Watches & Jewelry -Dubai Best Jobs 2025
Head of Brands – Watches & Jewelry (Buying & Merchandising)
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Permanent, Full-Time
Retail – Watches, Jewelry, Accessories
Head the Watch Category for One of the Middle East’s Most Iconic Retailers
Are you an established brand or category leader with a strong enthusiasm for watches and a track record of commercial performance delivery? This is your chance to guide and define the future of the watch business for one of the region’s strongest retail conglomerates.
We are looking for a seasoned, commercially adept, and trend-driven professional to fill the position of Head of Brands – Watches & Jewellery (Buying & Merchandising). Dubai-based, this high-impact role will be in charge of the entire brand lifecycle through retail, e-commerce, and travel retail channels. The right candidate will head up the watch portfolio, overseeing partnerships with worldwide brand principals and maintaining strategic harmony across Middle East markets.
About the Company-Dubai Best Jobs 2025
Our client is a leading and most regarded retail conglomerate in the Middle East with a varied and high-end list of international brands across watch, jewelry, fashion, beauty, and lifestyle segments. With years of operating proficiency and an image of innovation, the group has been able to develop legendary customer experiences in malls, standalone shops, e-commerce sites, and travel retail settings.
The company continues to invest in digital innovation, omni-channel innovation, and customer-led brand experiences. In this vibrant ecosystem, the watch category is a strategic growth pillar—providing strong potential in both heritage and modern brand segments.
This is a leadership role within the buying and merchandising framework, with a direct reporting line into executive leadership and a working relationship cross-function across marketing, planning, retail operations, and digital.
Key Responsibilities
In your role as Head of Brands – W&J, you will own the full commercial and operational responsibility for a carefully crafted portfolio of international watch brands, with end-to-end control from strategic planning to in-market execution.
- Brand Strategy & Partnership Management
Drive the annual and long-term strategy for the watch portfolio together with brand principals and internal leadership.
Serve as the key interface with world and regional brand owners, agreeing on assortment, pricing, product launches, training, and co-marketing activities.
Assure brand consistency with world identity while adapting to regional consumer tastes and local market trends.
- Buying, Planning & Merchandising
Manage buying calendars, seasonal assortment choices, and open-to-buy (OTB) planning.
Track inventory performance and inventories in all channels, in real-time, detecting risks and opportunities.
Incorporate merchandising initiatives, such as planograms, visual standards in-store, and product narratives to increase consumer experience.
Drive liquidation plans for poor-performing SKUs for maintaining healthy sell-through and margin guard.
- Commercial Analysis & Forecasting
Determine global and regional market trends, category performance, and consumer behavior to inform competitive positioning.
Develop and maintain yearly sales forecasts, budget allocation, and pricing architecture across markets.
Ensure price consistency, track currency fluctuations, and control cost-to-retail margins with the support of finance and planning.
- E-Commerce & Omni-Channel Development
Develop and implement plans to develop sales online, working in close collaboration with digital teams to drive assortment, campaigns, and user experience.
Embrace and implement travel retail opportunities to leverage airport and global retail hub brand presence.
- Leadership & Stakeholder Engagement
Manage, guide, and build a cross-functional team (buyers, planners, brand executives) to achieve business objectives.
Impose direction on key internal stakeholders in marketing, e-commerce, operations, and VM to promote coordinated action on brand strategies.
Lead business reviews, performance reports, and future growth initiatives to senior leadership and global brand principals.
Ideal Candidate Profile-Dubai Best Jobs 2025
Ideal candidate has strong experience in buying, merchandising, or brand management in watches, jewelry, or premium consumer goods, and is comfortable in a matrixed, dynamic retail environment. Analytical and creative by nature, they have a commercial acumen and are sensitive to product trends and market directions.
Experience & Background
10–12 years of relevant experience, preferably in premium/luxury retail, watches, fashion accessories, or consumer electronics.
Strategic background in brand portfolio management, purchasing, category planning, and cross-functional teamwork.
Experience in running large-scale regional businesses, such as several markets and retail formats (mall-based stores, mono-brand boutiques, travel retail, etc.).
The prior experience of digital and omni-channel retail business models is an added strength.
Skills & Attributes
Commercially oriented: Exhibits a good record of delivering revenue, profitability, and efficiency.
Strategic mindset: Capacity to establish vision, set priorities, and interpret insights into practical plans.
Strong communicator: Can influence senior stakeholders and speak for the business with external brand partners.
Trend-aware: Current with watch trends, new product developments, consumer sentiment, and competitive activity.
Leadership & Team Management: Confident managing diverse teams and coaching talent across functions.
Education
Bachelor’s in Business Administration, Fashion/Retail Management, Marketing, or equivalent.
MBA or postgraduate qualifications are a plus but not mandatory.
What’s on Offer
This is a distinctive leadership position with high visibility, commercial significance, and regional reach. You will become part of a world-class company with strong brand equity, deep heritage, and aggressive expansion plans for the future.
Strategic Leadership Position: Be responsible for the entire watch brand portfolio and define its future development.
Regional Reach: Guide across rich consumer markets with high growth potential.
Competitive Compensation: Competitive salary and benefits package, reflective of experience and market standards.
Professional Development: Collaborate with global brand partners and cross-functional teams in a high-performance, collaborative culture.
Location: Dubai – a retail, innovation, and luxury hub of the world.
Join us to Lead the Future of Time?
If you’re a commercially astute, brand-aware leader with a passion for product and performance, we’d love to hear from you.
Apply now or call:
Ali Nomani
Quote Job Reference: JN-082025-6807904
Dubai Best Jobs 2025
