ata Consultancy Services (TCS) is seeking an experienced Retail Merchandising professional to join our North America Retail Business Consulting division as a Senior Consultant. The ideal candidate will bring strong general merchandise and discretionary retail expertise to lead workstreams, conduct analysis, facilitate workshops, and contribute to client problem-solving. This role focuses on driving analytical delivery, supporting project execution, and identifying emerging commercial opportunities within merchandising transformation programs. Success requires strong analytical capability, structured problem-solving skills, and the ability to effectively support and lead workstreams, fostering client satisfaction and contributing to our consulting practice.
Key Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership
• Lead specific workstreams within merchandising strategy and transformation engagements, ensuring high-quality analytical insights and driving tangible value for clients.
• Conduct in-depth analysis and facilitate workshops to assess current assortment, space and floor planning, pricing, inventory management, and planning processes, identifying opportunities for improvement and future growth levers.
• Apply deep functional merchandising expertise to shape and implement change programs within assigned workstreams.
• Support the overall engagement lead in ensuring consistency and quality of workstream delivery.
Client Engagement & Business Development
• Support and maintain client relationships, primarily engaging with Director / Senior Manager-level stakeholders within discretionary retail organizations.
• Identify opportunities for further engagement and support proposals by contributing content and insights.
• Serve as a trusted advisor on workstream-specific topics such as assortment optimization, AI-driven planning, pricing strategy, data analytics, and digital merchandising.
• Support the development of new consulting propositions by contributing insights and content.
Practice & Team Leadership
• Mentor junior staff, providing guidance and support to foster their professional growth and development.
• Contribute to proposition assets and content development, including Points of View (POVs), thereby strengthening the merchandising consulting capability.
• Support recruitment, coaching, and professional development initiatives for junior team members.
• Champion best practices and continuous improvement within assigned workstreams.
Operational Excellence
• Ensure the highest standards of project delivery and client satisfaction within your designated workstreams.
• Support the overall project management framework, including risk management and quality assurance for assigned deliverables.
• Contribute to effective communication and collaboration within the project team and with client stakeholder`s.
Qualifications
• Bachelors degree in business, merchandising, or a related field preferred; MBA or equivalent advanced degree desirable.
• Strong functional expertise in discretionary retail merchandising (apparel, home, beauty, electronics, or general merchandise); additional experience in grocery or essential retail is a plus.
• Excellent analytical, structured problem-solving, and workshop support capabilities.
• Demonstrated ability to assess, redesign, and innovate merchandising business processes within a workstream context, with exposure to change management techniques.
• Familiarity with merchandise financial planning and emerging retail technologies is a plus.
• Willingness to travel as required.
Experience
• Minimum of 5-8 years in retail, with a significant portion in discretionary merchandising strategy, operations, and transformation.
• Proven track record of leading workstreams and delivering analytical insights, contributing to measurable results through operational improvements.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior staff and contribute to team development.
• Experience across key levers such as assortment planning, pricing, vendor management, allocation, category strategy, and financial planning.
• Familiarity with AI-enabled merchandising, predictive analytics, and digital or omnichannel merchandising is desirable.
Salary Range: $148,800-$201,300 a year
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