Business Unit Manager – VP Retail Ecommerce

E Commerce BU Manager

As Ecommerce BU Manager (VP Retail Ecommerce), you will develop and carry out the strategic online strategy & plans for our business transactions completed through the web. You will need to stay current with the online environment and adopt strategies to best serve the interest of Ripple Junction through both Amazon MBA/FBA, other 3P marketplaces and RJ.com DTC channels. In general, duties will include product strategy, price optimization strategy, website design, market research, direct to consumer market development, B2B program development, budgeting, interviewing, training and development of the team members. This is a player/coach role.

More specifically, you will determine how best to serve up our product offerings across our Amazon, other 3P Channels, and our DTC marketplaces to optimize margin and increase sales growth profitability. You will analyze data and work with our Product Managers to develop offerings that compliment, not compete with other Ecommerce channels and you will understand how best to market and sell across these various channels. You will develop demand generation programs and market to them based on past purchase history and further develop our social strategy to drive growth and brand. For our larger retail customers, you will seek to develop programs that enable integration with our Make-On-Demand partners, and will be responsible for growing this revenue as a percentage of our Ecommerce sales

VP Retail Ecommerce Manager Duties and Responsibilities

The VP Retail Ecommerce will have full P&L responsibility and will be primarily responsible for overseeing and managing the ecommerce strategy and building out the right infrastructure to support growth in a scaled and cost effective manner. You will handle decision-making for the business unit which includes, website, work with our Product mgrs. and Marketing team to drive social media accounts, online advertising, and program development for direct to consumer and direct to business strategies and demand generation. You will also be responsible for research and development of new online marketing strategies, and for hiring and training the business unit to support these sales.

Website Design

The VP Retail Ecommerce will be responsible for determining the format and features of the website in order to maximize clarity and ease of navigation for customers. You will work hands on and with the Web designers to develop and alter the website as needed.

Research and Development

The VP Retail Ecommerce will keep abreast of new developments in the e-marketing world. They will also research the company’s core demographics and how to best reach them, in order to maximize search engine traffic and the effect of the company’s targeted ad buys.

Supervision, Hiring and Training

The VP Ecommerce Retail will oversee the entire e-commerce business unit and divide up employees on tasks. They will also be responsible for interviewing, bringing their preferred candidates to upper management, and providing necessary training. This role reports directly to the President.

Financial Planning and Budgeting

VP Ecommerce Retail will help in the formulation of the sales budgets across their channels and have a set budget to manage. The job of an ecommerce leader is to plan for e-marketing expenditures well in advance and develop a financial plan that will maximize their resources, and identify inventory needs and replenishment from planning teams.

Project Development and Presentation

The VP Ecommerce Retail work closely with the Product Managers to align on NPIs and key product goals and objectives and will report and present their plans for any new advances or initiatives to improve the company’s online presence and e-sales to the President.

General Responsibilities

o Collaboratively identify and drive the overall e-commerce and digital strategy, partnering with relevant teams across the organization to enhance the online customer experience, maximize usability, performance, ROI, and can implement the associated systems

o Build the guiding vision and lead the e-commerce business with customer insights, clear strategies, and articulated tactics

o Must have the ability to implement both digital content management and e-commerce systems

o Leverage experience and knowledge of industry best practices and supporting technologies to develop an exceptional digital, mobile, and e-commerce experience for our customers

o Use strong working knowledge of business analytics and data systems to find actionable solutions to customer and business issues

o Drive the prioritization of product enhancements

o Develop and manage a testing program to improve the customer experience

o Lead the day-to-day e-commerce technology team to deliver on those strategies, customer experience tactics, and achievement of operating metrics and key performance indicators

o Responsible for ecommerce functionality including navigation, facets and attributes, conversion optimization, promotions, and merchandising features

o Cultivate a strong sense of urgency and importance around the customer experience within the team

o Build cross-functional relationships with Sales, Product Mgmt, IT, Merchandising, Marketing, and Supply Chain to deliver the e-commerce channel plan and to improve engagement and conversion

o Support category plans and tactic execution as it relates to e-commerce

o Work with the pricing and promotional teams to ensure competitiveness and application of the appropriate level of promotions to drive revenue and margin

Skills Required:

Communication: A large part of an Ecommerce Leader’s job is effective communication. They must be able to clearly describe job duties to those they supervise and lay out full plans to the management. Expert written and verbal communication is key to getting ideas across.

o Technical Understanding: A strong grasp of modern technology and social media is essential to the job of the Ecommerce Leader. An expert understanding of spreadsheets, databases, financial analysis, website design, search engine optimization, and e-marketing strategy will be key to fulfilling the many functions of the job. A understanding of data and database structure and how that is transformed into meaningful real-time and post analytics is critical along with having a good grasp of the needs associated with real-time machine learning systems, predictive analytics, and data science that can drive data decisions to support those areas.

o Flexibility: The job of an Ecommerce Leader is unpredictable. Candidates must be willing to work long, irregular hours when needed. The market changes quickly, and new developments may require a quick overhaul of the company’s strategy. Thus, the idea candidate will be able to change strategies and rethink conventional wisdom at any time.

Professionalism: The Ecommerce Leader will be required to oversee a team, meet with clients and designers, and present to superiors. As such, a professional approach and speaking ability will be essential for success.

THINGS YOU’LL NEED:

o Minimum 8 years of Web/Digital/E-Commerce experience preferred.

o Experience within a retail consumer goods company, B-to-B, B-to-C or manufacturing organization is required.

o A detailed knowledge of digital strategy and planning in a consumer goods or retail environment across both the 3P and B2C marketplaces.

o Experience with mid-tier or larger e-commerce, content management, and analytics software platforms and systems

o Understanding of database systems, data, and data schemas that drive e-commerce and analytics

o The ability to work effectively in a matrix environment, collaborating closely across cross-functional teams

o Prior experience in the design and implementation of business process improvement is strongly preferred

o The ability to drive and support change management

o Strong business acumen, interpersonal skills, a high level of motivation, and a self-directed mindset is required.

o Advanced verbal, written and presentation skills, including the ability to effectively formulate, present and advance business proposals to a wide variety of audiences, including executive leadership

o An advanced proficiency in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, SQL, and various programming languages

About Ripple Junction

Creating since 1992, Ripple Junction began as two guys with a van full of shirts at a Grateful Dead show. Today, we’re a leading designer and developer of licensed merchandise for globally recognized brands. For over 20 years we have been driven by passion and purpose. Ripple Junction is one of the most successful purveyors of licensed apparel and merchandise in the United States. We create a wide range of top-quality products that appeal to the fans of our extensive roster of licensed properties, while generating strong sales for our numerous retail partners.

We believe in quality, creative products and a commitment to celebrating film, television, rock & roll, anime, science fiction, video games, and everything pop culture. Ripple Junction’s team of imaginative pop culture fanatics create the planet’s most awesome t-shirts and officially licensed products. We are armed with a passion for all things, movies, television, anime, music, video games, and pop culture. And we’re fans first. “Make rad” was the idea that Ripple Junction was born out of and now it’s our life’s work.

Featured Benefits

• Medical insurance
• Vision insurance
• Dental insurance
• 401(k)

Location

Cincinnati, OH (West Chester Ohio)

In office

Benefits:

• Health/Dental/Vision/Life
• Short Term Disability/Long Term Disability
• 401K
• Dog Friendly Workplace
• Monthly Wellness events
• Monthly Culture & Team Events
• All Employee Lunch Monthly
• All Employee Breakfast Monthly
• Discounted Merchandise
• Free Birthday T-Shirt
• Picnic Area
• PTO starting with accrued three weeks within your 1st year
• Paid Holidays

Ripple Junction Design Co.