GENERAL PURPOSE:

The Senior Manager, IT - Merchandising plays a strategic role in defining and delivering innovative technology solutions for Ross Merchandising systems, with a strong emphasis on leveraging Azure technologies and Spring/Java based applications. This position is responsible for designing scalable, high-performance architecture that aligns with the business objectives and drives operational efficiencies. It requires deep expertise in retail merchandising process, enterprise architecture, and technology platforms to support large scale transformation program.

This collaborative role serves as a highly visible member of the IT team and works closely with both senior leaders and cross functional business partners. They are expected to build strong relationships with key business stakeholders and product management counterparts to partner with them to align project scope and requirements, implement a mix of vendor/ SaaS and custom solutions, and manage the delivery of projects, including overall solution quality, budget and timelines.

The base salary range for this role is $142,200 – $235,700. The base salary range is dependent on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, qualifications, relevant education, certifications, seniority, and location. The range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees. Other rewards vary by position and location.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

•    Lead the design and development of robust, scalable, high-performance IT solutions for retail merchandising platform and core merchandising operations.
•    Oversee the planning, execution, and timely delivery of large-scale projects using iterative project delivery (Agile), working closely with cross-functional teams to gather requirements, assess technical feasibility, translate them into a well-architected solution.
•    Provide leadership in modernization initiatives, offering guidance on overall design and technical direction. Establish best practices, guidelines, and management of future projects. Work through change management and support large scale transformation programs that successfully drive organizational adoption of new technologies.
•    Stay current with emerging technologies and retail industry trends to bring innovative solutions and improvements to the business. Ability to contribute to long-term strategic planning and align IT solutions with business goals, particularly in a retail environment. 
•    Adheres to industry best practices, implements practice monitoring strategies and continuously identifies areas for system improvement and optimization; Ensure the reliability, performance, and security of systems, establishing protocols and best practices for cloud-based applications to ensure data protection and compliance.
•    Collaborate on the IT 5-year planning and road-mapping process by working closely with the Merchandise portfolio, ensuring alignment with business demand. Responsible for vendor management and budgeting; ability to influence vendor selections and negotiations, ROI analysis, and contract management.  
•    Ensure the reliability, performance, and security of systems by adhering to industry best practices and implementing proactive monitoring strategies. Continuously identify areas for system improvement and optimization.

COMPETENCIES:

People
•    Building Effective Teams (for managers of People and/or Projects)
•    Developing Talent (for managers of People)
•    Collaboration

Self
•    Leading by Example
•    Communicates Effectively
•    Ensures Accountability and Execution
•    Manages Conflict

Business
•    Business Acumen
•    Plans, Aligns and Prioritizes
•    Organizational Agility

•     Problem Solving    
•    Written Communications
•     Integrity & Trust    
•     Dealing with Ambiguity

QUALIFICATIONS AND SPECIAL SKILLS REQUIRED:
•    Bachelor’s degree in computer science, information technology or related field, or equivalent combination of education, industry certifications and relevant experience
•    At least 10 years of experience within IT delivery with progressive responsibility and influence.  Experience leading projects that involved cloud migration or business transformation is preferred
•    At least 5 years of retail IT systems experience, with specific systems knowledge of major retail applications, with demonstrated depth in merchandising systems.
•    Proven experience in migrating legacy platforms to modern cloud-based technologies, with a focus on Azure services, CDC pipelines, Spring/Java applications, automated testing and deployment.
•    Strong expertise in Microservices architecture, including Spring Boot, API Gateway, and Kubernetes, is essential for this role, given its focus on Spring/Java applications and Azure. Proficiency in API management is highly valuable. 
•    Experience with Enterprise Integration Patterns, particularly using MuleSoft, Boomi, or Azure Logic Apps for integrating merchandising systems with different SaaS solutions
•    Proven experience in implementing retail merchandising systems such as Oracle or similar solutions, as well as sourcing and Compliance tool using Bamboo Rose or comparable platforms.
•    Conceptual and practical understanding of IT Infrastructure, products, and services, such as application security, networking protocols, encryption, and other technologies.
•    Problem-Solving and Critical Thinking: Strong analytical skills to evaluate complex issues and develop effective solutions quickly.
•    Strong communication skills, both written and verbal, and able to work effectively with senior leaders in IT and the business
•    Ability to mentor and build and lead teams that are geographically distributed and work across different time zones

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS/ADA:

Job requires ability to work in an office environment, primarily on a computer. 
Requires sitting, standing, walking, hearing, talking on the telephone, attending in-person meetings, typing, and working with paper/files, etc. 
Consistent timeliness and regular attendance.  
Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically.
This role requires regular in-office presence, including to engage in in-person team interaction, meetings and collaboration, client support, mentoring, coaching, and/or feedback. However, this role can perform duties effectively using a combination of in-office and remote work.

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SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:

Solution Architect and Engineer

DISCLAIMER

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position.  It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities.  Contents are subject to change at management’s discretion.

Ross is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. We believe that it is an essential part of the Company’s overall commitment to attract, hire and develop a strong, talented and diverse workforce. Ross is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.