Strategy & Operations Director, Commerce

Whatnot; Phoenix (AZ); Hybrid; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

Work From Home Support

401k employer match

Parental Leave

Retirement plans

Dogfood stipend

Care benefits

Job summary

Whatnot is the leading live shopping platform enabling people to buy, sell, and discover the things they love. The Commerce Strategy & Operations team drives decisions across buyer and seller experiences, trust and risk, logistics, and payments, with a focus on scalable, high-quality operations.

The role emphasizes partnering with Product, Engineering, and Operations, translating data into priorities, and leading large cross-functional programs to deliver impact.

Qualifications

• Proven experience developing and executing strategies that drive scalable, high-quality operations in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
• Strong analytical judgment with ability to synthesize insights into clear recommendations.
• Demonstrated success leading large, cross-functional initiatives from concept to execution.

Responsibilities

• Set and drive the strategy for post-purchase operations, partnering with Product, Engineering, and Operations to deliver scalable experiences.
• Translate insights from operational data into priorities and roadmaps that improve quality, speed, and scalability.
• Lead cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through execution with accountability and measurable outcomes.
• Design scalable processes, systems, and operating models to support growth and evolving user needs.
• Provide data-driven recommendations to inform senior leadership decisions.

Skills

Strategic planning

Cross-functional leadership

Data analysis

Stakeholder management

SQL proficiency

Tools

Looker

Sigma

Hex

Job description

Join the Future of Commerce with Whatnot!

Whatnot is the largest live shopping platform in North America and Europe to buy, sell, and discover the things you love. Whether it’s trading cards, fashion, electronics, or live plants, our sellers are building real businesses across hundreds of categories. We’re building live commerce at a scale that’s never been done in the West, and there’s no playbook to copy. The people here are shaping how an entirely new industry develops.

As a remote co-located team, we’re inspired by our values and anchored in hubs across the US, UK, Ireland, Poland, Germany, and Australia. We move fast, stay close to our users, and focus on the work that drives the most impact.

We’re one of the fastest growing marketplaces and were recently named the #1 Best Startup Employer in America by Forbes. Check out the latest Whatnot updates on our news and engineering blogs and join us as we enable anyone to turn their passion into a business and bring people together through commerce.

Role

The Commerce Strategy & Operations team drives business decisions across our entire marketplace ecosystem, including buyer experience, seller experience, trust & risk, fraud, logistics and payments. In this role, you will:

• Set and drive the strategy for post-purchase operations, partnering closely with Product, Engineering, and Operations to deliver scalable, high-quality experiences for Whatnot’s users

• Translate insights from operational data and user interactions into priorities, roadmaps, and initiatives that improve quality, speed, and scalability

• Lead complex, cross-functional initiatives from problem definition through execution, ensuring alignment, accountability, and measurable outcomes

• Design and implement scalable processes, systems, and operating models that support Whatnot’s growth and evolving user needs

• Serve as a strategic thought partner to senior leaders, providing data-driven recommendations and tradeoffs to inform decision-making

• Continuously assess operational performance, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency, resilience, and user experience

Team members in this role are required to be within commuting distance of our New York, San Francisco, Phoenix, or Los Angeles hubs.

You

People who do well at Whatnot tend to be comfortable figuring things out as they go, biased toward action, and genuinely curious about what they’re building. They care more about outcomes than credit and stay close to the product and the people using it.

As our next Commerce Strategy & Operations team member, you should have 10+ years of experience in strategy and operations roles (e.g., consulting, finance, GM, Operations), plus:

• Proven experience developing and executing strategies that drive scalable, high-quality operations in ambiguous, fast-paced environments

• Strong analytical judgment, with the ability to synthesize quantitative and qualitative insights into clear recommendations and decisions

• Demonstrated success leading large, cross-functional initiatives from concept through execution

• Ability to identify operational inefficiencies and design scalable processes, systems, and operating models to support long-term growth

• Excellent communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to influence across Product, Engineering, Operations, and senior leadership

• Proficiency in data analysis and reporting tools; experience with SQL and analytics platforms (e.g., Looker, Sigma, Hex) is a plus

Benefits

• Generous Holiday and Time off Policy

• Health Insurance options including Medical, Dental, Vision

• Work From Home Support

• Care benefits

• Retirement; 401k offering for Traditional and Roth accounts in the US (employer match up to 4% of base salary) and Pension plans internationally

• Monthly allowance to dogfood the app

• Parental Leave

EOE

Whatnot is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We value diversity, and we do not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, veteran status, parental status, disability status, or any other status protected by local law. We believe that our work is better and our company culture is improved when we encourage, support, and respect the different skills and experiences represented within our workforce.