Marketing Merchandising Manager (ON-SITE)

  • Location: US - Watsonville, California
  • Job Family: Marketing
  • Time Type: Full time
  • Job Requisition ID: R0007141
  • Experience Years: 3-5 Years of Experience
  • Employee Type: Regular
  • Remote Type: Onsite

About the Opportunity

Are you ready to take the lead in an exciting new initiative at Driscoll’s that will transform how we drive growth and inspire shoppers? As a Merchandising Manager, reporting to the Director of Shopper Marketing and Merchandising, you’ll be at the heart of our mission to elevate in-store shopper experience, create compelling displays, and drive product sales for Driscoll’s and our retail partners. In this dynamic role, you will develop innovative shelf strategies and optimize product distribution, ensuring our berries stand out and foster brand loyalty. You'll be a key player in shaping visually captivating, shopper-centric displays that engage customers and support Driscoll’s market expansion goals. Success comes from your ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams, including Brand Marketing, Shopper Marketing, Market Insights, Customer Development, and Sales, to execute cohesive, integrated strategies that make every shopper’s journey with Driscoll’s unforgettable. Join us in leading this fun, impactful initiative, and help grow our brand in exciting new ways! IMPORTANT: This position requires on-site work at our Watsonville, California office. Remote work is not available. Applicants must reside within a commutable distance or be willing to relocate independently.

Responsibilities

  • Actionable Insights: Analyze performance data to identify growth opportunities. Implement targeted action plans that address frequency, coverage, and response rates. Train and equip third-party agencies and store associates with essential product knowledge to maximize impact.
  • Tailored Merchandising Plans: Lead the development of annual and quarterly business plans for each retail partner, incorporating marketing programs, new product introductions, distribution improvements, and shopper marketing initiatives to maximize shelf space and sales performance.
  • Vendor and Supplier Coordination: Collaborate with suppliers and vendors to ensure product launches and promotions are supported with the necessary merchandising materials and in-store displays. Negotiate additional promotional support or product placement opportunities where applicable.
  • Collaborative Communication: Serve as a key liaison, managing ongoing communications with internal teams and external partners. Drive alignment through regular, strategic updates on merchandising priorities, ensuring all stakeholders are focused on achieving shared goals.
  • Build Key Partnerships: Cultivate strong relationships with key stakeholders internally and across Driscoll’s customer base. Share insights on upsell opportunities and wins, ensuring alignment and securing support when needed.
  • Collaborate with Store Teams: Build strong working relationships with store managers and department leads to ensure merchandising plans are executed properly. Provide training and guidance on merchandising standards, product knowledge, and visual merchandising techniques.
  • Create clear and effective communication tools for store operations teams and merchandising agencies, detailing execution guidelines for planogram compliance, sign installation, and other tasks requiring both simple and detailed instructions.
  • Merchandising Metrics and ROI: Develop frameworks to measure the success of merchandising programs and communicate ROI to both internal teams and retail partners. Ensure all efforts contribute meaningfully to the berry category’s overall performance.
  • Reporting and Communication: Prepare regular reports on merchandising performance, sales data, and opportunities for improvement. Present findings and recommendations to senior management and cross-functional teams to drive alignment and strategy refinement.
  • Develop and streamline supply chain and store operations processes, guided by KPIs, to ensure adherence to planograms, in-store brand asset management, and successful execution of product campaign initiatives.
  • Partner with the Sales team to identify and address supply chain challenges that may lead to non-compliance at the store level. Communicate key campaigns requiring support to the broader commercial team, ensuring alignment and support at the distribution level based on campaign investments.
  • Collaborate with the Brand Team to create point-of-sale materials that enhance display effectiveness, providing clear direction on functional objectives that influence shopper behavior.
  • Work closely with cross-functional teams such as New Product Development to assess the impact of new packaging on Driscoll’s brand presence in-store, and its potential effect on store operations and shopper behavior.
  • Lead the development, distribution, and execution of seasonal brand assets for new and existing products to drive increased sales.
  • Works closely with Customer Development to create and present sell-in decks to drive in-store initiatives that promote sales growth.
  • Lead Retail Merchandising Strategy: Spearhead the development and execution of merchandising priorities in alignment with Driscoll’s and customer growth objectives. Collaborate across Marketing, Customer Development, and Sales to ensure a cohesive approach that meets retail and shopper needs.
  • Strategic Market Evaluation: Design and implement frameworks for thorough market evaluations and pre/post store analysis. Leverage data to make informed recommendations that deliver measurable ROI for both Driscoll’s and our retail partners.
  • Drive the development custom display solutions (shelf components & fixtures) with various manufacturers to address specific retailer needs.
  • Market Insights and Goal Setting: Utilize deep market and customer insights to assess conditions, identify opportunities, and set data driven goals aimed at increasing incremental sales, reducing shopper friction, enhancing engagement, and driving Driscoll’s instore visibility and brand equity.
  • Unified Commerce Experience: Partner with Shopper Marketing, Digital, and Brand teams to ensure an integrated approach that delivers a seamless, end-to-end shopping experience for consumers.
  • Manage brand asset distribution for Driscoll’s to retail customers through third-party print and distribution vendors.

Candidate Profile

  • Bachelor’s Degree or 3-5 years in Retail Merchandising, Grocery Store Operations, CPG Space Planning.
  • Proficient in space planning tools (e.g. Spaceman, JDA Space Planner).
  • Proficient in business intelligence tools (e.g., IRI, Nielsen, Tableau ) and Microsoft Office Suite.
  • Understanding of fixture types and development to complement existing berry shelf needs. 
  • Strong critical thinking, communication, customer engagement, and presentation skills.
  • Maintain a strong understanding of shelf stocking best practices, including proper product positioning, space-to-sales ratio, and rotation for freshness, to minimize shrink and optimize shelf presence.
  • Strong understanding of category insights, P&L management, budgeting, and the ability to track and manage KPIs to drive ROI.
  • Proficient in business intelligence tools (e.g., IRI, Tableau, Spaceman) and Microsoft Office Suite.
  • Strong understanding of visual merchandising principles, planogram creation, and inventory management.
  • Exceptional analytical skills, with a solid grasp of distribution, pricing, shelving, store operations, and merchandising dynamics.
  • 3-5 years of experience in space planning, store operations, or field sales merchandising. Experience in the CPG industry is a plus.
  • 3-5 years of experience in space planning, store operations, or field sales merchandising. Experience in the CPG industry is a plus.
  • Strong communicator with proven success in influencing and driving change.
  • Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously across various customers and cross functional teams.
  • Valid driver’s license and eligibility for company vehicle insurance required.
  • Ability to travel domestically or internationally for meetings, market tours, and customer events (up to 25%). Valid passport required.
  • Willingness to work in a grocery environment (approximately 15-20% of the time), supporting tasks such as display refreshes, brand asset testing, in-store campaign execution, and building visually appealing displays. 
  • Ability to lift to 50 pounds.
  • Represent Driscoll’s with professionalism and integrity in all interactions with growers, coworkers, suppliers, and customers.

About Driscolls

Driscoll's is the global market leader for fresh strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries. With more than 100 years of farming heritage and hundreds of independent growers around the world, Driscoll's is passionate about growing fresh, beautiful and delicious berries. Our values of humility, passion and trustworthiness have guided our mission to delight consumers around the world.

Driscoll's exclusive patented berry varieties are developed through years of research using only natural breeding methods – meaning, no GMOs. From farm-to-table, we focus on delivering a high quality, premium berry experience with our many supply chain partners.

Driscoll's is the trusted brand for Only the Finest Berries™.

Driscoll's es el proveedor líder en la comercialización de Fresas, Frambuesas, Zarzamoras y Arándanos Azules en el mundo. Con más de 100 años de herencia en agricultura y cientos de productores independiente alrededor del mundo, Driscoll's es una compañía apasionada por cultivar Berries frescas, hermosas y deliciosas. Nuestros valores de humildad, pasión y confianza han guiado nuestra misión de deleitar a los consumidores en el mundo.

Las variedades exclusivas de Driscoll's han sido desarrolladas a través de años de investigación usando sólo métodos de mejoramiento natural. De la granja a la mesa, nos enfocamos en ofrecer una experiencia de alta calidad con apoyo de nuestros socios de la cadena de suministro.

Driscoll's es la marca de confianza de sólo las mejores Berries.