Operations Director

Midwest Cards; Columbus (OH); Vor Ort; USD 150.000 - 210.000; Vollzeit

Benefits dieser Stelle

Paid time off

Health and retirement benefits

Zusammenfassung

Midwest Cards in Columbus, Ohio seeks an Operations Director to run the end-to-end operational engine across purchasing, warehouse, fulfillment, and inventory control. You will set strategy, build a strong leadership team, and drive execution with a data-driven approach.

You will align with Marketing's live commerce and Finance, manage the annual operating plan, implement SOPs, and ensure channel profitability across retail, ecommerce, and events.

Qualifikationen

• 8+ years in retail, ecommerce, or consumer products operations.
• 4+ years leading managers or multi-department teams.
• Experience with NetSuite ERP and POS systems.
• Proven track record using automation and AI to improve workflows.
• Strong financial acumen: budgets, margins, COGS, open-to-buy.

Aufgaben

• Lead seven departments: Purchasing, Systems, Product Information, Warehouse, Customer Service, Single Card Procurement, and the Retail Store.
• Manage operating plan and annual budget.
• Oversee EOS rhythm and Level 10 meetings.
• Drive cross-functional collaboration with Marketing Live Commerce and Finance.
• Develop SOPs, KPIs, and accountability systems.
• Oversee live commerce integration with Whatnot/Fanatics Live and ecommerce.

Kenntnisse

Leadership

Budgeting

Systems thinking

Data-driven decisions

Ausbildung

Bachelor's degree in operations, supply chain, or business

Tools

NetSuite ERP

Clover POS

Jobbeschreibung

The Operations Director runs everything that gets product bought, catalogued, stored, sold, shipped, and supported at Midwest Cards — seven departments under one leader.

About Midwest Cards

Midwest Cards is a specialty sports and trading card retailer based in Columbus, Ohio. We sell through four connected channels: live breaking on Whatnot and Fanatics Live, ecommerce, our Arena District retail store, and direct buying and selling of single cards. We work closely with manufacturers, including Topps/Fanatics and Upper Deck.

Position summary

The Operations Director owns the operating engine of Midwest Cards, and the job is equal parts strategy, team leadership, and execution. You will set the operational direction, build and lead the people who carry it out, and stay close enough to the floor to fix what breaks.

You lead seven departments: Purchasing & Procurement, Business Systems (AI & Software), Product Information, Warehouse & Logistics, Customer Service, Single Card Procurement, and the Retail Store. You are also the operational bridge to Marketing's live commerce team and to Finance. Product, data, inventory, and dollars should flow between them without friction.

This is not a role for someone who only sets strategy, or only manages people, or only works tickets. It is for a leader who can do all three in the same week and knows which one the business needs today.

You decide where operations is going and how it will get there, with the numbers to back it up.

Operating plan and budget. Build and own the annual operating plan.

Purchasing and allocation strategy. Decide what we buy, how deep, for which channel, and at what target margin, with Finance and Live Commerce at the table.

Inventory strategy supporting Finance. Meet target turns, aged-inventory limits, and channel allocation rules across sealed product and singles, so breaks, ecommerce, and retail each get what they need.

Systems roadmap. Own the roadmap for our ERP (NetSuite), point of sale (Clover), integrations and internal tools, including where AI and automation should replace manual work.

Capacity planning. Plan warehouse space, staffing, and fulfillment throughput ahead of release calendars, seasonal peaks, and channel growth.

Growth and investment cases. Evaluate new channels, vendor partnerships, event retail and build-versus-buy decisions, and bring recommendations with costs, returns, and risks.

Quarterly priorities. Translate company Rocks into departmental Rocks each quarter and keep them few, measurable and owned.

Responsibilities: Team leadership

You build a bench of department leads who can run their areas without you, and you hold them to clear numbers.

EOS rhythm. Run weekly Level 10 meetings for operations, keep each department's Scorecard current, and use IDS (Identify, Discuss, Solve) to close issues rather than carry them.

Accountability. Hold monthly one-on-ones and quarterly conversations with direct reports, and address performance issues early, fairly, and with documentation.

Culture. Model a culture of ownership, accuracy, and customer care across a team that spans the warehouse, the store floor, the support inbox, and the systems backlog.

Leadership Team. Serve on the Leadership Team, bring operations' issues and data to the table, and help set company priorities beyond your own departments. A seat on the leadership team would begin ~3 months into the role.

Responsibilities: Execution

You make sure the work actually gets done, on time and accurately, and you step in when it does not.

Processes and SOPs. Document, simplify, and enforce standard operating procedures for receiving, inventory control, fulfillment, buying, listing, and support.

Inventory accuracy. Own the integrity of inventory data from purchase order to sale, including cycle counts, reconciliations, and shrink control.

Release execution. Coordinate major product releases end to end: allocation, receiving, listing, break scheduling, retail launch, and customer communication.

Vendor and partner management. Assist with relationships and terms with distributors, manufacturers, software vendors, shipping carriers, and grading companies.

Systems delivery. Ship system improvements, integrations, and AI-driven automations that remove manual steps and give teams reliable, real-time data.

Problem solving. Get hands‑on during peaks, outages, and escalations, find the root cause, and put a fix in place so the problem does not come back.

Reporting. Deliver weekly Scorecard results and monthly operating reports that show what happened, why, and what is changing.

Cross-functional bridges

You are the operational link between the team that sells product live and the team that counts the money. Neither reports to you, but both depend on you.

Marketing: Live Commerce

Our live breaking team sells on Whatnot and Fanatics Live from within Marketing. Your job is to make sure they always have the right product and that every sale is fulfilled cleanly.

Forecast product demand against the break schedule and reserve inventory before shows are booked.

Run a clear handoff for product moving to and from the stream room, with daily reconciliation of what was opened, sold, and shipped.

Bring customer feedback and service trends back to the live team so shows keep improving.

Qualifications

The right candidate has run inventory-heavy, multi-department operations and is equally comfortable in a budget review, a warehouse aisle, and a systems roadmap.

Required

8+ years in retail, ecommerce, or consumer products operations, including 4+ years leading managers or multi-department teams.

Direct ownership of purchasing, warehouse, fulfillment, and inventory control in a high‑SKU environment.

Hands‑on experience with an ERP (NetSuite strongly preferred) and point-of‑sale systems, and comfort making systems decisions.

A track record of using automation and AI tools to change how teams work, not just to try them.

Strong financial acumen: budgets, margin, cost of goods sold, open‑to‑buy, and inventory valuation.

Experience building SOPs, KPIs, and accountability systems that teams actually use.

Clear, direct written and verbal communication with staff, vendors, and leadership.

Preferred

Knowledge of the sports card and trading card hobby: products, release cycles, grading, and market pricing.

Experience supporting live commerce (Whatnot, Fanatics Live, or similar) or high‑volume ecommerce fulfillment.

EOS experience, ideally as a Leadership Team member or Integrator.

Omnichannel experience across retail stores, ecommerce, and marketplaces.

Experience scaling, opening, or relocating a warehouse or retail location.

A bachelor's degree in operations, supply chain, business, or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Core competencies

In EOS terms, this seat needs someone who Gets it, Wants it and has the Capacity to do it. In practice, that looks like this:

Systems thinker. You see how one buying decision ripples into the warehouse, the catalog, the break schedule, and cash flow.

Bias for action. You fix problems rather than just flag them, and you know when good enough is good enough.

Data‑driven. You make decisions from the Scorecard and the ledger, not anecdotes.

People developer. You delegate outcomes rather than tasks, and your leads grow under you.

Calm under pressure. Release days, holiday peaks, and system outages bring out your best thinking.

Customer focus. You understand that collectors trust us with cards that matter to them.

Tech fluency. You are curious about AI, comfortable with integrations and data, and skeptical of tools that add work.

Work environment

On‑site in Columbus, Ohio, splitting time between our warehouse and the Arena District retail store.

Some evenings and weekends around major releases, live events, card shows, and holiday peaks.

Occasional travel to card shows, vendor meetings, and events.

Compensation and benefits

• Paid time off on a calendar-year basis.
• Health and retirement benefits

Midwest Cards is an equal opportunity employer. We consider all qualified applicants without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.