Workforce Optimization Manager

Primark; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Primark is seeking a Boston-based Retail Workforce Optimization Manager to lead labor forecasting and scheduling for US stores. You will partner with the US Retail Operations Team and the Dublin-based labor planning group to embed best practices in our Workforce Management System and optimize the store budget.

With four+ years in retail, you will configure UKG Workforce Management, manage rostering, monitor the shape of the day, and deliver updates to senior leaders. Some travel may be required.

Qualifications

• Minimum 4 years' experience in a similar role within a retail organization.
• Strong understanding of in-store retail processes across all aspects of store operations.
• Detailed understanding of current store labor planning processes from forecasting, scheduling, and in-day deployment and management of labor.

Responsibilities

• Utilize UKG Workforce Management System to optimize scheduling and ensure labor hours are prioritized toward high-value, customer-facing tasks.
• Maintain and configure all UKG system parameters, ensuring accuracy and consistency across all stores.
• Support the country in its correct use of UKG, ensuring appropriate configuration and resolving store-specific rostering, scheduling, and payroll-closing issues.
• Act as the primary business partner to the SVP, Retail and the Heads of Sales on workforce planning topics.
• Work with the central (Dublin-based) labor planning team to continuously refine and optimize the labor model, identifying productivity improvements and shifting hours away from low-value tasks.
• Monitor and analyze the "shape of day" to assess how labor hours are distributed across key trading periods and provide regular reporting on required adjustments.
• Understand the country's individual scheduling rules and processes, identifying solutions to optimize our objective of having the "right person, right place, right task" within the country rule set.
• Provide detailed quarterly alignment updates, assessing how well stores align to recommended labor deployment and identifying improvement actions.
• Support the delivery of key projects that impact store processes and associated labor to ensure stores can understand and plan for the impact of changes to ways of working.
• Prepare and deliver senior-level presentations and progress updates to retail leaders, translating insights into actionable recommendations.
• Identify when region-level, area-level, or store-level interventions are required, and prepare detailed breakdowns, content, and business cases to support approval, in conjunction with commercial finance business partners.
• Leverage hands-on retail leadership experience to guide pragmatic productivity improvements at store level.
• Demonstrate an independence of thought and approach allowing you to use the data available to challenge, where appropriate, the retail leaders to take the required actions to improve optimal spending of the labor budget.

Skills

Workforce planning

Forecasting

Scheduling

Stakeholder management

Data analysis

Project management

Retail operations

Communication

UKG Workforce Management

Tools

UKG Workforce Management

Job description

Boston Based 3 days a week

The Retail Workforce Optimization Manager will work as part of the US Retail Operations Team and matrixed with the wider labor planning team, who are responsible for the deployment and utilization of labor across Primark stores in the United States. The purpose of this role is to work closely with the US Retail Leadership Team to optimize and evolve our capability in labor planning and embed best practice for forecasting and scheduling in our Workforce Management System. The role will be a subject matter expert on Workforce Management for the market and will work with the most senior stakeholders in Retail to optimize the largest budget in Primark. The role will be responsible for identifying opportunities to deploy labor hours in a more meaningful way, ensuring better outcomes for customers by placing the right people, in the right place, at the right time, working on the right tasks.

USA - Workforce Optimization Manager

The Retail Workforce Optimization Manager will work as part of the US Retail Operations Team and matrixed with the wider labor planning team, who are responsible for the deployment and utilization of labor across Primark stores in the United States. The purpose of this role is to work closely with the US Retail Leadership Team to optimize and evolve our capability in labor planning and embed best practice for forecasting and scheduling in our Workforce Management System. The role will be a subject matter expert on Workforce Management for the market and will work with the most senior stakeholders in Retail to optimize the largest budget in Primark. The role will be responsible for identifying opportunities to deploy labor hours in a more meaningful way, ensuring better outcomes for customers by placing the right people, in the right place, at the right time, working on the right tasks.

What You’ll Do

• Utilize UKG Workforce Management System to optimize scheduling and ensure labor hours are prioritized toward high-value, customer-facing tasks.
• Maintain and configure all UKG system parameters, ensuring accuracy and consistency across all stores.
• Support the country in its correct use of UKG, ensuring appropriate configuration and resolving store-specific rostering, scheduling, and payroll-closing issues.
• Act as the primary business partner to the SVP, Retail and the Heads of Sales on workforce planning topics.
• Work with the central (Dublin-based) labor planning team to continuously refine and optimize the labor model, identifying productivity improvements and shifting hours away from low-value tasks.
• Monitor and analyze the "shape of day" to assess how labor hours are distributed across key trading periods and provide regular reporting on required adjustments.
• Understand the country's individual scheduling rules and processes, identifying solutions to optimize our objective of having the "right person, right place, right task" within the country rule set.
• Provide detailed quarterly alignment updates, assessing how well stores align to recommended labor deployment and identifying improvement actions.
• Support the delivery of key projects that impact store processes and associated labor to ensure stores can understand and plan for the impact of changes to ways of working.
• Prepare and deliver senior-level presentations and progress updates to retail leaders, translating insights into actionable recommendations.
• Identify when region-level, area-level, or store-level interventions are required, and prepare detailed breakdowns, content, and business cases to support approval, in conjunction with commercial finance business partners.
• Leverage hand-on retail leadership experience to guide pragmatic productivity improvements at store level.
• Demonstrate an independence of thought and approach allowing you to use the data available to challenge, where appropriate, the retail leaders to take the required actions to improve optimal spending of the labor budget.

What You’ll Get

We're committed to your success and will provide you with an onboarding period in Primark's other U.S. trading areas. Here, you'll be empowered to succeed. As we rapidly expand across the globe, we'll give you the tools that you need to excel. We'll also offer you competitive benefits and work life balance - we know your life outside of the store is important.

What You’ll Bring

• Minimum 4 year's experience in a similar role within a retail organization, previous store manager experience is a plus
• Strong understanding of in-store retail processes across all aspects of store operations.
• Detailed understanding of current store labor planning processes from forecasting, scheduling, and in-day deployment and management of labor.
• Effective project management skills with the ability to juggle competing priorities and timelines.
• Strong communication and stakeholder engagement abilities across multiple levels and functions.
• Analytical mindset with the ability to assess risks and impacts quickly and make informed decisions.
• Comfortable working in ambiguity with the ability to drive clarity and momentum.
• Flexibility to travel when required.

Personal Attributes:

• Highly organized and proactive with strong planning and coordination skills.
• Collaborative, approachable, and able to build trust with cross-functional teams.
• Confident in decision-making and able to represent retail priorities in a complex program environment.
• Dipl