Lead Director- Distribution Center Operations (RI)

CVS Health; North Smithfield (RI); On-site; USD 100,000 - 232,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, and vision coverage

Paid time off

Retirement savings options

Bonus/short-term incentives

Job summary

CVS Health is seeking a Lead Director of Distribution Center Operations to drive performance across a multi-site DC organization and lead a team of 200+ colleagues. The role emphasizes talent development, engagement, staffing, and continuous learning while shaping a facility strategy to meet profit and service targets.

The successful candidate will own the DC strategy, ensure regulatory compliance, and partner with HR, field partners, and corporate teams to sustain safety, quality, and

Qualifications

• 5+ years in managerial/leadership roles in retail or distribution.
• Experience with federal and state laws to ensure compliance in operation and OSHA health & safety regulations.
• Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Work Experience.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills; strong teamwork.
• Experience with financial analysis and budget preparations.

Responsibilities

• Full P&L responsibility for the DC oversite and DC products/services.
• Coordinate with suppliers to negotiate contracts and optimize operations.
• Partner with HR resources to achieve staffing targets and minimize overtime.
• Ensure compliance with government regulations and maintain safety standards.
• Drive continuous improvement and measure performance against KPIs.

Skills

Leadership

Retail/Distribution experience

LEAN principles

OSHA compliance

Budget & financial analysis

Communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Education

Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Work Experience

Job description

We’re building a world of health around every individual — shaping a more connected, convenient and compassionate health experience. At CVS Health®, you’ll be surrounded by passionate colleagues who care deeply, innovate with purpose, hold ourselves accountable and prioritize safety and quality in everything we do. Join us and be part of something bigger – helping to simplify health care one person, one family and one community at a time.

A Brief Overview

The Lead Director of Distribution Center Operations is responsible for the overall performance of an assigned distribution center building(s). This role will own the strategy to create and maintain a first-class employee experience with a focus on talent development, employee engagement, staffing and retention, and learning and training. This role will also create and lead the facility strategy around operational activities to achieve profit and expense goals, provide the highest possible service to the market customer base, ensure compliance with corporate policies and government regulations, and provide a work‑environment conducive to superior productivity, safety, and quality. The role will have direct reporting responsibility for a minimum of five exempt and three non‑exempt colleagues.

What you will do

Operational Execution

• Full P&L responsibility for DC of oversight. Ensure timely, secure, accurate deliveries of DC products/services through optimum deployment of courier/delivery resources within expense/profit target parameters in all market and labor conditions.
• Coordinate with suppliers and vendors to negotiate contracts and conditions, optimize production operations, optimize shipment operations, and resolve distribution delays while remaining in the expense target parameters.
• Partner with HR support resources to achieve staffing targets through creative recruiting methods such as job fairs, external advertising, temporary staffing agencies, cross‑training, etc. Minimize overtime for colleagues.
• Create & maintain strong relationships with field store partners, corporate partners, asset protection, and transportation to bridge service gaps and resolve concerns.
• Achieve all DC productivity, key performance and quality metrics, partnering closely with all supply chain teams/support partners to drive continuous improvement.
• Partner with Talent Acquisition, hiring center, and HRBP resources to achieve staffing and retention targets through creative recruiting methods such as job fairs, external advertising, temporary staffing agencies, cross‑training, etc. Minimize overtime for colleagues.
• Ensures compliance with all government regulations and statutes in the areas of DEA, OSHA, employment, wage & hour, and EEO/AA, and more.

The Colleague Experience

• Ensure appropriate floor presence, engaging with colleagues and front‑line leaders to stay abreast of feedback and concerns, while validating execution of critical action items.
• Ensure strong communication channels throughout all levels of leadership and colleagues within the DC, inclusive of consistent follow‑up with action items and feedback.
• Partner with HRBP to drive a colleague engagement strategy for the total DC.
• Provide creative flexibility for leadership team to drive engagement within their own teams, leveraging survey data to create action items.
• Create an “always on” engagement mindset within team continually asking how we are acting on colleague feedback throughout the year.
• Take ownership for succession planning, talent management processes to grow, develop, and retain talent.
• Ensure a best‑in‑class training experience for all DC colleagues, providing the opportunity for colleagues to be successful.
• Partner with training and HR resources to enhance training and talent outcomes.
• Hold self and team accountable to develop a continuous improvement mindset with all operational processes and metrics while also looking for opportunities to enhance employee experience metrics such as annual engagement scores, retention, turnover, overtime, and more.
• Set targets for improvement and ensure an ownership mindset at all levels of the team.
• Drive an inclusive culture at all levels of the DC.
• Create a strong partnership with the HRBP, Sr HR Coordinator, and Training Coordinator to design and drive a comprehensive people strategy for the DC and assign accountabilities with teams.
• Meet regularly to measure results.

Strategic Planning

• Develop and execute a comprehensive short and long‑term strategy for the assigned DC with at least 200 site colleagues, leveraging goals and initiatives from the enterprise and overall supply chain Business Unit to balance an enterprise mindset and local strengths and opportunities.
• Assign appropriate timelines and accountabilities for items, empowering the team to drive action steps to completion.
• Leverage thought partners (HRBP, corporate partners, peers, team, etc.) as needed to create and revisit the strategy.
• Navigate ambiguity and change to achieve goals despite potential obstacles.
• Optimize facility product flow and building capacity through root cause analysis and action planning while partnering with resources as needed to drive current and future state.
• Participate in meetings/calls with corporate partners to support the DC network and supply chain strategies.
• Contribute across boundaries to ensure the network can achieve strategic goals.
• Champion innovation by bringing ideas to own DC and the broader organization in an agile way, while balancing growth potential against financial risk and incremental cost to the organization.

Talent Development

• Develop the capabilities of direct reports to take on progressively higher levels of responsibility.
• Partner with HRBP to develop a comprehensive talent strategy for the DC.
• Develop robust, diverse talent pools and succession plans.
• Promote a high‑performance culture by clearly setting goals and expectations.
• Develop external and internal networks that support a pipeline of talent for the DC.
• Act as a coach and mentor for team to develop and support IDPs for high potential talent.
• Hold DC leadership team accountable for developing the capabilities of their teams and creating IDPs for high potential talent.
• Leverage existing enterprise tools such as talent profiles and enterprise development programs to develop talent.
• Drive usage of existing tools with teams.

Continuous Improvement & Change Management

• Continuously look for opportunities both in own DC and the network to drive efficiency and the colleague experience.
• Make recommendations to Leadership, as appropriate.
• Fully embrace organizational improvement initiatives, acting as a change agent with one’s own team and peers.
• Leverage a results‑oriented mindset, using metrics to monitor improvements.
• Coach and empower the team to drive change within their areas.
• Provide constructive and positive feedback on new initiatives to appropriate teams.
• Look for ways to break through implementation barriers rather than be impeded by them.
• Drive change agility in self, team, and network.
• Partner with HRBP to create a change management strategy for impactful initiatives, focused on the colleague and supervisor impacts of a change.

Required Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in managerial/leadership positions
• 5+ years of experience in retail or distribution/warehousing.
• Experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and other distribution center reporting tools.
• Experience developing talent at multiple levels.
• Regular and reliable attendance.
• Experience managing federal and state laws to ensure compliance in the operation.
• Experience implementing LEAN principles and 5S.
• Experience leading safety programs and OSHA health & safety regulations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Excellent time management.
• Able to drive significant, strategic projects to completion independently.
• Ability to partner with all levels of management in a cross‑functional in a matrix team environment.
• Experience with financial analysis and budget preparations.
• Adept at execution and delivery (planning, delivering, and supporting) skills.
• Adept at business intelligence.
• Adept at collaboration and teamwork.
• Mastery of problem solving and decision‑making skills.
• Mastery of growth mindset (agility and developing yourself and others) skills.
• Education: Bachelor's Degree or Equivalent Work Experience.

Preferred Qualifications

• Functional experience with Warehouse Management System (WMS)
• Preferred: 2+ years implementing LEAN principles and 5S Experience leading safety programs and OSHA health & safety regulations.
• Preferred: Experience developing talent at multiple levels.
• Preferred: Experience with Microsoft Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and other distribution center reporting tools.
• Preferred: Ability to think and act strategically.
• Preferred: Experience managing federal and state laws to ensure compliance in the operation.
• Preferred: Experience with financial analysis and budget preparations.

Pay Range

The typical pay range for this role is: $100,000.00 - $231,540.00

This pay range represents the base hourly rate or base annual full‑time salary for all positions in the job grade within which this position falls. The actual base salary offer will depend on a variety of factors including experience, education, geography and other relevant factors. This position is eligible for a CVS Health bonus, commission or short‑term incentive program in addition to the base pay range listed above. This position also includes an award target in the company’s equity award program.

Great benefits for great people

We take pride in offering a comprehensive and competitive mix of pay and benefits that reflects our commitment to our colleagues and their families. This full‑time position is eligible for a comprehensive benefits package designed to support the physical, emotional, and financial well‑being of colleagues and their families. The benefits for this position include medical, dental, and vision coverage, paid time off, retirement savings options, wellness programs, and other resources, based on eligibility. Additional details about available benefits are provided during the application process and on Benefits Moments.

Application Window

We anticipate the application window for this opening will close on: 11/30/2026

Eligibility Notice

Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with all federal, state and local laws.

Our Work Experience

Our Work Experience is the combination of everything that's unique about us: our culture, our core values, our company meetings, our commitment to sustainability, our recognition programs, but most importantly, it's our people. Our employees are self‑disciplined, hard working, curious, trustworthy, humble, and truthful. They make choices according to what is best for the team, they live for opportunities to collaborate and make a difference, and they make us the #1 Top Workplace in the area.