Job Title: Director, Global Store Development - Retail Design & Architecture

Division: PPD AMERICAN BRANDS Reports to: AVP, Business Development

Role Summary:

We are seeking a strategic and creative leader for the role of Director, Global Store Development. Reporting to the AVP of Business Development, this role is responsible for driving the creative design, retail excellence, and strategic deployment of our PPD US Brands (Redken, Matrix, Biolage, Pureology, Mizani, L'Oréal Technique) across brick-and-mortar retail and salon channels globally, looking at it holistically, including e-commerce touchpoints.

This Director will champion a 'store-first' mentality, leading the creation, adaptation, and implementation of global retail design and architectural guidelines. Having an architectural background is key. You will be instrumental in developing impactful points of sale, innovative animations, and training programs to enhance the physical store consumer journey. This role requires high collaboration, bridging creative vision with practical execution, and actively contributing to our retail community to optimize overall store performance.

Key Responsibilities:

• Lead strategic planning and architectural design/execution for global store development initiatives and animations, ensuring alignment with brand DNA and market needs.
• Develop, adapt, and implement global retail design architectural guidelines for consistent brand and category representation.
• Provide best practices for in-store merchandising to global brand marketing teams, ensuring execution excellence worldwide.
• Direct and oversee brand renovations, merchandising tests, and the successful rollout of new store concepts. 
• Collaborate with brands and activation leads to develop retailer-specific strategies, driving expansion into new retail channels with strong local adaptation and global strategy.
• Cultivate strong stakeholder relationships with DMI marketing, creative, digital, education, country marketing, and key retail partners.
• Identify and integrate best retail marketing and merchandising practices, including new technologies and digital scenography.
• Manage project planning and budget for all store development initiatives.
• Present compelling project concepts, results, and future visions to senior leadership.
• Plan and execute store visits to gather feedback and drive continuous improvement.
• Actively test visual merchandising strategies, disseminate learnings, and integrate feedback from stores and shoppers to inform brand strategies.
• Foster a retail culture of excellence by sharing best practices and driving collaboration with the Chief Retail Officer.

• Will have a dotted line to the Chief Retail Officer and Head of Creative

Candidate Requirements:

• 8+ years of progressive professional experience, with 3-5 years in leadership roles within visual merchandising and/or retail design, preferably in beauty, professional, or specialty retail.
• Proven expertise in architecture design and execution.
• Deep knowledge of professional (salon) and consumer retail environments, with a strong understanding of shopper and consumer behavior and insights.
• Ability to translate brand vision into strong store animation plans and product merchandising strategies for multiple retail outlets.
• Exceptional project planning and management skills, capable of leading multiple complex projects simultaneously.
• Strong knowledge of the competitive beauty industry, retail landscape, and sourcing literacy.
• Strategic leadership with expertise in influencing, stakeholder management, and problem-solving.
• High sense of urgency, accountability, and organization, with the ability to thrive in ambiguous environments and make collaborative decisions. Ability to anticipate and take action.
• Excellent verbal, written communication, and presentation skills, demonstrating creative thinking.
• Proficiency in Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign), 3D Sketchup, and other 3D design software (Rhino, 3DS Max).
• Experience in brand local adaptation for global markets.
• Demonstrates activation excellence and strong budget management capabilities.
• A collaborative spirit and passion for contributing to a high-performing team culture within the retail community.
• Ability to develop concepts for retail labs.
• Diploma in architecture design, visual merchandising, applied arts, or equivalent.