Branded Goods Manager

Medical University of South Carolina•Charleston, SC

About The Position

The Branded Goods Program Manager leads MUSC’s enterprise-wide branded merchandise program—building governance, coordinating a multi-vendor operational model, and ensuring a consistent, compliant, high-quality brand experience across all MUSC entities. The role drives strategy and operations across e-commerce, on-campus retail, pop-ups, and mobile retail, while implementing governance, compliance controls, financial reporting, and cross-campus alignment to support institutional priorities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Communications, Retail, Supply Chain, or related field.
5+ years of experience in branded merchandise, retail/e‑e-commerce operations, vendor management, or brand operations.
Experience with governance, workflow development, and multi-vendor program oversight.
Strong financial analysis skills, including dashboard/KPI development.
Excellent communication, project management, and cross-functional partnership skills.
7 years progressive work experience and 2 years management experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience in higher education, health care, nonprofit, or large multi-site organizations.
Experience with merchandising strategy, retail assortment planning, and e-commerce workflows.
Knowledge of trademark/licensing and brand protection
Master’s degree in Business, Marketing, or related field.
Strategic thinking, vendor leadership, financial acumen, brand stewardship, customer‑experience orientation, and strong influence skills.

Responsibilities

Lead the branded goods governance structure, including Brand Operations Workgroup and JOC reporting; ensure annual leadership updates.
Develop workflows, compliance processes, and support risk‑mitigation standards for enterprise merchandise use.
Implement brand protection practices related to trademarks and unauthorized merchandise.
Manage coordinated execution across the selected vendors for e-commerce, fundraising merchandise, marketing merchandise, and on-site support.
Oversee SLAs, KPIs, pricing models, contracting milestones, and quarterly business reviews.
Plan and support operations for the online storefront, on-site retail shop, pop-ups, and mobile retail experience.
Partner with vendors on merchandising strategy, inventory planning, product drops, and fulfillment workflows.
Ensure system compatibility (e.g., SSO integrations) as required by the program vision.
Maintain dashboards and KPI reporting for spend, usage, fulfillment accuracy, customer experience, and vendor performance.
Conduct monthly financial analysis with stakeholders.
Identify financial efficiencies and operational improvements for enterprise merchandise purchasing.
Partner with enterprise units to meet branded merchandise needs.
Provide training, documentation, onboarding, and enterprise communication related to governance and purchasing process changes.
Interpret stakeholder insights and program data to enhance retail experiences and product offerings.
Ensure sustainability and health-minded product considerations remain integrated into the program.
Lead Enterprise Governance, Strategy, and Compliance Build and operationalize the enterprise governance model for branded goods, including the Brand Operations Workgroup and Joint Oversight Committee (JOC).
Develop and enforce brand compliance standards, trademark protection, approval workflows, and risk mitigation protocols.
Prepare updates for leadership oversight committees and ensure alignment with MUSC’s brand strategy.
Manage Multi-Vendor Ecosystem, Contracts, and Retail Operations Oversee day-to-day and strategic management of the multi-vendor ecosystem (e-commerce/fundraising, marketing merchandise, onsite support).
Lead SLAs, performance scorecards, quarterly business reviews, and implementation readiness.
Direct the planning and execution of online storefronts, pop-ups, on-site retail, and the mobile retail truck.
Financial Stewardship, Dashboards, and Performance Analytics Develop dashboards and KPIs that track spend, fulfillment performance, inventory efficiency, and enterprise utilization patterns.
Partner with Finance to conduct monthly purchasing analyses across the enterprise; identify cost efficiencies and provide ongoing reporting to leadership.
Cross-Functional Collaboration, Stakeholder Engagement, and Change Management Serve as enterprise liaison to enterprise entities to ensure merchandise strategies align with engagement and operational needs.
Lead departmental training, governance rollout, user onboarding, and change‑management communications.
Support emergent needs related to enterprise events, vendor coordination, brand initiatives, print or signage production, and operational improvements.