About this role.
Grove Collaborative is hiring a remote Merchandising Operations Manager to redesign and automate core retail merchandising workflows. The role owns process mapping, assortment and inventory-related operations, vendor and purchase-order coordination, activation readiness, and reporting. It is a hands-on builder role requiring the incumbent to develop no/low-code and AI-enabled tools rather than solely define strategy. Success depends on strong retail or CPG merchandising operations expertise, practical automation skills, and change-management capability. The position is remote only for candidates located in the listed US states and includes base salary, annual incentive eligibility, and equity.
Role DNA
A quick view of the complexity, pace, ownership and collaboration implied by the job description.
Job Complexity
5/5Pace & Pressure
5/5Autonomy Level
5/5Communication Load
5/5Salary analysis
Estimated compensation compared with the broader US market for similar roles.
Core skills
Skills and capabilities most closely associated with this opportunity.
Cover letter sample
Dear Hiring Team,
I am excited to apply for the Merchandising Operations Manager role at Grove Collaborative. My background in retail merchandising operations and process improvement has prepared me to map complex workflows, identify root causes, and build practical tools that reduce manual work while protecting inventory availability and margin.
I am particularly drawn to Grove's expectation that this leader personally build and scale AI-enabled, no/low-code solutions. I would bring a hands-on approach to connecting activation calendars, vendor commitments, purchasing signals, allocation, replenishment, and performance reporting into durable operating processes.
Alongside implementation, I value the adoption work that makes improvements last: clear SOPs, tool registries, training, office hours, and measurable pilot outcomes. I would welcome the opportunity to help Grove build a more responsive, scalable merchandising operation in support of its mission.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Sample interview questions
I would begin by observing the actual workflow and documenting inputs, handoffs, decision points, exceptions, systems, and time spent. I would quantify the most costly failure modes, redesign the future-state process with accountable owners and controls, then pilot it with a representative group. I would measure adoption, cycle time, error rate, and business outcomes before expanding it.
I would establish a structured activation intake that captures timing, SKU scope, expected demand lift, promotional mechanics, and channel details. That information would feed a launch-readiness workflow that compares demand assumptions against on-hand inventory, inbound supply, lead times, allocation rules, and vendor commitments. The system would proactively flag stock risks and assign clear actions before launch milestones.
I assess frequency, manual effort, error risk, decision criticality, input quality, process stability, and expected business value. Repetitive, rules-based work with reliable data and measurable impact is usually a strong automation candidate. For high-risk or judgment-heavy decisions, I would automate preparation and alerts while retaining human approval controls.
I would involve end users early in defining the problem and pilot the tool on a workflow they consider genuinely painful. I would explain its boundaries, data sources, expected benefits, and escalation path in straightforward language, while keeping human review for critical inventory and margin decisions. Training, office hours, power users, documentation, and visible performance metrics would reinforce confidence and sustained usage.
I would define baseline metrics such as buyer time spent on status requests, vendor response time, fill rate, lead-time adherence, data completeness, and user satisfaction. During the pilot, I would validate data accuracy and determine whether users can independently answer common questions without creating new workarounds. I would scale only after the tool demonstrates reliable data, meaningful workflow reduction, and clear ownership for ongoing maintenance.
Grove Collaborative is a sustainability-focused consumer products company creating household and personal care essentials that are effective, beautifully designed, and healthier for people and the planet. We are a certified B Corp, plastic-neutral, and on a mission to transform the CPG industry for good.
Merchandising Operations Manager
Grove’s merchandising operation is full of good instincts running on manual work. This role exists to fix that: redesign the core processes, then personally build the automation that makes them stick. This is a rare shot at rebuilding how merchandising actually runs, and at proving AI belongs in the hands of the person closest to the problem, not just the AI team.
We’re not hiring someone to write a strategy memo about AI and hand it off. We’re hiring someone who will map the workflow, feel where it breaks, and then sit down and build the thing that fixes it.
More About the Opportunity
- Merchandising at Grove runs on real expertise and too much manual glue.
- Buyers chase vendors for the same data, week after week.
- Marketing launches promotions inventory finds out about too late.
- Good people spend their time on work a workflow should be doing for them.
- We have an internal AI team. They coach. They don’t build for you.
- This role is for the person who wants their hands on the keyboard, not the person who scopes it and waits.
- The honest version: no template here. You’re defining the standard as you go, with review at key milestones and real autonomy in between.
- Some of what you build will work on the first try. Some won’t. That’s the job.
What You’ll Own
- Map how merchandising actually works today, not how the org chart says it works.
- Redesign core operating processes for speed, accuracy, and margin protection: assortment planning, item setup, pricing and markdown, vendor and PO management, allocation, replenishment.
- Own the calendar connecting marketing activations to inventory, so launches are stock-backed, not a surprise to the warehouse.
- Translate activation plans into buy, allocation, and replenishment signals; flag stock risk before launch, not after.
- Coordinate vendor commitments tied to activations: fill rates, lead times, launch quantities.
- Build self-service tools and proactive alerts that scale the buyer-vendor relationship, including visibility into vendor performance.
- Build the automation yourself, using Claude and comparable AI tools, no/low-code platforms, and lightweight automation, from concept through rollout.
- Run pilots end to end: scope, build, test for accuracy, validate fit, scale. Keep humans in the loop on margin- and inventory-critical decisions.
- Maintain a registry of approved tools and active automations, so what exists and what it’s for is never a mystery.
- Own change management for every rollout: training, AI literacy for non-technical audiences, office hours, a bench of power users.
- Build reporting on process and automation performance, and use it to prioritize what gets built next.
About You
- Real fluency in retail merchandising operations, not an adjacent function you’ve watched from a distance.
- You’ve mapped a broken process and redesigned it, not just diagnosed it.
- Basic technical acumen and a genuine willingness to build, no engineering background required.
- Comfortable working with a specialist team as a coaching resource, not a build team, and taking their guidance without handing off your job.
- You’ve run a pilot from scoping through adoption, and you know the gap between a demo and something people actually use.
- You care about the boring, durable stuff: documentation, SOPs, registries, training, the things that outlast the person who built them.
- You think in workflows and root causes, not tickets.
- You know the difference between a problem worth automating and one worth leaving alone.
Even Better if You Have
- Built something with Claude or a comparable AI tool that a non-technical team now relies on.
- Experience connecting marketing or demand planning to inventory and allocation.
- Designed a self-service tool that measurably cut manual buyer-vendor back-and-forth.
- A retail, CPG, or commerce background with real fluency in vendor and marketplace dynamics.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU
- This full-time, exempt position is remote for candidates based in the following states: California, Maine, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Texas, Colorado, Washington, Illinois, New York, Missouri, and Massachusetts.
- Competitive benefits – medical, vision, dental
- Equity – shared success is core to our mission
- Flexible Paid Time Off – we care most about results
- Free VIP membership and 50% employee discount
- Working for a company that believes that a small group of people can change the world for the better by creating products and funding initiatives that help the planet!
COMPENSATION
The salary range for this role is $135,000-165,000. Our compensation bands are determined based on market-specific cost of living data, meaning that the top of our salary range is reserved for the most experienced candidates in the highest cost of living areas across the country. In addition to the base salary, this role is eligible for an annual incentive target and equity.
MORE ABOUT GROVE
Grove Collaborative Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GROV) is the one-stop online destination for everyday essentials that create a healthier home and planet. Explore thousands of thoughtfully vetted products for every room and everyone in your home, including household cleaning, personal care, health and wellness, laundry, clean beauty, kitchen, pantry, kids, baby, pet care, and beyond. Everything Grove sells meets a higher standard — from health to sustainability and performance — so you get a great value without compromising your values. As a B Corp and Public Benefit Corporation, Grove goes beyond selling products: every order is carbon neutral, supports plastic waste cleanup initiatives, and lets you see and track the positive impact of your choices. Shopping with purpose starts at Grove.com.
We’re building a diverse and inclusive work environment where we learn from each other. We welcome people of diverse backgrounds, experiences, abilities and perspectives. We are an equal opportunity employer. If you require reasonable accommodation in completing this application, interviewing, completing any pre-employment testing, or otherwise participating in the employee selection process, please direct your inquiries to Talent@grove.co.
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