Job Description

Location:
New York, NY

Role Summary

VETTE is seeking a Senior Director of Merchandising & Vendor Partnerships to build and lead brand strategy across Vogue Shopping and VETTE creator storefronts - operating as a curated marketplace model.

This role owns the full vendor relationship lifecycle: brand development and recruitment, assortment strategy, commercial negotiations, and ongoing performance management. The goal is a differentiated, editorially-grounded portfolio that converts at scale - one that reflects the authority of Vogue and the cultural relevance of the creators VETTE powers.

The right candidate brings deep relationships across global luxury, designer, and contemporary markets, a strong POV on emerging brands, and the commercial fluency to operate across two distinct surfaces: Vogue Shopping and creator-commerce storefronts. This is not a traditional buying role - it requires equal comfort with brand strategy, business development, and the infrastructure of modern multi-vendor commerce.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Architecture & Vendor Strategy

• Define and lead brand acquisition strategy across luxury, designer, contemporary, and discovery - with clear vendor selection criteria spanning assortment readiness, pricing, fulfillment capability, margin profile, and fashion authority
• Build and continuously refine a brand matrix that balances emerging and established brands, price tier, category depth, and trend relevance across fashion, beauty, and lifestyle - structured to serve both editorial storytelling and creator commerce use cases
• Develop and maintain brand and product toolkits that reduce friction between discovery and storefront activation, making it easy for editors and creators to shop, style, and publish
• Own new-brand discovery; maintain first-mover advantage on emerging designers, secure exclusive products, and develop unique brand initiatives that fuel platform differentiation
• Attend market appointments globally to review assortments, identify whitespace, and build partnerships that strengthen the platform's editorial and commercial position
• Cultivate high-trust relationships with brand teams to ensure strong launches, consistent product flow, and competitive commercial terms

Commercial Development & Vendor Performance

• Lead commercial planning each season; develop strategy for the LRP with an active view on evolving business models and partnership structures
• Negotiate full-funnel commercial terms in collaboration with Commerce Partnerships and Advertising - covering commission structures, exclusives, co-op marketing, launch windows, and marketing commitments
• Own vendor performance across revenue, margin, sell-through, and conversion; develop strategies to drive revenue growth across the portfolio
• Build the reporting infrastructure that enables editors and creators to self-serve performance insights and make real-time merchandising decisions - reducing dependency on centralized reporting and accelerating optimization cycles

Visual Merchandising & Storefront Experience

• Collaborate with Product and Technology to build the tools and back-end experiences that empower editors and creators to continuously optimize and self-service as best-in-class merchants - this is a platform build, not a traditional merchandising operation
• Create and own the visual merchandising playbook across Vogue Shopping and VETTE creator storefronts - governing how products are surfaced to maximize discoverability, conversion, and AOV
• Partner with creative, editorial, and product teams to ensure cohesive, brand-right execution across all surfaces
• Establish ongoing optimization routines: implement tactics to lift funnel metrics (AOV, CVR, CTR, EPC) without compromising editorial integrity

Cross-Functional & Platform Collaboration

• Partner with Product and Technology to define the platform capabilities - onboarding flows, brand tooling, storefront infrastructure - that scale the editor and creator commerce model
• Serve as the commerce voice in seasonal planning, ensuring assortment strategy is integrated across editorial, marketing, and creator programming from the outset
• Work with finance and operations on planning inputs including open-to-buy, margin targets, and inventory flow where applicable

Team Leadership

• Build and lead a high-performing team across vendor partnerships, merchandising, and planning
• Define what a platform-era merchandising team looks like - with capabilities spanning data, creator operations, and vendor management alongside traditional buying and planning skills
• Establish clear processes, roles, and KPIs to support scalable growth in a startup environment
• Foster a test-and-learn culture; serve as a senior voice in overall commerce strategy

Qualifications

• 12+ years of experience in merchandising, buying, or vendor partnerships within a multi-brand e-commerce retailer
• Deep network of relationships across emerging, contemporary, and luxury fashion brands (including European markets)
• Proven experience building and managing brand portfolios and assortment strategies at scale
• Strong expertise in both marketplace and inventory-based commerce models
• Experience leading merchandise planning and driving financial performance (revenue, margin, inventory turn)
• Demonstrated ability to identify and scale emerging brands
• Strong commercial acumen with a data-driven approach to decision-making
• Experience leading and developing teams in fast-paced, high-growth environments
• Comfortable operating in a startup or build-phase business

The expected base salary range for this position is from $157,000 - $175,000. Salary offers are based on a wide range of factors including but not limited to relevant skills, training, experience, and education.

In addition to salary and a generous employee benefits package, successful candidates may also be eligible to receive discretionary bonus compensation.

What happens next?

If you are interested in this opportunity, please apply below, and we will review your application as soon as possible. You can update your resume or upload a cover letter at any time by accessing your candidate profile.