Senior Analyst, Item Data Management - Data Quality

Position Purpose: The purpose of the Senior Data Analyst for Product Data Insights & Tooling is to turn our vast item catalog into a high-performance engine for decision-making. The Senior Data Analyst is responsible for leveraging complex, large-scale data to derive actionable insights that directly influence and support executive-level merchandising strategy. This role requires a blend of advanced technical data manipulation skills and a deep understanding of retail merchandising principles to translate raw data into clear, impactful business recommendations. In this position, the Senior Data Analyst will build and support automation, leverage AI tooling, and collaborate cross-functionally in alignment with the executive strategy. The position requires knowledge of merchandising, an analytical skillset, and an entrepreneurial mindset.

Key responsibilities include:

• Manipulating and analyzing large, complex datasets to identify trends, patterns, and opportunities related to category and product performance, customer behavior, and market dynamics.
• Translating analytical findings into concise, compelling recommendations and presenting them to leadership to inform and validate merchandising strategies.
• Developing and maintaining dashboards and reports to track key performance indicators, effectively communicating merchandising insights to cross-functional stakeholders.
• Partnering with cross-functional teams to align analytical projects with overarching business goals and providing data-driven guidance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Represents the Merchandising function in business process evaluation, procedural development, systems requirements definition and systems functional design.
• Project/Initiative Management:
• Partners with senior and department management and cross-functional teams in determining and defining business need/requirements; project plans, risk assessments, communication, implementation, training and change management.
• Manages the business and project team expectations including addressing project issues, changes; May directly supervise staff members in the development, implementation and support of applications and business processes to meet the clients business requirements.
• Driving the requirements gathering efforts for a project (either development or implementation), including managing the expectations of the project manager, the stakeholders, the project team and executive management.
• Proposing alternatives and solutions to requirements management for each project that most closely aligns with the specific timetables, objectives and business issues at hand.
• Consulting with cross-functional managers, project managers, management and customers to ensure that all projects undertaken adequately address requirement related issues. Understanding the business case behind all projects, including the motivating factors for all stakeholders. Working with the Business Manager to analyze all potential opportunities to enhance, improve and refine the requirements gathering processes.
• Establishes and reports on metrics of assigned projects to gauge business value (ROI).
• Audits and evaluates implemented projects (systems/processes, for example) to support continuous improvement opportunities.

Direct Manager/Direct Reports:

• Typically reports to Manager or Senior Manager Merchandise Mgt Systems.
• No associates report to this role on a permanent basis, but requires the leadership of a work group: assign and review work, train and contribute to performance appraisal (but not hiring, firing or disciplinary action).

Travel Requirements:

• Typically requires overnight travel 5% to 20% of the time.

Physical Requirements:

• Most of the time is spent sitting in a comfortable position and there is frequent opportunity to move about. On rare occasions there may be a need to move or lift light articles.

Working Conditions:

• Located in a comfortable indoor area. Any unpleasant conditions would be infrequent and not objectionable.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Must be eighteen years of age or older.
• Must be legally permitted to work in the United States.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelors degree in Business, Analytics, Data Science, or a related field.
• 3-5+ years of experience in a data analytics role, preferably within a retail or merchandising environment.
• Proven expertise in manipulating and analyzing large datasets using SQL and/or other programming languages (e.g., Python, R).
• Strong proficiency with data visualization tools such as Tableau or Power BI.
• Excellent ability to communicate complex data concepts and recommendations to both technical and non-technical audiences, including senior leadership.

Minimum Education:

• The knowledge, skills and abilities typically acquired through the completion of a bachelors degree program or equivalent degree in a field of study related to the job.

Preferred Education:

• No additional education

Minimum Years of Work Experience:

• 5

Preferred Years of Work Experience:

• No additional years of experience

Minimum Leadership Experience:

• None

Preferred Leadership Experience:

• None

Certifications:

• None

Competencies:

• Proficient in business process evaluation and procedure development; Demonstrates a thorough knowledge of all tools, processes, methodologies and standards for requirements gathering, documentation and analysis.
• Previous experience supervising professionals.
• Experience or in-depth knowledge of retail merchandising and/or logistics; possesses cross functional retail knowledge.
• Strong communication, analytical, organizational, leadership and teamwork skills; Demonstrated experience in process improvement and/or SDLC and project management methodology.
• PC proficiency, including knowledge of worksheet, word processing, project management and presentation applications.