Manager, VPA Product and Commercial Strategy

VARSITY SPIRIT, A VARSITY BRANDS COMPANY - THE DRIVING FORCE IN SPIRIT ACROSS CHEER, DANCE, BAND AND YEARBOOK

For over 50 years, Varsity Spirit has been the leading global source for all things spirit, including cheerleading, dance team, performing arts and yearbook. Focused on safety, entertainment and traditional school leadership, Varsity Spirit’s 5,000+ employees are dedicated to celebrating school spirit. A leader in apparel innovation, educational camps, clinics, competitions, and yearbook, Varsity Spirit impacts more than a million athletes each year.

OUR COMMITMENT TO SAFETY

At Varsity Spirit, the safety and wellbeing of the young people we serve is of the utmost importance. Since our inception 50 years ago, we have been – and remain – steadfastly committed to doing our part to create a safe and positive environment for our participants’ physical, emotional, and social development, and promoting an environment free from abuse and misconduct. Varsity has a zero tolerance for abuse in its programs, events, and associated business activities. Varsity is committed to reporting all suspicions, allegations, and incidents of abuse in full accordance with local laws and reporting requirements. Learn more at Our Commitment to Safety - Varsity.com.

WORK TYPE: Full Time

LOCATION DETAILS: Remote United States

TRAVEL: Maximum of 15% travel for onsite visits, events, trade shows and meetings. Travel days require movement to and from location, ability to drive distances in a vehicle, physically lift luggage via air travel, and some general lifting of materials, boxes, etc. for setting up booth displays trade shows. Office days are largely sedentary performing computer work.

COMPENSATION: The pay for this position is $92,000-95,000 annually, plus the opportunity to earn an annual bonus based on personal and company performance.

The base salary will vary based on criteria such as education, experience and qualifications of the applicant, location, internal equity, and alignment with the market.

HOW YOU WILL MAKE AN IMPACT

Own revenue growth for Varsity Performing Arts (VPA) hard goods across wholesale/dealer business development, Amazon marketplace performance, and direct-to-consumer ecommerce. Lead product strategy and new product development while partnering cross-functionally to improve pricing, policies, and the customer experience.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Wholesale/Dealer Business Development

• Own the dealer/wholesale commercial plan to achieve revenue targets, including account strategy, pipeline development, and territory planning.
• Build and maintain relationships with existing and prospective dealers; serve as the primary point of contact for product education, growth opportunities, and issue escalation.
• Lead regular dealer business reviews to support forecasting, identify opportunities, and improve in-season execution.
• Drive incremental dealer sales through premium trade-ups, increased category penetration, and new product adoption; recruit and onboard new dealers as needed.
• Represent DSI/VPA at select industry events and trade shows (~6 per year).

Forecasting, Pricing, and Policies

• Create and maintain sales forecasts by dealer and product; translate insights into prioritized selling actions and cross-functional planning.
• Own hard goods pricing in partnership with Finance; recommend promotional strategy and guardrails.
• Partner with Operations to define and continuously improve wholesale shipping rates, policies, and the ordering experience.

Digital Channel Growth

• Manage the Varsity Performing Arts ecommerce presence across all brands, including assortment expansion, pricing execution, demand forecasting, replenishment, and performance optimization.
• Lead Stanbury.com and My Team Shops growth (in partnership with the VP, VPA), including assortment, merchandising priorities, and coordination with Operations to deliver best-in-class service levels and turnaround times.
• Partner with Marketing to oversee ongoing improvements to DSI web pages and the annual DSI catalog to support dealer and consumer conversion.

Product Strategy and Development

• Build and maintain the hard goods product roadmap; partner with Sourcing and internal/external suppliers to introduce and improve products (targeting ~3-5 new introductions/innovations per year).
• Coordinate product launches across channels, ensuring training, collateral, and go-to-market readiness for dealers and digital storefronts.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

• Partner with Apparel Sales and Stanbury teams on bundling opportunities, product education, and integrated go-to-market programs.
• Collaborate across the broader Varsity Performing Arts team to further integrate VPA businesses and align priorities.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Lead the broader VPA eComm support team.

QUALIFICATIONS

KNOWLEDGE/SKILLS/ABILITIES ​

• Strong commercial judgment and comfort owning revenue performance across multiple channels (wholesale, Amazon, and DTC).
• Ability to translate high-level goals into actionable plans, forecasts, and priorities.
• Experience developing product strategies/roadmaps and partnering with sourcing/suppliers to deliver new products.
• Strong pricing and margin awareness; experience shaping policies/terms that balance growth and customer experience.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills with dealers/retail partners and internal stakeholders.
• Highly organized; able to manage multiple initiatives concurrently and execute with minimal oversight.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office; CRM experience (e.g., Salesforce) preferred.
• Customer-first mindset and professionalism when working with large, sophisticated partners.
• Ability to travel regularly and work evenings/weekends as needed.

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• Bachelor’s degree in business, marketing, education, or related field (preferred).
• 5 years’ minimum managing commercial product strategy or transferable knowledge
• Demonstrated success managing multiple commercial channels
• Experience in performing arts or the performing arts industry preferred.

PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

The physical demands that are described as required are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• This job operates in a hybrid between a home office environment and in community, and trade show environments. Prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing at a desk and working on a computer with some filing requiring the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bending or standing on a stool as necessary.

Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties or responsibilities required of the employee for this job.

JOIN THE BEST TEAM IN SPORT & SPIRIT

At Varsity Brands, we believe every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and every educator wants to make a difference. It takes a team to make a real impact, and through our two divisions – BSN SPORTS and Varsity Spirit – and our network of 6,000+ employees and independent representatives, we are proud to partner with a wide range of educational institutions and club and professional sports to transform the student journey in SPORT and SPIRIT.

OUR VALUES

Service - We lead with heart. We champion community.

Passion - We love what we do. It fuels our purpose.

Integrity - We do what we promise. We own our actions and decisions.

Respect - We earn it by giving it. Because everyone deserves it.

Innovation - We never stop striving to be better. For ourselves and our community.

Transparency - We are committed to openness and honesty in everything we do.

OUR BENEFITS

We are committed to putting you and your families first. For benefits eligible roles, we offer a variety of choices and costs as well as program enhancements that align with our responsibility to elevate the employee experience. Some of our offerings include:

• Comprehensive Health Care Benefits
• HSA Employer Contribution/ FSA Opportunities
• Wellbeing Program
• 401(k) plan with company matching
• Company paid Life, AD&D, and Short-Term Disability
• Generous My Time Off & Paid Holidays
• Varsity Brands Ownership Program
• Employee Resource Groups
• Access to Financial Coaching and member-owned Credit Union
• St. Jude Partnership & Volunteer Opportunities
• Employee Perks including discounts on personal apparel and equipment!

Varsity Brands companies are equal opportunity employers. Qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, veteran’s status, age or disability.

Originally posted on Himalayas