understanding of utilization, turn, sell-through, inventory levels, and style performance.
Identifying opportunities to improve recurring Merch Ops workflows and handoffs.
Helping build more scalable processes across tagging, inventory tracking, vendor communication, and special inventory projects.
The goal is not simply to execute existing processes, but to understand the business well enough to identify where better tools, communication, or workflows can make the team more effective.
Required Qualifications
2+ years of experience in merchandise operations, retail operations, buying operations, inventory, vendor management, or a similar role.
Highly organized with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
Strong ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, vendors, and cross-functional requests.
Proven ability to own processes end-to-end, proactively identify issues, and ensure tasks are fully closed out.
Strong written and verbal communication skills, particularly when working with vendors and cross-functional teams.
Comfortable working independently and knowing when to escalate issues or ask for direction.
Strong proficiency in Google Sheets and Google Workspace, with comfort working with data and operational trackers.
Ability to quickly learn new systems and reconcile information across multiple tools.
Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment where priorities can shift.
Willing to roll up your sleeves and pitch in wherever needed, whatever the task at hand.
Preferred Qualifications
Experience in apparel, fashion, e-commerce, retail, or consumer products.
Experience with purchase orders, vendor communication, invoices, shipments, inventory reconciliation, or RTVs.
Experience with ERP, PO management, EDI, inventory, or item information systems.
Experience with taxonomy, tagging, or e-commerce merchandising.
Experience with Looker or other analytics/reporting tools.
Experience supporting fulfillment, external sales, special acquisitions, or other non-standard inventory workflows.
Interest in developing a deeper understanding of merchandising and retail metrics.