Merchandising Assistant / Specialist

🛍️ We're Hiring: Merchandising Assistant / Specialist📍 Location: United Arab Emirates (Remote) 🕒 Employment Type: Full-Time 💼 Experience Level: Entry-Level to Mid-Level 🌐 Work Arrangement: Fully RemoteAbout UsWe are a commercially driven organization focused on delivering strong product presentation, compelling assortments, effective promotions, high product availability, and profitable retail growth.Our teams collaborate across Merchandising, Buying, Category Management, Assortment Planning, Merchandise Planning, Retail, E-commerce, Marketing, Sales, Inventory, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure products are presented effectively and available in the right channels, locations, and time periods.The RoleWe are seeking a Merchandising Assistant / Specialist to support product presentation, assortment execution, planograms, promotional activities, product launches, pricing, inventory coordination, visual merchandising, and merchandising-performance analysis.The successful candidate will help translate commercial, category, and assortment strategies into effective product execution across retail stores and digital channels.Key ResponsibilitiesSupport day-to-day merchandising activities.Assist Merchandising Managers and Merchandisers with category and product execution.Coordinate merchandising activities across Buying, Category Management, Assortment Planning, Merchandise Planning, Retail Operations, Marketing, Sales, Inventory, and Supply Chain.Maintain merchandising calendars, trackers, product lists, and documentation.Prepare merchandising reports, presentations, dashboards, and analysis.Support seasonal and annual merchandising plans.Coordinate product setup, launches, promotions, assortment changes, and product exits.Support product presentation and visual-merchandising standards.Ensure products are displayed according to approved merchandising guidelines.Maintain organized and attractive product displays.Check shelves, racks, fixtures, displays, and promotional areas.Ensure products are positioned correctly.Support planogram implementation.Verify product placement against approved planograms.Identify deviations from planogram requirements.Report space, display, and product-placement issues.Support planogram updates following assortment changes.Coordinate with Store Operations to ensure implementation.Support product assortment execution.Ensure approved products are available in the correct stores, channels, and locations.Track assortment changes.Identify missing, incorrect, duplicate, or unauthorized products.Coordinate assortment corrections with relevant teams.Support localized assortment implementation.Ensure store-specific product requirements are reflected accurately.Support new-product launches.Coordinate launch-product setup and display requirements.Ensure product information, pricing, signage, and promotional materials are ready.Track launch readiness.Coordinate with Buying, Product, Inventory, Marketing, and Store teams.Monitor new-product performance and availability.Report launch issues and implementation gaps.Support product lifecycle activities.Track product introductions, replacements, phase-outs, and discontinuations.Coordinate removal or replacement of discontinued products.Ensure obsolete products are appropriately managed.Support end-of-season and clearance activities.Support pricing and price-change execution.Verify product pricing and price labels.Coordinate approved price changes.Identify pricing discrepancies between systems, shelf labels, displays, and digital channels.Report pricing issues.Ensure promotional pricing is correctly implemented.Maintain pricing and merchandising trackers.Support promotional merchandising.Implement approved promotional displays.Coordinate promotional products and signage.Ensure promotional stock is available where required.Monitor promotional execution.Remove expired promotional materials.Track promotional performance.Report display and execution issues.Coordinate with Marketing and Sales on promotional activities.Support seasonal merchandising.Prepare stores and digital channels for seasonal campaigns.Coordinate seasonal product placement and displays.Implement seasonal planograms and merchandising guidelines.Monitor seasonal product availability.Support seasonal launch and exit activities.Support visual-merchandising activities.Maintain product presentation according to brand and store standards.Coordinate signage, fixtures, product displays, and promotional materials.Ensure customer-facing areas are organized and visually consistent.Identify opportunities to improve product visibility and customer navigation.Support store-level merchandising audits.Conduct or coordinate merchandising checks.Review product placement, pricing, availability, signage, and display compliance.Document merchandising deviations.Track corrective actions.Follow up with stores and relevant stakeholders.Support merchandising compliance reporting.Monitor implementation rates across stores and channels.Identify locations requiring corrective action.Prepare compliance summaries for management.Support category and space-management activities.Analyze sales performance relative to shelf, display, or floor space where applicable.Support space-allocation decisions.Identify opportunities to improve product visibility and productivity.Coordinate with Category Management and Merchandise Planning.Support inventory availability.Monitor product availability at store and channel level.Identify products with low stock or stockout risks.Coordinate replenishment requirements with Inventory and Supply Chain teams.Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)Performance will be measured through a combination of merchandising, commercial, inventory, execution, and customer KPIs, including:Merchandising compliancePlanogram complianceProduct-display complianceProduct-availability rateAssortment implementation accuracyPricing accuracyPromotional execution ratePromotional complianceNew-product launch readinessNew-product launch executionSell-through rateSales per SKUSales per display or space unit where applicableGross-margin performanceStockout rateExcess inventoryInventory turnoverInventory accuracyProduct-content accuracyE-commerce merchandising accuracyCampaign execution timelinessStore-audit scoreCorrective-action closure rateMerchandising-project completionReporting accuracyData accuracyStakeholder satisfactionCandidate ProfileThe successful candidate should have experience or strong academic exposure in merchandising, retail operations, category management, buying, assortment planning, merchandise planning, marketing, product management, or a closely related discipline.This role is suitable for a commercially aware and detail-oriented professional who can combine product knowledge, visual presentation, analytical thinking, coordination, and strong execution discipline.What You'll BringExperience in merchandising, retail, buying, category management, store operations, or a related function is advantageous.Strong understanding of retail merchandising principles.Good understanding of product presentation, assortment, planograms, promotions, and store execution.Strong attention to detail.Good analytical and numerical skills.Ability to analyze sales, inventory, sell-through, and product-performance data.Strong Microsoft Excel skills, including PivotTables, lookup functions, and data analysis.Experience with merchandising, ERP, inventory, retail, e-commerce, or BI systems is advantageous.Experience with Power BI, Tableau, SQL, or other analytical tools is advantageous.Good visual and commercial awareness.Strong market and competitor-research capabilities.Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.Strong organizational and project-coordination skills.Ability to manage multiple products, stores, campaigns, and deadlines.Strong follow-up and problem-solving skills.Ability to work effectively with cross-functional teams.Ability to work independently and effectively within a fully remote environment.Relevant diploma or degree in Retail Management, Merchandising, Fashion, Marketing, Business Administration, Product Management, Supply Chain, or a related discipline.Retail merchandising, visual-merchandising, category-management, or related certification is advantageous.Knowledge of UAE/GCC retail markets and customer preferences is advantageous.Arabic language proficiency is advantageous.