[Remote] Sales Director

Note: The job is a remote job and is open to candidates in USA. Rumored is hiring a Sales Director to own and grow its wholesale channel, including new business development, key retailer relationships, forecasting, team leadership, and operations. The role will build the wholesale function and develop a profitable, brand-aligned distribution strategy in partnership with company leadership and cross-functional teams.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a qualified pipeline of prospective major retailers, specialty boutiques, rental platforms, and strategic partners
• Lead outreach, presentations, negotiations, and onboarding for new accounts
• Use existing industry relationships and market knowledge to accelerate account acquisition
• Evaluate opportunities based on revenue potential, brand alignment, margin profile, inventory requirements, and operational feasibility
• Represent Rumored at relevant trade shows, market weeks, and industry events
• Set the annual and seasonal wholesale strategy, revenue plan, and channel priorities
• Develop account-level growth plans across existing and prospective partners
• Balance near-term revenue growth with margin health, brand positioning, inventory capacity, and long-term account value
• Serve as the wholesale voice in leadership discussions and proactively communicate risks, opportunities, and recommendations
• Own relationships with key wholesale partners and serve as Rumored's senior point of contact for the channel
• Lead seasonal sell-ins, market appointments, collection presentations, and business reviews
• Present each collection with a strong command of its product story, design intent, vintage references, fit, fabric, and customer
• Build trusted relationships with buyers, merchants, and planning teams
• Negotiate pricing, margins, markdown support, commercial terms, and account agreements in partnership with leadership
• Act as the primary escalation point for major retail accounts
• Own wholesale forecasting by account, style, category, and delivery window
• Partner with Planning, Production, and Finance to align inventory investments with confirmed and expected demand
• Analyze sell-through, inventory productivity, returns, reorder opportunities, and account performance
• Identify risks and opportunities early, recommend action, and improve forecast accuracy over time
• Evaluate and strengthen Rumored's existing wholesale reporting, then build any missing dashboards and decision tools required to manage the channel
• Establish clear KPIs across revenue, sell-through, inventory productivity, reorder rates, margin, and account health
• Lead a reliable weekly, monthly, and quarterly business-review cadence
• Translate retailer and sell-through insights into clear product, inventory, and commercial recommendations
• Build scalable systems, standard operating procedures, and working rhythms for the wholesale function
• Own wholesale systems and infrastructure, including NuORDER and relevant forecasting and reporting tools
• Ensure accurate order management from sell-in through delivery
• Oversee retailer compliance, routing guides, EDI, labeling, and operational execution in partnership with Operations and Finance
• Build and lead Rumored's wholesale department, starting with the Senior Wholesale Manager and East Coast Account Representative and recruiting and developing territory representatives as the business grows
• Operate as a player-coach, balancing strategic leadership with hands-on ownership of priority accounts and initiatives
• Set clear goals, KPIs, roles, and accountability across the wholesale team
• Coach the team on retailer management, forecasting, planning, negotiation, and wholesale best practices, while assessing future hiring needs as the business grows

Skills

• 8+ years in wholesale sales within contemporary women's fashion, apparel, or a premium consumer brand
• 8+ years of relevant wholesale sales experience within contemporary women's fashion, apparel, or a premium consumer brand
• Demonstrated ownership of a growing, multi-million-dollar wholesale business and a strong record of winning new accounts
• Established relationships with retailers such as Revolve / FWRD, Shopbop, Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Moda Operandi, Nuuly, Anthropologie, Net-a-Porter, or comparable partners
• Strong product sensibility and the ability to communicate a collection's story with clarity and conviction
• Strong understanding of retail math, forecasting, inventory planning, sell-through, margin management, and account profitability
• Experience building, leading, and developing high-performing wholesale sales teams, including territory representatives
• Strong analytical, reporting, communication, presentation, and negotiation skills
• The ability to operate strategically and tactically, including a willingness to build systems and personally execute the work
• Experience building wholesale processes and infrastructure within a growing brand, including familiarity with NuORDER, EDI, and retailer compliance
• Experience partnering directly with an executive leadership team
• International distribution experience

Benefits

• A fully remote team, based in the U.S.
• Annual performance bonus opportunity of up to 10%, tied to pre-agreed wholesale growth and key business goals
• Equity participation
• Health, dental, and vision stipend
• Generous PTO policy
• 50% off employee discount plus 2 free products per month
• Summer Fridays

Company Overview