Senior Manager, Store Operations - Harry Potter Chicago

Warner Bros. Discovery

About The Position

The Senior Manager, Store Operations for the Harry Potter Shop Chicago serves as the senior retail leader for the state. The role is responsible for guiding the store through continued growth, team development, operational excellence and future strategic planning. This position requires a detail-focused and experienced senior leader who can effectively steer daily operations while managing a large team of Associates and leaders. Working in close partnership with the Director, Retail Operations, the Senior Manager maintains strategic oversight that drives commercial success, financial P&L responsibility, and brand performance. The role also acts as the primary liaison for all support functions including Marketing, People & Culture, Buying & Merchandising, Facilities and key commercial vendors, ensuring alignment and strong execution across the business.

Requirements

Over 6 years of progressive retail leadership experience, with 4 at a senior level, overseeing high-volume stores and flagship locations.
Proven track record of delivering commercial results through strategic planning, people development and operational excellence.
Experience leading large teams, including multiple layers of leadership, in a fast-paced or experiential retail environment.
Strong understanding of retail financials, forecasting, labor planning and KPI analysis.
Demonstrated ability to partner cross-functionally with central teams in merchandising, marketing, HR, finance and facilities.

Responsibilities

Lead the overall commercial, operational and service performance of the Chicago location, ensuring alignment with the broader US East Coast retail strategy set by the Director.
Develop store goals, operating procedures, and KPIs that support the store growth, aim to maximize profitability and brand success.
Analyze financial performance, sales metrics, product performance and communicate market insights to identify opportunities and build corrective action plans for implementation.
Act on commercial improvement opportunities for food & beverage vendor by developing new ideas, maintain quality standards and achieve maximum product margin.
Serve as the primary escalation point for operational challenges, guest and people issues, always ensuring a solution-focused attitude, partnering with the Director for support.
Create new revenue stream ideas to propose to Director, including execution plans, preparation for full delivery and ownership of end-to-end process.
Take full responsibility for store P&L, including revenue, payroll, controllable expenses and contribution margin, presenting executive level decks regarding business performance, risks and opportunities to Director and SVP.
Lead large-scale change programs including technology change and new operating models, taking full responsibility for communication, implementation and review.
Oversee all daily store operations, in conjunction with management team to ensure processes, policies and standards meet brand guidelines and consistently strive for efficiency.
Partner with Visual Merchandising leadership to guide product placement, seasonal transitions and lead the commercial viewpoint, using the in-store inventory teams to execute.
Drive productivity planning including labor modelling, scheduling efficiency and propose headcount needs to Director to optimize productivity and scheduling while supporting business demands, events, marketing activations and seasonal trade patterns.
Partnering with the Inventory Operations Manager to achieve consistency in inventory management, guiding processes, intake procedures, discrepancy actions and structured replenishment daily.
Assume the first escalation point in emergency situations to ensure in-store responses are delivered in line with senior leadership guidance, and communicate to Director for stakeholder management.
Take responsibility for safety of the working environment, structuring appropriate training, safety checks, and protocols for reporting issues.
Liaise with building management and Facilities team to ensure any maintenance issues are actioned quickly, and costs approved in line with budget.
Maintain ownership for business continuity plans, and emergency response planning.
Provide senior leadership and direct line management to all store leaders and Associates, enabling and maintaining a strong team culture focused on exceeding expectations of service, employee morale and high performance.
Oversee recruitment, training, onboarding and ongoing development for all store roles, engaging with People & Culture and Talent Acquisition for back filling roles swiftly.
Conduct performance reviews for all store leadership, collaborate with managers to oversee performance of all team members, setting the expectations and standards clearly.
Partner with People & Culture to conduct any required disciplinary or respond to any escalated people situations, ensuring compliance with all WBD policies.
Maintain clear communication with all team members within Harry Potter Shop Chicago, creating a safe and thriving environment for all employees to grow and develop.
Act as the central liaison between Harry Potter Shop Chicago and key business partners including Marketing, PR, People & Culture, Merchandising, Buying, Security, Facilities, Finance and all external vendors, owning responsibility for full communication and actions.
Collaborate with Marketing and PR teams on market insights, in-store and out of store activations focused on brand awareness and commercial growth, as well as communicating to media as required, including acting as emergency communications lead.
Utilize key data, consolidate and present weekly performance to Merchandising and Buying teams to help influence key decisions.
Maintain strong relationship with Security leadership to report any issues immediately, act on any team training needs and ensure in-store guards maintain brand standards.
Partner with Food & Beverage vendor to achieve service, cleanliness and efficiency standards with all team members.
Set the strategy for a guest experience that exceeds expectations and reflects the Harry Potter brand to drive loyalty, repeat visitation and positive reviews.
Ensure store leadership teams and associates deliver consistent service standards, coaching leaders in real time to elevate performance.
Utilize customer insights from Customer Services team, CSAT research and Mystery Shopper reports to create action plans for driving experience growth and refine operational practices.