Senior Manager of Operations

Local Eclectic Inc.; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Local Eclectic is seeking a Senior Manager of Operations to connect our fulfillment center and flagship store, driving day-to-day operations with a hands-on, in-office leadership approach.

You will own inventory accuracy, receiving, returns, and the flow of goods between locations, managing a mix of full-time and part-time staff to keep pace with demand.

Qualifications

• 5+ years managing operations, fulfillment, or inventory in retail or ecommerce.
• Proven experience leading part-time or hourly teams in fast-paced environments.
• Exceptional attention to detail to ensure inventory accuracy and order correctness.
• Able to prioritize many tasks and keep the team moving without quality loss.
• Comfortable in-office five days a week with peak-season weekend work.

Responsibilities

• Oversee daily order fulfillment workflow: picking, packing, shipping accuracy and speed.
• Coordinate between fulfillment center and flagship store; resolve inventory discrepancies.
• Own inventory accuracy across fulfillment and store locations.
• Oversee monthly stock takes and cycle counts; maintain accurate data.
• Manage returns end-to-end for ecommerce and in-store.
• Lead a part-time operations team with scheduling and training.
• Develop SOPs for fulfillment, receiving and inventory; drive improvements.
• Own end-to-end operational systems as system of record.
• Negotiate shipping rates to balance cost and speed.
• Build KPIs and reporting for leadership visibility.
• Monitor sales and adjust staffing during peak and slow periods.

Skills

People management

Operations management

Inventory control

Shopify

Shopify POS

In-office leadership

High-volume fulfillment

Tools

Shopify POS

ERP systems

Job description

Local Eclectic is a fast-growing fine jewelry company with a thriving ecommerce business and a new flagship retail store and café in Streeterville. We're looking for a Senior Manager of Operations to be the connective tissue between our fulfillment center and our flagship store - someone who thrives on getting a high volume of detailed work done correctly, every single day, without needing to be told twice.

Position Summary

The Senior Manager of Operations owns the day-to-day operational engine of the business: fulfillment, receiving, returns, and inventory accuracy - and serves as the primary liaison between our in-house fulfillment team and our flagship store team, keeping inventory flowing accurately between the two. This is a hands-on, in-office leadership role overseeing a part-time and full time team.

Key Responsibilities

• Oversee daily order fulfillment workflow - picking, packing, shipping accuracy and speed - ensuring orders go out complete, correct, and on time.
• Serve as the single point of coordination between the fulfillment operation and the flagship store team, resolving inventory discrepancies, coordinating transfers, and making sure both sides always know what the other has and needs.
• Own inventory accuracy across fulfillment and store locations
• Oversee regular monthly stock takes/cycle counts, investigate and resolve discrepancies, and maintain clean, trustworthy inventory data.
• Oversee receiving of new inventory and vendor shipments - verifying counts and condition against POs, logging discrepancies, and getting product into the system and available for sale quickly.
• Manage the returns process end-to-end (ecommerce and in-store), ensuring fast turnaround, accurate restocking, consistent handling and returns reconciliation.
• Directly manage a part-time operations team: working with the team to build schedules, set daily priorities, train on process, and proactively keep the team motivated and moving at pace through the day.
• Own and continuously tighten SOPs for fulfillment, receiving, and inventory; flag bottlenecks before they become problems; keep the day-to-day running with minimal oversight.
• Own operational systems end-to-end - the system of record for inventory, fulfillment, and receiving - ensuring data stays accurate and processes run through it consistently.
• Oversee and negotiate shipping rates with carriers to control cost without sacrificing delivery speed.
• Create actionable KPIs for the operations function and hold both yourself and the team accountable to them.
• Build a reporting structure that gives leadership clear, ongoing visibility into the efficiency of Local Eclectic's operations.
• Proactively identify operational problems and work strategically to solve them
• Maintain a meticulously clean, organized fulfillment environment at all times.
• Monitor sales and workflow daily, adjusting staffing in real time - adding hands when order volume spikes, cutting hours to preserve cash when business is slow.
• Build the systems and process to track, report and solve on all of the above

What We're Looking For

• 5+ years managing operations, fulfillment, or inventory in retail or ecommerce - jewelry, small goods, or another high-SKU, high-value category is a strong plus.
• A track record of managing people, ideally part-time or hourly teams, in a fast-paced environment.
• Exceptional attention to detail - this role is the last line of defense on inventory accuracy and order correctness, and mistakes are costly
• Comfortable working in a fast paced, high volume work environment. Able to prioritize a long list of daily tasks and keep the team moving without letting quality slip.
• A proactive, self-starting operator - someone who spots what needs to happen next rather than waiting to be assigned it, and who can motivate a team to stay efficient throughout the day, not just at the start.
• Strong working knowledge of inventory/order systems (Shopify and Shopify POS experience a plus).
• Comfortable being on your feet and hands-on, this is not a desk-only role.
• Comfortable lifting heavy boxes, moving large bags of orders, and able to do some manual labor as it relates to a fulfillment, warehouse job
• Must be able to work in-office at least 5 days a week with some Saturdays and Sundays necessary during peak holiday season

Nice to Have

• Experience in fine jewelry, luxury goods, or another category with high per-unit value and security/handling requirements.
• Experience opening or supporting a new retail location.
• Familiarity with omnichannel inventory challenges (ship-from-store, BOPIS-style transfers between a store and a separate fulfillment operation).