Senior Director, Inventory Strategy & Transformation
About The Position
The Senior Director, Inventory Strategy & Transformation is a high-impact leadership role responsible for driving critical inventory initiatives and shaping the future of inventory planning and replenishment. This role is designed as a strategic-to-operational leadership path within a reasonable timeframe. This leader will partner across Merchandising, Supply Chain, Store Operations, Finance, Suppliers and our Independent Owners to solve complex inventory challenges, improve in-stock and fill rate performance and optimize working capital. The role combines strategic problem-solving with hands-on execution and is ideal for a proven inventory leader looking to broaden enterprise impact before assuming full ownership of an operational IP&R role.
Requirements
- 12–15+ years of experience in inventory planning, replenishment, or supply chain within a complex retail or distribution environment
- Proven track record of owning inventory KPIs such as in-stock %, fill rate, inventory turns, and working capital
- Experience operating within a high-SKU, multi-echelon environment
- Strong analytical and financial acumen with ability to translate data into business decisions
- Demonstrated ability to lead cross-functional initiatives and influence senior stakeholders
- Experience managing teams and driving operational execution
- Experience working with advanced planning systems transformations
Nice To Haves
- MBA or advanced degree highly preferred
- Proven inventory operator with strong strategic thinking capability
- Data-driven and action-oriented; able to move from insight to execution quickly
- Comfortable navigating complexity and making trade-off decisions under pressure
- Strong collaborator who can influence Merchandising, Supply Chain, and Operations
- Change leader with the ability to drive transformation while delivering near-term results
Responsibilities
- Lead a focused portfolio of high-priority inventory initiatives tied directly to sales, service, and working capital outcomes
- Diagnose root causes of in-stock gaps, excess inventory, and network inefficiencies, and translate insights into actionable solutions
- Drive measurable improvements in key metrics such as in-stock %, fill rate, inventory turns, and excess/obsolete inventory
- Partner cross-functionally to align priorities and execute against enterprise inventory goals
- Address long-tail SKU challenges, intermittent demand patterns, and supplier variability
- Partner with Merchandising and Supply Chain to improve supplier performance, including fill rate and lead time reliability
- Develop mitigation strategies for supplier constraints, including buffer stock, forward buys, and alternative sourcing approaches
- Align inventory strategies with flow optimization and replenishment cadence
- Leverage advanced analytics to identify opportunities and improve inventory decision-making
- Establish reporting frameworks and diagnostics to monitor inventory health and performance
- Standardize processes and improve data integrity across inventory planning and replenishment
- Gain deep understanding of current IP&R processes, systems, and team structure with the goal of leading portions of the business in future state
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Senior
