Retail Manager Systems Operations

Purpose & Overall Relevance for the Organization:

This role is focused on the successful retail operations of all inventory and data management systems. This person will serve as the liaison between IT and Retail stores, driving operational efficiencies and enhancements to our tech solutions to make the day to day easier for our store fleet. They will be the primary business owner of RFID (Radio-Frequency IDentification) in North America including topics such as inbound, outbound, shrink and best practice execution. This role will assist with ensuring timelines, budgets, milestones and communication are completed appropriately, including pre & post implementation preparation/hindsight. They will be expected to drive continuous process and system improvements through interaction with business and IT partners. The individual will work with senior leaders and multiple business partners across the world to support and implement programs. This person will own and manage the ongoing operations of RFID including reporting and managing the end-to-end improvements and enhancement backlog, which includes rollout of all new solutions and integrations with other systems.

Key Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the development and maintenance of implementation & communication plans related to inventory management initiatives and ensure execution in coordination with senior leaders
• Serve as the business owner of RFID which includes the ongoing operations of the system and hardware solution.
• Manages the (NAM) RFID backlog of enhancements to ensure that the solution evolves to meet the day-to-day business requirements.
• Assisting/influencing/creating actionable deliverables, including implementation plans & workback schedules, impact assessments, business readiness plans, and benefits realization/ adoption measurements/success KPIs.
• Create effective and long-lasting relationships with Local, Global, vendors, customers and stakeholders
• Manage, direct, and lead the Business Solutions management teams; responsibilities include interviewing, hiring and training employees; planning, assigning and directing work; appraising performance; rewarding and disciplining employees; addressing complaints and resolving problems.
• Lead a team that is accountable for output of all retail data integrity through creating and maintaining retail store primary data.
• Be an active member of the global change community; sharing learning, expertise and coaching to develop others, especially with global teams
• Participate in global networks as it relates to the implementation programs assigned to this role.

Key Relationships:

• Store Operations
• IT
• Finance
• Store Development
• Inventory Control
• Loss prevention
• Merchandising, Buying, Planning

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:

• Experience with retail operations including best practices, systems, and inventory management
• Experience leading multiple large-scale initiatives including change leadership strategy and implementation experience (e.g. business transformations, organizational change, systems implementations)
• Strong decision making, negotiation, and communication skills, both written and oral.
• Ability to think strategically, synthesize the most complex data and develop and implement innovative solutions. Ability to communicate with Retail Business Users and translate business needs to IT for technical requirements.
• Excellent relationship-building skills at all levels of the organization (including C level executives), and sensitivity to the effects of change
• Excellent problem-solving skills; understands how to separate and combine tasks into efficient workflow; breaks work into process steps; anticipates and adjusts for problems and roadblocks, and knows what to measure and how to measure it; can simplify complex processes.
• Ability to collect information and data, define problems, evaluate processes, and establish logical, efficient processes to streamline business processes
• Capable of working independently under little guidance on several projects simultaneously
• Sound business acumen, including familiarity with financial reporting and measurements
• Able to lead a high performing team, demonstrate managerial courage and interface with all levels of leadership including Retail Fleet.
• Familiarity with SAP, GK POS, inventory systems and analysis tools
• Advance proficiency in Excel

Requisite Education and Experience / Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year university preferred, preferably in Business or a related field of study
• 5+ years retail experience, preferably in fashion or sporting goods industry
• 3-5 years' experience managing projects and operations, preferably related to new process/ program implementation
• Experience working in a Retail store environment is a must
• Ability to work and travel as business demands, overnight, weekends, and holidays, up to 25% travel frequency including international travel.
• Ability to alternate between sitting and standing for extended periods of time
• At adidas we offer a Hybrid work policy which requires attendance in the office Monday through Thursday, with the flexibility to work remotely on Friday each week. For work requiring a high degree of collaboration or an in-person presentation, in-office attendance is required even on Friday.