Visual Merchandising Associate

At Ralph Lauren, we unite and inspire the communities within our company as well as those in which we serve by amplifying voices and perspectives to create a culture of belonging, ensuring inclusion, and fairness for all. We foster a culture of inclusion through: Talent, Education & Communication, Employee Groups and Celebration.

Position Overview

This Associate position is solely responsible for the trading of the Childrenswear division.

Acting as a brand guardian, they uphold the highest standards of visual execution and consistency across all touchpoints to position the business as a true Digital Flagship.

This role requires strong commercial awareness and attention to detail, from understanding divisional plans, seasonal buys and forecasts to make informed merchandising decisions that drive both sales and customer experience in order to achieve KPI's. The Associate will take a proactive approach to troubleshooting customer facing issues before they reach the contact centre, maintaining site integrity and brand excellence at all times.

Beyond execution, this individual will help shape how the brand shows up online, combining analytical insight, creative intuition, and collaboration to deliver best-in-class digital experiences. They’ll foster a positive team-oriented culture, managing a team of two assistants and leading by example through curiosity, clear communication, and a focus on collective success

Responsibilities

• Oversee the end-to-end management and optimisation of the Childrenswear storefront, ensuring merchandising and promotional activity are aligned with trade priorities and brand storytelling goals.
• Act as brand guardian, ensuring execution consistency across all touchpoints and supporting marketing activations in line with brand guidelines.
• Lead weekly and monthly performance reviews, analysing KPIs and customer behaviour to generate insights and present actionable recommendations to internal and external stakeholders.
• Partner closely with Brand, Content, Web Development and CRM teams to brief, test, and deploy content across digital channels ensuring seamless storytelling and customer journeys.
• Proactively conduct CX/UX audits to identify friction points across the funnel, product pages, navigation, search, cross-sells, and drive continuous improvements.
• Benchmark against competitors and industry leaders to recommend best-in-class site experiences and elevate visual and commercial presentation standards.
• Maintain and refine product attribution and categorisation, ensuring optimal product visibility and discoverability.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to anticipate changes in product assortment, trade priorities, and launches, translating them into strategic on-site updates.
• Translate analytics, customer feedback, and trading insights into data-driven actions to improve conversion and engagement.
• Influence and partner with trade management to refine navigation, content hierarchy, and product placement to maximise commercial opportunity.
• Lead the planning and execution of promotional events, ensuring accuracy and excellence in delivery.
• Own UAT and platform testing for enhancements within division, ensuring flawless execution and user experience.
• Develop Digital Range Plan, ensuring alignment with launch calendars and regional priorities.
• Present seasonal performance recaps and strategic recommendations, demonstrating strong commercial and analytical acumen.
• Drive innovation by identifying emerging digital trends and opportunities to engage customers across devices and markets.
• Attend line openings and range reviews to stay connected to product strategy, provide feedback to buying and merchandising teams to ensure optimal online assortments.
• Ensure all divisional documents (Trading Calendars, Process Documents, etc.) are maintained and leveraged effectively across the team.

Trade:

• Lead trade analysis for your division, delivering insightful weekly and monthly reporting that identifies risks, opportunities, and clear next steps.
• Translate sales forecasts and performance trends into actionable trading plans to drive conversion and demand.
• Partner closely with DTC merchandising to maximise stock availability and product exposure across digital channels.
• Monitor performance across regions and customer feedback channels, recommending tactical and strategic improvements.
• Represent your division in trading meetings, acting as the category lead and stepping in for manager when required.
• Maintaining strong brand cross-functional relationships to ensure alignment on priorities, launches, and seasonal narratives.
• Own the trade calendar for your division ensuring coordination across regional trading events and launches.

Team:

• Support and coach two assistants and one intern, offering clear direction while fostering independence and accountability.
• Conducts weekly 121's, yearly goal setting and regular performance reviews, focussing on your team's development.
• Lead cross-functional projects and internal team meetings with a collaborative and solutions-focused approach.
• Encourage a positive, respectful team culture that celebrates progress, collaboration, and shared wins.
• Demonstrate leadership maturity through strong communication, composure, and professional integrity.
• Help ensure workloads are balanced across the team, supporting fair distribution and efficient ways of working.
• Provide consistent and constructive feedback that drives development and performance improvement.
• Build trusted relationships across departments, contributing to a team-first environment.

Experience, Skills & Knowledge:

• At least 2 years' digital merchandising or e-commerce experience, ideally having completed multiple full strategic cycles.
• Proven experience overseeing workload and deliverables from others, demonstrating leadership through influence.
• Strong Excel (Pivot Tables, VLOOKUPS) and analytical skills to manipulate and interpret large data sets.
• Working knowledge of web tools, e.g. Salesforce, Content Square, etc.
• Highly organised with exceptional attention to detail and follow-through.
• Intuitive, proactive, and solutions-oriented with a “can-do” mindset.
• Naturally collaborative and entrepreneurial, balancing independent ownership with a team-first mindset.
• Strong communicator, able to present clearly, adapt tone across audiences, and influence effectively.
• Demonstrated aptitude for technology and understanding of product data flows.
• Passion for luxury fashion and delivering premium digital experiences.
• Growth-oriented, adaptable, and motivated by building something great together.