Sr Manager - Brand Experience, Visual Merchandising
Work Mode: Onsite
Location: Onsite, 4 days/week – Kohler, WI
Opportunity
The Sr. Manager – Brand Experience, Visual Merchandising brings Kohler’s brand to life through innovative, high-impact physical experiences that inspire, educate, and convert customers.
As a brand evangelist and creative strategist, this leader drives the visual merchandising strategy and execution across the Professional Channel—creating differentiated, design-led environments that express Kohler’s brand promise and strengthen consumer and trade engagement across Kohler Stores, showrooms, builder, retail, and counter environments.
This leader drives innovation, brand differentiation, and measurable business outcomes, blending storytelling, spatial design, and technology to enhance how customers and trade professionals experience Kohler. Driving strategic vision and with creative execution the Sr. Manager leads a multidisciplinary team including: Interior Designers, Visual Merchandising and Project Management responsible for delivering on-brand, on-budget, and on-time showroom buildouts, display activations, and visual merchandising programs that elevate Kohler’s leadership in design and craftsmanship through differentiated brand experiences driving brand preference & sales.
Primary Responsibilities
Brand Experience & Visual Strategy
- Lead Kohler’s visual merchandising strategy for the Professional Channel, ensuring brand differentiation, innovation, and brand positioning with product benefits into inspiring physical display and customer touchpoints.
- Champion design thinking and creative experimentation to evolve how Kohler products and stories are experienced in physical environments.
- Translate brand and product strategy into immersive visual storytelling and differentiated physical experiences that reflect Kohler’s innovation and design leadership.
- Partner with Brand, Product, and Channel Marketing to ensure visual merchandising amplifies key initiatives, launches, and category growth priorities.
- Create display and graphic solutions that deliver cohesive brand storytelling, enhance product discovery, and drive conversion.
- Ensure consistent execution of Kohler’s brand identity and design standards across all professional touchpoints.
Experience Design & Implementation
- Lead concept development and rollout of new displays, product launches, and in-store brand experiences in partnership with Brand, Product, and Channel Marketing teams.
- Lead the design and activation of differentiated showroom environments that express Kohler’s design, craftsmanship, and innovation leadership.
- Translate consumer and designer insights into physical experiences that enhance product discovery, education, and loyalty.
- Translate consumer and design insights into high-impact visual narratives that elevate category leadership and product desirability.
- Oversee project management from concept through installation—ensuring on-time, on-budget, and on-brand delivery.
- Champion experience innovation through design thinking, experimentation, and use of new technologies such as AR/VR visualization, interactive displays, and digital storytelling tools.
- Build an innovation pipeline that pilots, evaluates, and scales emerging merchandising concepts and technologies across Kohler showrooms and partner locations.
Experience Performance & Measurement
- Establish and track experience performance metrics—traffic, engagement, dwell time, conversion, and satisfaction—to quantify the impact of visual merchandising on business results.
- Partner with Analytics, Sales, and Channel Marketing teams to integrate field data, customer insights, and ROI analysis into continuous improvement cycles.
- Translate performance insights into future design decisions, optimizing layouts, messaging, and product presentation for maximum impact.
Standards, Tools & Governance
- Own the creation and maintenance of Visual Merchandising Guides to ensure consistent execution across showrooms, builder, and counter locations.
- Manage Storefront, Kohler’s internal display and graphics ordering portal—maintaining SKUs, navigation, and user training.
- Partner with vendors, designers, and contractors to ensure execution quality, cost control, and adherence to Kohler’s brand standards for display & showroom buildouts.
Team Leadership
- Lead, coach, and develop a team of Interior Designers, Visual Merchandising andProject Management to deliver creative excellence, operational efficiency, and strong collaboration.
- Oversee all showroom buildouts and renovations, ensuring alignment to design standards, assortments, and project timelines.
- Foster a culture of innovation, accountability, continuous learning, and cross-functional partnership that encouraging bold thinking and data-informed creativity.
Skills/Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Business, Design, Visual Merchandising, or related field
- 8+ years of experience in visual merchandising, brand experience, or retail design
- Strong understanding of end-to-end merchandising process—from concept to rollout
- Proven experience driving innovation in brand design, scalable and efficient execution, and financial management
- Proven ability to design and execute brand experiences across multiple store formats
- Experience with 3D design or interior design software
- Working knowledge of Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
- Leadership Competencies:
- Confident navigating ambiguity and driving clarity in complex, cross-functional initiatives.
- Strategic thinker with strong executional discipline; able to translate vision into action.
- Exceptional communicator and collaborator across creative, product, and business teams.
- Customer-obsessed, detail-oriented, and relentlessly focused on delivering brand-defining experiences.
- Demonstrates integrity, initiative, and commitment to continuous improvement
#LI-KS1
#LI-Remote
Applicants must be authorized to work in the US without requiring sponsorship now or in the future.
We believe in supporting you from the moment you join us, which is why Kohler offers day 1 benefits. This means you’ll have access to your applicable benefit programs from your first day on the job, with no waiting period.
The salary range for this position is $119,950 - $186,550. The specific salary offered to a candidate may be influenced by a variety of factors including the candidate’s experience, their education, and the work location.
Why Choose Kohler?
We empower each associate to #BecomeMoreAtKohler with a competitive total rewards package to support your health and wellbeing, access to career growth and development opportunities, a diverse and inclusive workplace, and a strong culture of innovation. With more than 30,000 bold leaders across the globe, we’re driving meaningful change in our mission to help people live gracious, healthy, and sustainable lives.
About Us
It is Kohler’s policy to recruit, hire, and promote qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status, national origin, disability or status as a protected veteran. If, as an individual with a disability, you need reasonable accommodation during the recruitment process, please contact kohlerjobs@kohler.com. Kohler Co. is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
