In-Store Experience Specialist

Ulta Beauty, Inc.; Bolingbrook (IL); On-site; USD 66,000 - 87,000; Full time

Job summary

Ulta Beauty is seeking an In-Store Experience Specialist in Bolingbrook, IL to drive the guest journey across boutique, luxury, and services teams. The role blends strategic planning with hands-on execution, supporting salon programs, tools, and operational resources, while collaborating across store leadership and field education.

Occasional travel up to 30% may be required, and evenings/weekends may be needed for events.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of retail operations, program management, or in-store experience strategy.
• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, or related field, or equivalent industry experience.
• Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional projects with structured PM practices.

Responsibilities

• Partner with field leadership to align talent, training, and execution strategies.
• Maintain ongoing communication with field leaders and share best practices.
• Leverage data and analytics to assess performance and guide decisions.
• Develop reporting tools to measure in-store experiences and KPIs.
• Own the in-store experience calendar and project documentation.
• Support pilot planning and scaling decisions with learnings.

Skills

Project management

Cross-functional leadership

Data analysis

Verbal and written communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in business, Marketing, or related field

Tools

Power BI

Monday.com

Canva

Tableau

Job description

OVERVIEW

Discover the next wave of beauty services. As we continue to expand, Ulta Beauty’s Beauty Services is raising the industry bar, through better execution, deeper levels of education, smarter and more strategic industry relations. Our ambition is to be the premier destination for all things beauty services. And we’re building toward this end daily. That’s where you come in. If you want to help create the beauty services of tomorrow, to redefine an industry, to experience a real sense of belonging, and see your career progress as far as your talents and ambitions will take you, Ulta Beauty will provide you the support and encouragement to make it happen. So … let’s make it happen.

THE IMPACT YOU CAN HAVE

At Ulta Beauty, we are redefining the in-store experience by seamlessly integrating boutique, luxury, and service offerings to create a best-in-class retail environment- one that brings meaningful human connection to life. The In-Store Experience Specialist plays a vital role in bringing this vision to fruition by supporting the execution of strategic initiatives that elevate the guest journey, enhance performance, and empower store teams through impactful tools and training. The role also supports ownership of salon experience, including the development, implementation, and continuous improvement of salon tools, programs, and operational resources.

This role blends strategic planning and project management with a passion for guest experience and operational excellence. The specialist applies disciplined project management practices—including scope definition, workplans, milestones, risk and issue tracking, stakeholder alignment, and post-launch measurement - to move complex initiatives from concept through sustained adoption. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment, is confident leading discussions amongst senior leaders, and brings a sharp eye for process improvement and executional detail.

YOU'LL ACCOMPLISH THESE GOALS BY:

People

• Partner with field leadership, store operations, merchandising, and brand partners to align talent, training, and execution strategies across boutique, luxury, and service initiatives.
• Maintain ongoing communication with field leaders to capture feedback, share best practices, and strengthen execution.
• Reinforce Ulta Beauty’s people-first leadership culture through consistent engagement and enablement tools.
• Lead onboarding and field readiness for new programs, ensuring stores are equipped to deliver elevated guest experiences.

• Partner with services field education, salon operations, category management, and store leadership to ensure salon programs, tools, and communications are practical, aligned, and ready for field adoption.

Performance

• Leverage data and analytics to assess performance, identify trends, and make strategic recommendations.
• Build and manage reporting tools to measure the effectiveness of in-store experiences and inform ongoing strategy.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to launch contests, incentives, and engagement strategies that drive performance and guest satisfaction.

• Support pilot planning and execution, ensuring alignment with KPIs and overall business objectives; document learnings, readiness criteria, risks, and recommendations to inform go/no-go and scale decisions.

• Support performance management for salon experiences by monitoring adoption, service productivity, guest experience, and operational KPIs; translate insights into prioritized actions and program enhancements.
• Develop ready presentations and storytelling tools to effectively communicate strategy, results, and field insights.

Process

• Serve as a central liaison across cross-functional teams to align on project goals, timelines, and success metrics.
• Drive operational efficiency by identifying process gaps, streamlining workflows, and implementing scalable solutions.

• Own and maintain the in-store experience calendar, execution trackers, and key project documentation, including project plans, decision logs, risk and issue trackers, RACI matrices, status updates, and launch-readiness materials.
• Audit existing programs for consistency and identify opportunities for enhancement, with dedicated focus on salon experience programs, service processes, and tools used by store leaders and salon professionals.

• Own the ongoing maintenance and improvement of assigned salon tools and programs, including documentation, communications, training resources, version control, field feedback, issue resolution, and enhancement roadmaps.
• Create and refine standard operating procedures (SOPs) to ensure consistent, high-quality execution across all store formats.

• Serve as a subject matter expert in luxury, boutique, and services execution, including the salon guest and associate experience and the tools and programs that enable it, supporting scalable implementation and operational readiness.

THE ESSENTIALS OF SUCCESS

• 3+ years of experience in retail operations, program management, or in-store experience strategy; salon or beauty services operations experience strongly preferred; store general management experience is a plus.

• Bachelor’s degree in business, Marketing, or related field, or equivalent industry experience.

• Proven ability to manage complex, cross-functional projects and drive initiatives from concept to execution, using structured project management practices to establish scope, ownership, timelines, dependencies, risks, decisions, and measurable outcomes.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Excel and PowerPoint); demonstrated proficiency with project management platforms and tools for planning, collaboration, documentation, and status reporting.

• Experience with Power BI and Monday.com required, comfort with Canva, Tableau and Digital Workplace is a plus.

• Working knowledge of salon operations, service workflows, guest booking and consultation experiences, stylist productivity drivers, and the tools and programs that support salon performance and field execution.

• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills, with the ability to translate complex concepts into clear, actionable plans.
• Adept at managing multiple priorities with a proactive, solution-oriented mindset.
• Strong relationship builder with the ability to influence and collaborate across all levels of the organization, including senior leadership.

SPECIAL POSITION REQUIREMENTS:

• Occasional travel (up to 30%) to stores, events, or cross-functional meetings.
• Attendance at key Ulta Beauty events and workshops, as needed.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends, as required by specific projects or in-store events.
• A strong ambassador of Ulta Beauty brand standards.

#remote

The pay range for this position is $66,200.00 - $87,000.00 / Year with the opportunity for eligible associates to earn additional compensation pursuant to the Company’s bonus plan. Exact pay will be based on factors including, but not limited to relevant education, qualifications, certifications, experience, level, shift, geographic location, and business and organizational needs. Full-time positions are eligible for paid time off, health, dental, vision, life and disability benefits. Part-time positions are eligible for dental, vision, life, and disability benefits. For additional information concerning our benefits, visit our Benefits and Career Development page: https://learn.bswift.com/ulta

ABOUT

At Ulta Beauty (NASDAQ: ULTA), the possibilities are beautiful. Ulta Beauty is the largest North American beauty retailer and the premier beauty destination for cosmetics, fragrance, skin care products, hair care products and salon services. We bring possibilities to life through the power of beauty each and every day in our stores and online with more than 25,000 products from approximately 500 well-established and emerging beauty brands across all categories and price points, including Ulta Beauty’s own private label. Ulta Beauty also offers a full-service salon in every store featuring-hair, skin, brow, and make-up services.

We will consider for employment all qualified applicants, including those with arrest records, conviction records, or other criminal histories, in a manner consistent with the requirements of any applicable state and local laws, including the City of Los Angeles’ Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance, the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, and the New York City Fair Chance Act.