Merchandising Operations Manager, Consumer Products

JOB TITLE: Merchandising Operations Manager

CLUB: Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Reign FC

DEPARTMENT: Marketing (Consumer Products)

TYPE: Full-Time

FLSA: Exempt

ROLE: Individual Contributor

OUR CLUBS

Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC are united as one soccer family, driven by a shared commitment to excellence, growth, and impact on and off the pitch. Each club has independently forged a rich history of performance while connecting deeply with the community. Our clubs are continually pushing the boundaries of what's possible while fostering an inclusive culture- championing causes and building community connections to expand our reach and impact. Each match is an opportunity to bring together our community, celebrating our resilience, inclusivity, and a commitment to excellence. United in professional dedication- we are two clubs with one shared vision of progress and greatness.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Merchandising Operations Manager will lead merchandising and consumer product operations for Seattle Reign FC, driving organization, execution, and cross-functional alignment across merchandise initiatives and retail experiences. This role serves as the operational owner for merchandise planning, launch timelines, vendor coordination, and retail execution, ensuring teams remain aligned on key deliverables and business priorities.

This role will partner closely with the VP, Consumer Products to support go-to-market planning and execution across merchandise initiatives, including Shopify/e-commerce, matchday retail, and pop-up experiences. This individual will help translate strategic priorities into operational plans, ensuring launches, campaigns, and retail experiences are executed effectively and consistently across fan touchpoints.

This role will also partner with the VP, Consumer Products to shape and execute visual merchandising direction across digital and physical retail environments, ensuring merchandise presentation and storytelling align with brand objectives and create compelling fan experiences.

As a business owner, this individual will partner across teams to create scalable processes, improve operational efficiency, and drive business performance. This role will bring a forward-thinking mindset toward innovation and emerging technologies, identifying opportunities to leverage tools, automation, and AI-enabled solutions to improve workflows, support decision-making, enhance fan experiences, and scale consumer product operations.

This role is ideal for an experienced merchandising professional who brings structure to fast-moving environments and can balance strategic thinking with hands-on execution, with opportunities to expand into broader product ownership over time.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Merchandise Planning Operations

Own merchandising calendars, launch schedules, and key business milestones across consumer product initiatives

Establish and improve scalable merchandise processes and workflows that support repeatable execution

Drive operational organization across teams to ensure alignment on deliverables and launch readiness

Support budgeting, forecasting, and financial tracking for consumer product initiatives

Analyze business performance and provide insights and recommendations to improve revenue and operational effectiveness

Identify opportunities to streamline processes and improve efficiency across merchandising operations

Evaluate and implement new tools, technologies, and AI-enabled solutions that improve operational efficiency, workflow management, reporting, and decision-making across consumer products

Cross-Functional Program Management

Lead cross-functional initiatives and GTM activations involving Marketing, Design, Fan Engagement, Retail, and Impact teams

Drive alignment across stakeholders on priorities, timelines, and execution plans

Ensure key dates, launch milestones, and deliverables remain visible and on track across teams

Identify risks and proactively resolve roadblocks impacting merchandise initiatives

Merchandising Product Launches

Partner with Consumer Products leadership on merchandise assortment planning, product launches, and seasonal activations

Conduct market and consumer analysis to inform product decisions and pricing strategies

Oversee product setup across e-commerce and retail systems, including pricing, barcoding, SKU management, and POS alignment

Partner with the VP of Consumer Products to establish and execute visual merchandising direction across e-commerce, matchday retail, and pop-up environments

Ensure merchandise presentation, product placement, and storytelling align with brand strategy and fan experience objectives

Evaluate product performance and provide recommendations for future assortment and merchandising opportunities

Go-to-Market Retail Experience Execution

Partner with the VP of Consumer Products to execute go-to-market strategies across merchandise initiatives and launches

Support exe…