Director of Retail Operations

Korn Ferry; Austin (TX); On-site; USD 150,000 - 230,000; Full time

Job summary

Korn Ferry in Austin, TX is seeking a Director of Retail Operations to lead multi-unit stores, distribution operations, and enterprise-wide execution in a dynamic, event-driven retail environment.

Reporting to the COO, this role will ensure operational excellence across stores, product flow, labor planning, and financial performance while bridging front-of-house and back-of-house functions during peak periods and offsite opportunities.

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressive retail leadership experience with responsibility for multiple locations or comparable operational complexity.
• Experience designing and implementing retail operating processes, SOPs, and performance metrics.
• Strong financial management experience, including payroll planning, budgeting, forecasting, and operating performance management.

Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of retail and distribution leaders, establishing clear expectations, accountability, performance standards, and operating metrics.
• Drive operational consistency across retail locations, distribution functions, and event-based selling environments.
• Improve inventory flow, replenishment, product availability, and store readiness from receipt through the sales floor and offsite events.
• Develop labor strategies and scalable staffing models for dramatic fluctuations in traffic, revenue, and business demand.
• Design and implement practical operating processes, standard operating procedures, KPIs, scorecards, and operating cadences.
• Partner across functions to remove friction, improve communication, clarify ownership, and strengthen enterprise-wide execution.

Skills

Retail leadership

Multi-unit ops

Financial management

People management

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

ERP systems

Job description

A senior leadership opportunity to connect stores, distribution, product flow, and enterprise execution in a high-volume, seasonal retail environment.

Onsite Austin, Texas

The Opportunity

A respected, high-volume retail organization is seeking a Director of Retail Operations to lead and optimize retail stores, distribution operations, and enterprise-wide execution in a dynamic, event-driven environment.

Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this highly visible leader will ensure consistent operational excellence across stores, product flow, customer experience, labor planning, and financial performance. The Director will bridge front-of-house and back-of-house operations and help the organization scale effectively during peak retail periods, major events, seasonal volume surges, and offsite retail opportunities.

Success requires a distinctive combination of strategic thinking, systems orientation, and hands-on operational leadership.

What You'll Lead

• Multi-unit retail operations and field execution
• Distribution, product flow, inventory availability, and replenishment
• Labor planning, workforce optimization, and financial performance
• Customer experience, merchandising execution, and store readiness
• Pop-up, offsite, seasonal, and event-based retail operations
• Cross-functional alignment across merchandising, marketing, buying, distribution, and executive leadership
• Operational excellence, process improvement, SOPs, and KPI disciplines

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and develop a high-performing team of retail and distribution leaders, establishing clear expectations, accountability, performance standards, and operating metrics.
• Drive operational consistency across retail locations, distribution functions, and event-based selling environments.
• Improve inventory flow, replenishment, product availability, and store readiness from receipt through the sales floor and offsite events.
• Develop labor strategies and scalable staffing models for dramatic fluctuations in traffic, revenue, and business demand.
• Design and implement practical operating processes, standard operating procedures, KPIs, scorecards, and operating cadences.
• Partner across functions to remove friction, improve communication, clarify ownership, and strengthen enterprise-wide execution.
• Support store programs, pop-up operations, offsite initiatives, and high-volume peak events.
• Translate financial objectives into executable plans while managing payroll, budgets, forecasting, productivity, and performance metrics.

Ideal Background

We are interested in leaders who have built their careers in complex retail environments and demonstrated success leading multi-unit operations, management teams, and operational transformation efforts.

• Regional, district, or enterprise-level retail leadership experience
• Multi-unit or exceptionally complex, high-volume store operations
• Inventory management, replenishment, merchandising execution, and product flow
• Distribution center collaboration and end-to-end operational understanding
• Labor planning, workforce management, budgeting, forecasting, and P&L accountability
• Seasonal, event-driven, or peak-volume retail operations
• Process improvement, operating systems, and organizational change
• Cross-functional leadership and the ability to influence across the enterprise

Qualifications

• Seven or more years of progressive retail leadership experience with responsibility for multiple locations or comparable operational complexity.
• Demonstrated success leading leaders and developing high-performing management teams.
• Experience designing and implementing retail operating processes, SOPs, and performance metrics.
• Strong financial management experience, including payroll planning, budgeting, forecasting, and operating performance management.
• Experience overseeing inventory flow, merchandising execution, customer experience initiatives, and offsite retail operations.
• Proven ability to lead cross-functional partnerships and organizational change.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent retail leadership experience.

What Success Looks Like

The successful candidate will be a strategic operator who enjoys building systems, developing leaders, improving processes, and driving measurable results. This person will bring executive-level business acumen while remaining closely connected to stores, teams, distribution, and operational execution during critical business periods.

This opportunity is well suited for a hands-on retail leader who thrives in fast-paced, high-volume environments and can move fluidly between enterprise strategy and front-line execution.