Company Overview
At Backcountry, our mission is to connect people to their passions. Our four online stores—Backcountry, Competitive Cyclist, MotoSport, and SteepandCheap—aim to supply our customers with the gear, knowledge, and inspiration necessary to get out there and chase down life's greatest moments. We provide the biggest and best assortment of premium outdoor products, superior shopping experience, personalized Gearhead expertise, lightning-fast and accurate fulfillment, and inspirational, informative, and community-centered content.
Job Title
Divisional Merchandise Manager, Ski & Snow Hardgoods
Remote Location
Remote - Vancouver, BC
Job Overview
As the Divisional Merchandise Manager, Ski & Snow Hardgoods, you will define and lead the strategy for one of Backcountry's most critical and passion-driven categories. You'll own the end-to-end category vision across resort ski, backcountry/touring, and snowboard, ensuring we deliver differentiated assortments, compelling customer experiences, and strong financial performance in a highly seasonal business. This role requires a leader who blends deep industry expertise, global market awareness, and sharp commercial instincts.
This position will report into the VP, Merchandising Hardgoods.
Job Responsibilities
- Category Strategy & Market Leadership: Define and execute a multi-year strategy across ski, snowboard, and backcountry hardgoods with a strong understanding of the global vendor and brand landscape to identify opportunities and trends
- Regional Assortment Strategy: Translate regional customer needs (e.g., East vs. West mountains) into assortment strategies that drive top-line growth, gross margin, sell-through rate, and inventory productivity
- Assortment & Lifecycle Management: Build tiered assortments that serve multiple customer segments across price points and expertise levels, including balanced mix of full-price, off-price, and closeout product to maximize lifecycle value
- Closeout Buying: Lead end-of-season closeout buying strategies to optimize turns and minimize risk; partner with Inventory Planning and Finance to align on OTB, receipt timing, and payment structure
- Vendor Strategy & Differentiation: Develop and deepen strategic partnerships with key ski and snow brands through on-site vendor meetings, frequent business reviews, product testing, and new product reviews
- Business Development: Lead initiatives to unlock exclusive opportunities with vendors, including creating SMUs and exclusive assortments that differentiate Backcountry from competitors
- Retail & Customer Experience: Champion end-to-end customer journey across digital and retail touchpoints, partner to build and scale demo fleet and seasonal rental programs
- Team Leadership: Lead, coach, and develop a high-performing merchandising team while establishing clear goals aligned to business outcomes
Requirements
- Deep expertise in ski and snowboard hardgoods, with a strong point of view on product and trends
- Strong understanding of the global snow market, vendor landscape, and brand ecosystem
- Proven ability to translate regional nuances (East vs. West, Resort vs. Backcountry) into winning strategies
- Extensive experience managing highly seasonal businesses, including lifecycle and inventory planning
- Demonstrated success building assortments across multiple price tiers and customer expertise levels
- Experience across full-price, off-price, and closeout channels, with focus on end-of-season optimization
- Background in retail service models, including demo fleets and rental strategies
- Experience developing SMUs, exclusives, and differentiated assortment programs
- Strong track record of building strategic brand partnerships and vendor relationships
- Understanding of adjacent categories including snow accessories, travel, and gear ecosystems
- Proven ability to influence the full customer journey and drive metrics like UPT and conversion
- Experience leading and developing high-performing teams
- Analytical fluency with sell-through analysis, conversion metrics, and demand forecasting
Benefits
- Executive Access: Work directly with brand CEOs and senior leadership, solving real business problems and earning mentorship from top operators
- AI-First Skill Building: Get hands-on with the most advanced AI tools in the market, from automation to prompt engineering
- Accelerated Career Path: High performers are quickly entrusted with greater responsibility, new challenges, and leadership opportunities across our portfolio of brands
- Competitive Compensation: $150,000 - $160,000 per year
- Competitive Benefits: Paid time off policies, 401(k)/RRSP match, medical/dental/vision and a variety of supplemental policies
- Employee Discounts: Discounts at our portfolio of companies
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please click the "Apply for this job" button on the original job posting page.
Our Interview Process:
- Step 1: If you align with our vision and meet the qualifications, we'll reach out to schedule a conversation and introduce Backcountry
- Step 2: You'll complete a short AI or product-building challenge so we can understand how you approach problems and execution
- Step 3: Participate in deep-dive interviews with Backcountry leadership focused on your experience, product mindset, and operational thinking
- Step 4: Offer - We'll move fast for the right candidate
Note: We may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to support parts of the hiring process, such as reviewing applications, analyzing resumes, or assessing responses. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans.
The CSC family of brands provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, provincial, state or local laws.