Director of Visual Merchandising

Our client, a Global Beauty Brand, is seeking a Freelance Director of Visual Merchandising, ASAP through 6/30/26. The role requires talent to report into the Soho NYC offices minimally 4 days/week – please do not apply if you are not comfortable with this requirement.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Director of Visual Merchandising will have leadership in conceptualizing, designing and standardizing retail design solutions that support the overall brand strategy and vision. This person will act as expert design lead and understanding of architecture as it relates to visual merchandising, be a brand guardian and provide overall support to the regions ensuring all brand retail formats meet brand standards and aesthetics. This role will report to Executive Director of Visual Merchandising design and collaborate to create across various cross functional team to bring new innovative design standards that reflect the brands aesthetic and enhance the overall consumer experience. This person will bring to life the brand through innovative designs and visual merchandising. The ideal candidate will have a strong knowledge in Visual Merchandising and a balanced understanding of Store Design to provide cohesive retail solutions that work seamlessly in a retail environment. As a member of the Global Merchandising team, the overall goal is to ensure that a consistent look and feel is carried out at counter and the overall brand image continues to evolve, ensuring a strong brand presence in a highly competitive marketplace.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE:

· Owns and drives high profile global in-store initiatives, partnering with Creative Ops, Marketing, Product Marketing, GTM, ID and SD to realize the design and strategic vision.

· Design and concept merchandising designs that are best in class, consumer centric, effective and innovative.

· Based on creative requests/briefs, develop designs that are clear, visually impactful, easy to navigate and consistent with brand goals.

· Develop cross selling merchandising solutions that provide storytelling, clear communication, and bold graphics.

· Form productive and supportive relationships with Regional Visual Merchandising and Store Design teams to ensure brand guidelines are executed consistently.

· Drive design concept direction wireframes for in store needs and lead design approval process.

· Create and maintain graphic templates/codes, guidelines and 2D planograms for Regions to adapt to their local retailer/fss/ps fixture needs (i.e. Perm displayers, SMC)

· Design, package and distribute graphics (for production) as needed and under strict deadlines.

· Attend meetings with senior management to present projects, answer questions and receive feedback.

· Work with key partners (i.e., Editorial, Product & Consumer Marketing teams) to ensure the designs achieve the best results for each product display and retailer needs.

· Maintain a well-organized database of graphics (on shared server) for each project/initiative global starts and completes. Support design team on all creative briefs/crqs and global initiatives.

· Ensure clear communication, transfer of information and alignment of regional teams to maintain and build collaborative and efficient process with RDDC teams, be the liaison build strong relationships

· Partner with Corporate Procurement to leverage Global resources for fixtures and materials and push for sustainable materials solutions and cost-effective displays

· Cultivates relationships with multiple vendors & RDDC with varying capabilities, maintaining an emphasis on quality production, adherence to brand standards, and best practices.

· Initiate specific requests on behalf of the regions, in conjunction with ED and with Global brand approval.

· Motivate and inspire others to maximize job performance and get buy in on projects.

· Assessment of creative requests and ability to formulate initial design proposals with little direction.

· Development and presentation of concepts to all levels of management.

· Maintain awareness of current trends in visual arts and merchandising, travel as necessary and complete in store visits to observe counters in action.

POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

· 8 years of graphic design experience

· Bachelor’s degree Architecture, Interior Design or Industrial Design, Store Design and Visual Merchandising required. Equivalent experience considered.

· Prior beauty experience is required

· Experience with visual merchandising design, including tester displays and open sell

· Experience working in a fast-paced, high pressure, creative environment.

· Proficient in Adobe Creative Suite (InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator), Rhino, Sketchup, Keyshot

· Demonstrated ability to multi-task with agility. Effective time management skills and the ability to meet deadlines.

· Must be a self-starter, flexible and imaginative with an understanding of 3D design

· Can take direction, work independently and collaboratively

· Knowledge of retail trends, and open sell environments

· Exceptional organizational and communication skills

· Innovative thinker with ability to across various levels and functions in the organization