Senior Director Business Analytics

Smith Hanley Associates · Nashville, United States

Title : Senior Director, Business Analytics

Location: Nashville, TN | Hybrid (3 days in office REQUIRED)

Compensation : $170-220k base + bonus + relocation assistance.

Contact : Lindsey Bartlett –

Love data, but even more interested in what a business actually DOES with it?

We're partnering with an established, publicly traded apparel and retail organization that's looking for a Senior Director of Business Analytics to help shape the next chapter of its analytics capabilities.

And this is a fun one.

Our client isn't looking for someone to simply build dashboards, deliver reports, and call it a day. They want someone who can connect analytics to real business decisions, influence senior leadership, and help identify where the company should go next.

The opportunity? Join the corporate Strategy team, work across multiple brands and business functions, and help build a more forward-thinking approach to analytics.

You'll have the opportunity to influence both immediate business priorities and the longer-term direction of the analytics function.

Experience in apparel or footwear industry REQUIRED

What you’ll be doing:

• Partner with senior leadership to translate complex business questions into analytical approaches and actionable recommendations.
• Work across Marketing, Merchandising, eCommerce, Product, and other commercial functions to identify opportunities and improve business performance.
• Lead the development of advanced analytics, dashboards, reporting frameworks, and scalable decision-support tools.
• Evaluate opportunities to leverage AI, automation, and emerging analytical capabilities.
• Help establish consistent KPIs, reporting practices, and analytical frameworks across the organization.
• Translate complex findings into compelling stories and recommendations for executive audiences
• Support long-range strategic planning and high-priority business initiatives.
• Support enterprise level strategic initiatives, including growth opportunities, customer strategy, market expansion, and go-to-market planning.
• Lead and mentor a small analytics team while helping shape the broader vision for the function.

What we’re looking for:

• 7+ years of experience in advanced analytics, customer analytics, data science, strategic consulting, or a related discipline.
• Experience in apparel or footwear industry REQUIRED
• Strong analytical foundation, including experience applying statistical methods, predictive analytics, and data-driven problem-solving to commercial challenges.
• Ability to connect analytical findings to broader business strategy and executive decision-making.
• Experience with visualization tools such as Tableau, Power BI, or similar platforms.
• Strong Excel and PowerPoint skills.
• Familiarity with SQL and/or Python is a plus.
• Experience leveraging AI and emerging technologies to improve analytics processes and outcomes.
• Strong communication and presentation skills, particularly with senior stakeholders.
• Experience mentoring or leading analytical talent.
• Bachelor's degree in an analytical or quantitative discipline required; advanced degree a plus.

We're looking for someone who is:

• Analytical AND commercially minded. You understand the numbers, but you're always thinking about what they mean for the business.
• Curious. You're not satisfied with the first answer and genuinely enjoy digging into the why.
• A strong communicator. You can explain complicated analysis to someone who has absolutely no interest in hearing about the methodology.
• Collaborative. You know how to build relationships, earn trust, and work across different personalities and functions.
• Comfortable with ambiguity. You don't need every process or expectation perfectly defined to make progress.
• A builder. You're excited about improving capabilities, introducing new approaches, and helping a function evolve.

Why join?

• Visibility: This position sits within corporate Strategy and works directly with senior business leaders.
• Impact: Your work will influence meaningful business decisions, not just produce another report.
• Variety: You'll touch multiple business units, commercial challenges, and strategic initiatives.
• Opportunity to build: There's real appetite for modernizing how the organization approaches analytics, including AI and automation.
• Established business, evolving capabilities: You'll have the resources and complexity of a major organization with the opportunity to help shape something new.
• If you're someone who enjoys getting into the data but gets even more excited about turning that data into business strategy, we'd love to connect.