Director, People Planning Operations

Apple•Austin, TX

About The Position

Apple Retail’s People Planning Organization (PPO), including Workforce Strategy and Planning, shapes workforce management and delivers optimized schedules and scheduling tools to support customer experiences. The Director leads the organization and sets the global strategic direction for planning, allocating, and optimizing Apple Retail workforce resources. The role defines how Apple plans, deploys, and optimizes its retail workforce while balancing customer experience, team engagement, and long-term business sustainability. Responsibilities include evolving planning tools and processes, enabling workforce flexibility, managing seasonal hiring strategies, and implementing organizational models to improve efficiency and business outcomes across global regions. The Director partners with Retail, Finance, and People teams to align operational plans, policies, and programs with Retail’s strategic priorities. The role requires anticipating future business needs, identifying where current models may not scale, and developing future workforce strategies. The leader translates strategic priorities into scalable programs delivered through Worldwide and Regional teams, owns operational execution at scale, and builds and develops leaders and succession depth to sustain organizational excellence.

Requirements

15+ years of progressive experience in Retail Operations, Retail Stores, Contact Center, or high-volume customer service operations at scale.
10+ years of experience leading leaders of leaders, with demonstrated success developing talent and building succession depth.
Demonstrated success leading in large-scale, global, or matrixed organizations.
Ability to translate ambiguous business priorities into clear operational roadmaps and executable programs.
Strong cross-functional partnership and negotiation skills to align diverse stakeholders behind a strategy.
Demonstrated ability to originate and lead innovative workforce strategies rather than only optimizing existing models.
Agility in navigating complex business challenges and leveraging technology to deliver sustainable operational solutions.
Success evaluating tradeoffs between service levels, resourcing models, and operational investment to guide leadership decisions.
Track record of leading a large organization through significant change management and adapting to new technology, tools, or organizational change with minimal ramp time.

Nice To Haves

Working knowledge of how AI, machine learning, or advanced analytics are applied to workforce forecasting, scheduling, or demand planning.
Strong command of workforce analytics and data storytelling to influence long-term planning and executive decision-making.
Experience partnering with Finance, HR organizations, and regional or international teams, such as EMEIA and APAC, to define and localize global strategy.
Track record of challenging convention and driving strategic alignment with senior executives on forward-looking workforce models.
MBA or advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Lead the People Planning Organization, including Workforce Strategy and Planning.
Set the global strategic direction for planning, allocating, and optimizing Apple Retail workforce resources.
Define a workforce vision that balances customer experience, team engagement, and long-term business sustainability.
Evolve workforce planning tools and processes and enable workforce flexibility.
Manage seasonal hiring strategies.
Implement organizational models that improve efficiency and business outcomes across global regions.
Partner across Retail, Finance, and People teams to align operational plans, policies, and programs with Retail’s strategic priorities.
Translate strategic priorities into scalable programs delivered through Worldwide and Regional teams.
Own operational execution at scale.
Anticipate future business needs, identify where current workforce models may not scale, and design future workforce strategies.
Build trust, develop talent, and create conditions for teams to do their best work.
Develop leaders and build succession depth.
Evaluate tradeoffs between service levels, resourcing models, and operational investment to guide leadership decisions.
Lead organizational change related to technology, tools, or organizational models.