Career Center

• Oversee all aspects of retail strategy including the vision for its retail environments and merchandising
• Manage and develop Retail Operations Manager to ensure successful day-to-day operations
• Forecast and deliver overall Symphony Shop and Glass House financial performance with a focus on both top line and bottom line growth, inclusive of:
  • Revenue forecasting
  • Expense planning and management
  • Inventory management
  • Budget management, processing of all receiving documents and invoices, and partnership with Accounts Payable to ensure accuracy and accountability
  • Regular sales and profit reporting (by venue, by category, by vendor, etc.)
• Develop merchandising strategy, develop vendor base and procure product in support of the organization’s retail strategy by:
  • Planning merchandising for each season by understanding historical selling patterns, marketplace trends, patron needs and by allocating budget by category and by SKU
  • Managing the new product development process and timelines in partnership with vendors, testing and learning to inform future merchandising strategy
  • Negotiating and procuring of merchandise by forming and maintaining ongoing relationships with vendors that ensure high quality merchandise and highly competitive costs
  • Assigning daily movement and recording of inventory with accurate accounting of inventory flow and opening and closing inventory for the Business Office
  • Analyzing sales and profit performance by location, category, SKU and vendor levels to inform future purchases
  • Preparing reporting of regular sales of CDs, DVDs and digital media to music sales data partners (SoundScan, MRC, etc.)
  • Providing vision and guidance to staff for visual merchandising in the Symphony Shop and Glass Houses
• Lead development of a technology vision that supports the Retail department’s overall strategy
  • Assess technology needs of the business and any functional gaps to be addressed
  • Identify key technologies and partners to fulfill functional requirements of the business
• Oversee and support Retail Operations Manager with annual inventory process, including physical counts of all items, generating reports and communicating and reviewing discrepancies with Controller
• Coordinate store CD/DVD/book signing by working directly with artists and authors and/or their management teams
• Oversee operational planning and implementation of merchandising for BSO and Boston Pops while on tours, including working with venue merchandising representatives, managing venue settlement and ensuring safe return of inventory
• Serve as liaison with Tanglewood popular artists and Symphony Hall renters (e.g. Celebrity Series) to support sales related to their performances
• Attend tradeshows and conferences, and maintain relationships with peers via industry groups as needed to stay abreast of industry best practices
• Work with Marketing to ensure regular and proper representation of Symphony Hall and Tanglewood retail in communications and to support merchandise sales via third party platforms (e.g. social media).

SKILL REQUIREMENTS:

• 5-10 years of proven retail leadership experience; experience working for  performing arts, cultural or other non-profit institution is a plus, but not a requirement
• Strong knowledge of product development merchandising operations, store design, visual merchandising retail finance and retail management best practices
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills
• Customer focus
• Leadership qualities including the ability to motivate, train and develop people
• Strong organizational skills
• Flexibility in dealing with customers and changing circumstances

To prevent the infection and spread of COVID-19, and as an integral part of its public health and safety measures, Boston Symphony Orchestra requires that all successful applicants show proof of full vaccination by an FDA-approved (either fully or for emergency use) COVID-19 vaccine before beginning employment.

The BSO is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.