Job Title: Trade Retail Manager, North AmericaLocation: NYC or Los AngelesReporting To: VP Retail Partnerships, North AmericaSalary Band: $90K-$110KWe are looking for a Trade Retail Manager to lead how our brand shows up inside our North American partners, and to build the team that delivers it.
Where we need your helpThe Trade Retail Manager owns what happens inside every Monica Vinader partner store in North America. This is a people-first leadership role at the center of our fastest-growing market.
You will lead a team of Regional Trade Specialists across the US and Sales Leads in Canada. Through them, you are accountable for sales delivery, brand standards and customer experience in every door we trade.
You are also the face of the brand in market. Partner store leadership and our own field teams should know you, trust you, and come to you first. Most of your time is spent in stores: coaching, selling, training and raising the bar on how we show up.
Our partner business here is already substantial, built door by door over the last decade. The next stage of its growth starts now. Reporting to the VP, Retail Partnerships, North America.
What you'll doLead and Develop the Regional Trade Team
- Lead, coach and develop the NA Field team, currently consisting of four Regional Trade Specialists covering the US regions - objectives, performance, development and career progression
- Set the operating rhythm for the team: weekly trade priorities, monthly business reviews, quarterly goals tied to door-level plans
- Build commercial fluency across the team; every Specialist should read their own numbers and act on them without being told to
- Own recruitment, onboarding and succession planning for the Specialist population and the wider Nordstrom DSA and contingent workforce
- Hold one standard across all regions while allowing for genuine local market differences
- Manage a dispersed, high-travel team well: workload, coverage, wellbeing and retention
Deliver the sales plan across partner stores- Own consumer sales delivery across Nordstrom Stores, Holt Renfrew and every other partner door in the estate; translate the annual plan into regional and door-level targets the team can act on
- Lead Nordstrom Stores as the anchor relationship: review trade weekly, call risk and opportunity early, and bring a recommendation rather than a readout
- Stand up trade retail delivery in new partner doors as they launch without waiting for the model to be handed to you
- Feed assortment, inventory and space opportunities back to Account Management and Merchandising teams with evidence from the shop floor
- Design and land sales incentives and activations that measurably move sell-through and support profitable growth
- Lead on-floor selling personally through peak trade, key launches, events and Anniversary Sale
- Build relationships with partner store managers, DRMs and regional leadership so Monica Vinader is always top of mind
Line manage the Holt Renfrew Sales Leads- Directly line manage the Sales Lead in each Holt Renfrew location where we trade: objectives, performance, development, scheduling and wellbeing
- Hold each Holt Renfrew door to the same ownership model as Nordstrom Stores - sales targets, events, retail operations and brand standards
- Support the Canadian launch and stabilisation period, then run the Canadian locations as part of the wider estate rather than as a standalone project
- Build the working relationship with Holt Renfrew store and regional management so Monica Vinader earns its place as a priority partner from Day 1
- Remain flexible as reporting lines may evolve with the NA growth trajectory
Plan and deliver trunk shows and activations- Own the North American trade trunk show and activation calendar end to end: plan, target, resource, deliver, report
- Set a sales target for every event and hold the team to it; report performance against target with clear learnings
- Secure partner buy-in, staffing, inventory accuracy and engraving or welding readiness ahead of every activation
- Work with the NA Leadership Team to land activations with the right customer, in the right door, at the right moment in the calendar
- Build a repeatable activation playbook so the program scales with the estate rather than with headcount
Champion MV retail excellence in partner doors- Help define what excellence looks like in partner environments and ensure it's upheld across every door
- Own shop-in-shop condition, visual merchandising standards, fixtures and engraving equipment; brief and escalate repairs before they become customer-facing
- Escalate standards issues you cannot resolve directly to the relevant owner early, before they reach the customer
- Lead Brand Story, Product Knowledge, engraving and welding training; turn partner store teams into confident Monica Vinader advocates
- Act as brand ambassador for the piercing and welding rollout, supporting new location launches
- Partner with US Operations, Account Management and Customer Care on repairs, special orders and service escalations
- Support bi-annual inventory cycles and audit readiness across partner stores
As a People Manager- Coach and develop your direct reports to deliver their role to the best of their ability
- Maintain a foundational understanding of company policies that affect your team, including any team members in other territories or business divisions, and ensure those policies are applied fairly and consistently
- Recognise and celebrate successes
- Manage your team's performance, attendance and any incidents that arise
- Support your team in prioritising their wellbeing, providing guidance on workflow management and prioritisation to enable work/life balance
- Lead by example, showcasing the MV behaviours, competencies and values
- Empower your team to make decisions, providing guidance and support and identifying the learning opportunity from our 'test and learn' behaviour
- Collaborate with the People & Culture team for advice on complex or sensitive matters
What you'll bringConnect & Empower- Communicates Effectively: You tailor messages to the audience and drive two-way communication. This is critical when influencing Nordstrom and Holt Renfrew store leadership, cascading commercial priorities across every region, and representing the brand in rooms where you are the only MV voice present.
- Collaborates Proactively: You build alignment across functions and encourage open dialogue. You will work daily with Account Management, US Operations, Marketing, Customer Care and People & Culture to remove friction for the field.
- Coaches & Develops Others: You provide timely feedback and grow your own and the team's capability. This is the center of the role - developing your direct reports, the Nordstrom DSA population, and partner store teams who do not report to you at all.
Drive & Deliver- Workflow Management: You plan resources, adapt timelines and set clear expectations. This underpins regional coverage planning, the activation calendar, and sustainable workload across a team that lives on the road.
- Dives Deep: You use data for decision-making and encourage team curiosity by testing assumptions. You will interrogate door-level performance weekly and bring evidence-based views on assortment, inventory and space.
- Focuses on the Right Thing: You prioritise team or individual work based on value and risk. With 100+ doors across three countries, deciding where your team's time creates the most value is the job.
- Delivers Results: You drive team accountability and hold standards. You own the door-level sales plan for Nordstrom stores and Holt Renfrew, and a target attached to every activation.
Grow & Adapt- Challenges & Commits: You facilitate debate and align the team after decisions. You will bring the field's point of view into commercial planning, then commit your team fully once direction is set.
- Embraces Change: You guide the team through change and maintain focus. New doors, new partners and new services will land continuously as the business outpaces plan; your team should feel steady through all of it.
- Reflects & Learns: You encourage team learning and retrospectives. Every activation, launch and store opening should leave the business smarter than it found it.
Master & Apply- Functional/Technical Expertise: You support technical delivery and provide guidance to others as a subject matter lead. You are the North American authority on trade retail standards, shop-in-shop operations, engraving, piercing and welding.
- Applies Knowledge with Impact: You link team actions to commercial value and solve real problems. You will connect field activity directly to rate of sale, productivity per door and partner performance.
- Stays Current: You promote upskilling in the team and share new developments. You keep MV's field capability ahead of the partner retail environment rather than in step with it.
To be successful at Monica Vinader, it helps if you...- Are hands-on, solutions-focused, and entrepreneurial
- Collaborate openly with humility, honesty, and humour
- Embrace learning, teaching, and personal growth
- Stay resilient, adaptable, and self-motivated in a creative environment
- Speak up when you don't know - and act fast to figure it out
Additional RequirementsAbility to document your authorization to work in the United States. Valid passport and the ability to travel to Canada and Mexico.
Travel Requirements85% travel within North America. You will be in market every week, spending time alongside a different direct report each time. Ad hoc travel to London.
