Merchandise Development Specialist

Get to know The Pokémon Company International

The Pokémon Company International manages the Pokémon property outside of Asia and is responsible for brand management, licensing and marketing, the Pokémon Trading Card Game, the animated TV series, home entertainment, and the official Pokémon website. Pokémon was launched in Japan in 1996 and today is one of the most popular children’s entertainment properties in the world.

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• Job Title:
  
  Merchandise Development Specialist
• Job Summary:
  
  This role provides creative direction, brand context, and data-informed insight to guide product development. The Merchandise Development Specialist partners cross-functionally to shape product storytelling, brand integration, and category growth. Supporting a specific category (Home, Office, and Outdoors), this role developed product and graphic design briefs, defines new opportunities, guides quality, and ensures final assortments meet or exceed customer expectations. Strong product development experience, brand fluency, critical thinking, communication, and relationship-building skills are essential, along with strong communication with the ability to present product concepts to diverse stakeholders.
  
  This specialist role brings forward innovative ideas, improves processes, navigates both established product and R&D opportunities, and acts as a subject matter expert within a category.
• FLSA Classification (US Only):
  Exempt
• People Manager:
  No

• Product Direction, Planning & Execution
  • Own category or subcategory coherence, ensuring alignment with brand standards, customer expectations, and category goals, supported by data-informed reasoning.
  • Make informed decisions within scope, including in ambiguous situations, and elevate higher-risk or strategic issues.
  • Translate strategy into actionable, visually compelling briefs for internal teams.
  • Guide product direction across both established lines and R&D opportunities using brand knowledge and market awareness.
  • Own timelines, readiness, and quality for assigned product work, aligning deliverables with priorities and business goals.
  • Independently manage 3–5 product sets, maintaining clarity and momentum across cross‑functional teams (Production, Project Management, Clients, Approvals).
• Brand Integration & Creative Guidance
  • Apply brand understanding to ensure product and the art on the product delivers clear, compelling storytelling and emotional connection for fans of all kinds.
  • Provide product and graphic design creative direction in partnership with Designers, aligning on intent, tone, and execution.
  • Evaluate creative output against brand standards and customer expectations; challenge and course‑correct as needed.
  • Translate brand strategy and franchise moments into clear creative direction across category initiatives.
• Concept Development & Presentations
  • Lead concept development across subcategories, delivering 3–6 concepts per product set, plus additional contributions to broader assortments.
  • Develop and present multiple options, clearly outlining trade‑offs, risks, and opportunities with data-backed reasoning.
  • Recommend a preferred direction supported by brand, customer, and business insights.
  • Create clear, visual, and persuasive presentations connecting concepts to strategy and objectives.
  • Provide constructive feedback to strengthen peer concepts and presentations.
• Quality & Product Excellence
  • Evaluate product and execution against quality standards, market samples, category goals, and customer expectations.
  • Collect and apply data-informed insights through analysis of customer behavior, performance metrics, and market trends to guide product development.
  • Identify risks or gaps throughout the product development process and…