Chanel Senior Group Director, Retail Enablement and Client Development

About Chanel

Chanel is one of the world’s most revered luxury houses, founded by Gabrielle Chanel and distinguished by an enduring vision of elegance, freedom, and modernity. As an employer, the House brings together métiers ranging from haute couture, fashion and leather goods to fragrance, beauty, watches, and fine jewelry, offering employees the opportunity to contribute to a legacy defined by exceptional craftsmanship and creative audacity. Chanel values excellence, discretion, collaboration, and long-term development, fostering an environment where talent is nurtured and heritage is continually reinterpreted for contemporary clients. Its teams are united by a commitment to quality, innovation, and the timeless spirit of the brand.

Role & Responsibilities

• Shape the Retail client-development, clienteling and omnichannel agenda across owned, leased and multi-brand retail.
• Champion an elevated, consistent client experience centred on luxury service, personalization, brand standards and lasting client relationships.
• Translate client insight, field feedback and commercial priorities into a clear Retail point of view, business requirements and activation needs.
• Influence cross-functional roadmaps, investment priorities and sequencing so Retail and client needs are represented in enterprise decisions.
• Build business cases for priority omnichannel, client and Retail capabilities, defining business value, field outcomes and measures of success.
• Drive Retail readiness and adoption of agreed capabilities by aligning owners across process, communication, education and change management.
• Develop a practical innovation agenda to improve the client and advisor experience, simplify work and create measurable business value.
• Establish a disciplined test-and-learn approach with clear hypotheses, owners, success measures and criteria for scaling, adapting or stopping initiatives.
• Integrate workforce, financial, process and technology choices to improve productivity, resource allocation and execution.
• Lead workforce and capacity planning, staffing models, productivity analysis and resource-allocation recommendations across Retail.
• Strengthen financial planning, visibility into controllable expenses, profitability discussions and ongoing budget governance.
• Drive market process improvement and establish consistent, scalable ways of working across distribution models.
• Guide the Retail point of view for client and Retail tools, including business requirements, prioritization, adoption, user experience and data governance.
• Connect senior stakeholders across Retail, DCX, Marketing, Education, Commercial Development, Finance, Planning and Technology.
• Establish clear ownership, governance, decision points and accountability across the Retail Enablement portfolio.
• Develop a high-performing leadership team with strong judgment, ownership, innovation and client focus.

Qualifications

• Retail and client-centric mindset, with a strong understanding of how service, clienteling, people, process and technology shape the client experience.
• Experience shaping or enabling client-development, CRM, loyalty, omnichannel or relationship-based selling strategies.
• Passion for luxury Retail and commitment to elevated service, personalization, brand integrity and excellence at every point of sale.
• Senior leadership experience in complex Retail environments, ideally spanning owned Retail and wholesale or partner-led distribution.
• Track record of identifying opportunities, building business cases and influencing investment or enterprise priorities without relying on direct authority.
• Experience leading innovation, transformation, process improvement or technology-enabled change from opportunity definition through adoption and value realization.
• Strategic and commercial judgment with strong financial acumen.
• Ability to translate ambiguity and complex business needs into clear priorities, decisions and operating mechanisms.
• Strong communication and executive presence, with the ability to align senior cross-functional stakeholders around a shared outcome.
• Data-driven decision-making, disciplined prioritization and a practical test-and-learn mindset.
• Ability to lead through influence and shared accountability without personally executing every initiative.
• Proven ability to lead senior talent, delegate effectively and scale impact through others.
• At least 15 years of overall professional experience, including significant leadership experience in Retail, client development, Retail operations, strategy, business transformation or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience working across multiple Retail environments or distribution models.
• Experience partnering across Retail, Client Experience or CRM, Marketing, Education, Finance, Planning, Commercial Development and Technology.
• Luxury, beauty or another high-touch client-service environment strongly preferred.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.
• Hybrid role based out of New York City corporate offices, with ability to visit points of distribution and travel as business needs require.

Skills

Experience

At least 15 years of overall professional experience, including significant leadership experience in Retail, client development, Retail operations, strategy, business transformation or a related field.

Education

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.

Compensation

The base compensation for this position ranges from USD 170,000 to USD 206,000 per annum.

Benefits

Wellbeing resources, including dedicated paid time off for wellbeing (a two-week August office closure or Retail Wellbeing Days, as applicable) and a Wellbeing Fund; family and caregiving benefits including parental leave, fertility support, MilkStork and Care.com membership; paid vacation, holidays, sick days and volunteer days; 401(k) and other incentives; medical, dental and vision coverage, MDLIVE virtual care, One Medical, Flexible Spending Accounts for health care and dependent care, a Health Savings Account and Employee Assistance Program; life insurance, Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage, short- and long-term disability, Health Advocate, international business travel accident and medical coverage, and commuter transit and parking benefits. Benefits and perks are subject to eligibility and may be modified.

Culture

Chanel fosters a culture of timeless creativity, exacting craftsmanship, and quiet excellence, where employees are encouraged to uphold the house’s heritage while contributing to its continued innovation. The workplace environment is refined, collaborative, and deeply committed to quality, offering professionals the opportunity to grow within a globally respected maison that values discretion, artistry, and long-term vision.

About Cerulean

Cerulean is the definitive career portal for the global luxury industry. We match exceptional professionals with exclusive opportunities at the world's most prestigious brands. From haute couture and fine watchmaking to prestige beauty, hospitality, and boutique retail, Cerulean centralises luxury employment to help you find the career for which you were destined.