Sr Program Manager, New Market Openings

Ross Stores, Inc.; Dublin (CA); On-site; USD 126,000 - 207,000; Full time

Job summary

Ross Stores, Inc. is seeking a Sr. Manager of the New Market Opening to lead cross-functional initiatives from site selection to post-opening analysis. You will coordinate field teams, drive capacity, merchandise and inventory planning, and build scalable operating plans for new markets.

The role emphasizes data-driven storytelling, collaboration across corporate and field teams, and hands-on leadership to ensure successful grand openings in a fast-paced retail environment.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional work experience, preferably within strategic management consulting, retail, and/or consumer products.
• Bachelor’s Degree required; MBA preferred.
• Experience with strategic initiatives, cross-functional stakeholder engagement, and project management.

Responsibilities

• Coordinate efforts across all new market stores and serve as point of contact for workstreams tied to enabling new market stores (e.g., capacity planning, merchandise planning, inventory optimization).
• Create and maintain knowledge of key store details and projects on the path towards each new market Grand Opening, keeping leadership informed of critical action items and roadblocks.
• Identify any special execution needs for new market stores and work with the Store Ops team to build relevant operations plans, quantifying and reporting out on potential impact to the new market.
• Work with the field and HR to ensure adherence to operational plans developed in relation to recruiting and staffing new market Grand Openings.
• Travel to the market to support store training and ensure consistent execution of all processes for new markets.
• Analyze reporting and drive simple stories with sophisticated analysis to help the field and executives monitor and assess store performance.
• Validate potential opportunities to improve process post Grand Opening and partner with corporate teams and the Field to troubleshoot solutions.
• Support hindsight efforts across greater cross-functional workstreams and teams to inform new playbooks for future store openings.
• Develop strategy and push urgency to action on a high-performance team.

Skills

Strategic planning

Cross-functional leadership

New store openings

Data-driven decision making

Project management

Stakeholder engagement

People leadership

Communication skills

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

MBA preferred

Job description

Our values start with our people, join a team that values you!

Bring your talents to Ross, our leading off-price retail chain with over 2,200 stores, and a strong track record of success and growth. Our focus has always been bringing our customers a constant stream of high-quality brands and on-trend merchandise at extraordinary savings. All while providing a fun and exciting treasure hunt experience.

As Part Of Our Team, You Will Experience

• Success. Our winning team pursues excellence while learning and evolving
• Career growth. We develop industry leading talent because Ross grows when our people grow
• Teamwork. We work together to solve the hard problems and find the right solution
• Our commitment to Diversity, Equality & Inclusion, and our community. We celebrate the backgrounds, identities, and ideas of those who work and shop with us because our differences make us stronger. We strive to be a positive force in our community.

Our Corporate headquarters are in Dublin, CA, we have 3 buying offices in key markets in New York City, Los Angeles, and Boston, and 8 distribution centers nationwide. With 2023 revenues of $20.4 billion, we are a Fortune 500 company who is committed to providing an inclusive work environment with continuous learning opportunities and development for our teams.

General Purpose

Ross is increasingly opening extremely high-volume and complex stores in new markets. New markets present more complexity than existing stores: there is low team tenure, a higher need for new operations solutions (e.g., Grand Opening pool strategies, increasing throughput to support high sales volume, pre-processing freight) and the importance of creating a strong first impression.

The Sr. Manager of the New Market Opening team will liaison a variety of strategic cross-functional initiatives beginning 9 -10 months prior to Grand Opening—starting with Property Development’s site selection and merchandise planning and continuing through post- Grand Opening reporting and performance analysis. Initiatives bridge teams across the company to support and enable the field in new markets to flourish. This person would provide analysis, storytelling, influence, and execution to connect key workstreams throughout the entire new store and market opening process.

Essential Functions

• Coordinate efforts across all new market stores and serve as point of contact for workstreams tied to enabling new market stores (e.g., capacity planning, merchandise planning, inventory optimization).
• Create and maintain knowledge of key store details and projects on the path towards each new market Grand Opening, keeping leadership informed of critical action items and roadblocks that may impede success.
• Identify any special execution needs for new market stores and work with the Store Ops team to build relevant operations plans, quantifying and reporting out on potential impact to the new market.
• Work with the field and HR to ensure adherence to operational plans developed in relation to recruiting and staffing new market Grand Openings.
• Travel to the market to support store training and ensure consistent execution of all processes for new markets.
• Analyze reporting and drive simple stories with sophisticated analysis to help the field and executives monitor and assess store performance.
• Validate potential opportunities to improve process post Grand Opening and partner with corporate teams and the Field to troubleshoot solutions.
• Support hindsight efforts across greater cross-functional workstreams and teams to inform new playbooks for future store openings.
• Develop strategy and push urgency to action on a high-performance team.

Competencies

• Communicates Effectively
• Ensures Accountability & Execution
• Organizational Agility
• Manages Conflict
• Collaboration
• Business Acumen
• Leading by Example
• Plans, Aligns & Prioritizes

Qualifications & Special Skills Required

• 7+ years of professional work experience, preferably within strategic management consulting, retail, and/or consumer products.
• Prior retail / new store opening experience is preferred.
• Proven track record of working effectively cross-functionally.
• Ability to develop strategy and operationalize it through scalable execution plans: o Able to hypothesize, validate with data, and creatively solution results. o Able to prioritize workflows in ambiguous environments. o Able to nimbly work across corporate and field teams, driving accountability and results.
• Experience with strategic initiatives, cross-functional stakeholder engagement, and project management, including the ability to drive results and prioritize competing priorities.
• Excellent interpersonal and people leadership skills. o Able to collaborate effectively across levels and hierarchies; works well with others and is considered a true team player. o Demonstrates intellectual curiosity, humility, and resilience to navigate a fast-paced retail landscape.
• A detail-oriented approach to managing work processes while balancing progress over perfection.

Education / Certifications

• Bachelor’s Degree required and MBA preferred.

Physical Requirements

Job requires ability to work in an office environment, primarily on a computer

Requires sitting, standing, walking, hearing, talking on the telephone, attending in-person meetings, typing, and working with paper/files, etc

Consistent timeliness and regular attendance

Vision requirements: Ability to see information in print and/or electronically

This role requires regular in-office presence, including to engage in in-person team interactions, meetings and collaboration, coaching, and/or feedback. However, this role can perform duties effectively using a combination of in-office and remote work

Ability to travel as required for the business

Supervisory Responsibilities

Not Applicable

Disclaimer

This job description is a summary of the primary duties and responsibilities of the job and position. It is not intended to be a comprehensive or all-inclusive listing of duties and responsibilities. Contents are subject to change at management's discretion.

Ross is an equal employment opportunity employer. We consider individuals for employment or promotion according to their skills, abilities and experience. We believe that it is an essential part of the Company's overall commitment to attract, hire and develop a strong, talented and diverse workforce. Ross is committed to complying with all applicable laws prohibiting discrimination based on race, color, religious creed, age, national origin, ancestry, physical, mental or developmental disability, sex (which includes pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and medical conditions related to pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding), veteran status, military status, marital or registered domestic partnership status, medical condition (including cancer or genetic characteristics), genetic information, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, as well as any other category protected by federal, state or local laws.

The base pay range for this role $125,800.00 to $206,650.00. The base pay range is dependent on factors including, but not limited to, experience, skills, qualifications, relevant education, certifications, seniority, and location. The range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees. Other rewards vary by position and location.