Grainger is a broad line, business-to-business distributor of maintenance, repair and operating (MRO) supplies and other related products and services. More than 3.2 million businesses and institutions worldwide rely on Grainger for products such as safety gloves, ladders, motors and janitorial supplies, along with services like inventory management and technical support. These customers represent a broad collection of industries including commercial, government, healthcare and manufacturing. They place orders online, on mobile devices, through sales representatives, over the phone and at local branches. Approximately 5,000 suppliers provide Grainger with more than 1.6 million products stocked in Grainger's distribution centers and branches worldwide.

Primary Function:

The Content Strategy Manager partners cross-functionally to continuously improve the quality of our publications by developing, revising, and teaching merchandising publishing guidelines across the organization; maintaining quality governance through a strong editorial lens; and using various analytic methods to provide strategic direction on product content presentation across Grainger's various publications. This role requires significant presence in discussions about quality with senior leadership, leaning on competencies of building logical, persuasive presentations that align disparate viewpoints. The individual in this role closely guides merchandising team members to develop and test hypotheses, analyzes customer performance metrics and applies unique insights, and partners with the Grainger Technology Group and others to develop content solutions for a best-in-class customer experience.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

Develops, Teaches & Embeds Merchandising Presentation Guidelines

* Understands merchandising principles and our system of content, and works with teams to produce the best customer experience

* Develops shared language about content and merchandising

* Facilitates cross-functional collaboration to ensure content works holistically

* Drives development and revision of presentation guidelines

* Teaches guidelines to merchandising team members

* Ensures guidelines are embedded within Category Review process

* Manages exceptions with customer lens

Maintains Quality Governance

* Uses guidelines to provide structured feedback to teams throughout Category Review planning process

* Defines publish-ready checklist (QA Auditor's input)

* Manages Content Quality Auditor's output and integrates into final review feedback

* Leads final publication review meeting

* Provides final approval for publication

* Serves as critical connection point across Merchandising stakeholders

Drives Continuous Quality Improvement & Innovation

* Helps develop and monitor measures to ensure quality-both adherence to guidelines and efficacy of guidelines on customer outcomes

* Monitors quality performance metrics for aligned desks post-publication (pre/post review)

* Partners with Merchandising team members to test hypotheses and actively develop solutions

* Benchmarks competitors to understand landscape

* Employs continuous-improvement approach for quality

* Partners with technology group to advocate for Merchandising content solutions, including Publishing reporting needs and Merchandising presentation needs

Preferred Education and Experience:

Education:

* BA/BS required

* MA/MS preferred

Experience:

* Minimum 7-10 years of experience in merchandising, with specific content strategy/ editorial/user design experience for customer-facing experiences

* eCommerce, direct marketing, or catalog experience

* Working knowledge of digital analytics and user testing

* Industrial distribution experience

* Experience translating technical product information to a non-technical eCommerce presentation

* Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio

* Experience with workflow software (JIRA or similar)

* eCommerce platform software

* Ability to work in deadline-driven environment and handle multiple priorities at the same time

Skills & Competencies:

Displays Strategic Thinking

* Demonstrates clear strategic thinking and decision making and ability to communicate across multiple stakeholders

* Has clear understanding of content as a business asset

* Is focused on end-to-end solutions and understands how organization works together to accomplish work

* Can use and develop frameworks to evaluate content and make decisions

* Can develop hypotheses and use quantitative and qualitative analytics to support or refute them

Has Strong Customer Focus

* Understands customer needs and the role of useful content

* Displays product curiosity

* Recognizes Merchandising desk-specific nuances while also considering broader assortment patterns

* Understands industry and emerging trends

Has Strong Interpersonal and Communication Skills

* Communicates well both verbally and textually

* Can partner and influence cross-functionally

* Is diplomatic and willing to push when needed

* Can manage QA Auditor contractor

Drives Continuous Quality Improvement & Innovation

* Fosters strong continuous improvement mindset

* Has strong editorial lens and global content editing ability

* Understands and can develop principles and guidelines

* Uses data to drive discussion

* Pushes peer and leadership thinking

Position can be based in Lake Forest or Chicago post pandemic

EEOC Statement

Grainger is an Equal Opportunity Workplace and an Affirmative Action Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability, or protected veteran status.