Senior Program Manager - Best Practices - Supply Chain Network

Nordstrom•Seattle, WA

1d•$110,500 - $183,000•Hybrid

About The Position

Nordstrom Supply Chain is undergoing a significant transformation, involving investments in new fulfillment capabilities, advanced technology platforms, and evolving network operations to meet customer demands and stay ahead in a changing industry. As this transformation accelerates, maintaining consistent network standards for operational execution across all sites becomes increasingly important and complex. The Sr. Program Manager - Best Practices role is designed to address this challenge. Positioned within Quality Operations, this role acts as a cross-functional partner across the supply chain network, serving as an independent verification layer. It provides Nordstrom Supply Chain leadership with a clear, grounded, and reliable view of how sites are executing against the network standard. The role involves traveling to sites across the network to assess execution in areas such as Safety, Continuous Improvement, Training, Staffing/Planning, and Performance Management. The findings from this role will directly influence how leaders and executives perceive network health, how sites prioritize improvements, and how the Best Practices program itself evolves. This is a high-visibility, high-impact position requiring strategic judgment to synthesize network-wide observations, executive presence for clear communication, and operational credibility to be a trusted partner to site leaders. It is ideal for individuals who excel at translating field-level insights into network-level action.

Requirements

7+ years of progressive experience in supply chain operations, FC/DC operations, or operational excellence, including meaningful hands-on building experience.
5+ years in program management or a related discipline, with a demonstrated track record of designing and owning complex, cross-functional programs that deliver measurable results across a multi-site network.
Proven ability to synthesize field level observations into network level strategic insights and communicate them to senior and executive leadership in a clear, compelling, and actionable way.
Working knowledge of SCO Best Practices categories: Safety, Continuous Improvement (5S, A3, 4DX), Training, Staffing/Planning, and Performance Management.
Hands-on experience with WMS platforms (Manhattan WMS, Manhattan Active, HighJump, or Oracle preferred) and the ability to evaluate operational data as evidence in an assessment context.
Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including demonstrated experience presenting findings and recommendations to VP level and senior stakeholders.
The judgment and integrity to serve as a consistent, unbiased evaluator across every site and the executive presence to deliver difficult findings in a way that drives action rather than defensiveness.
A track record of influencing and aligning cross-functional stakeholders across site and organizational boundaries without direct authority, building trust through expertise, consistency, and follow-through.
Experience designing or refining assessment frameworks, scoring methodologies, or operational standards.
Ability to travel to sites as part of structured, twice-yearly assessment cycles.
Bachelor's degree in Supply Chain, Operations Management, Business Administration, or related field, or equivalent experience.

Nice To Haves

PMP certification, Lean/Six Sigma credential, internal audit experience, or equivalent preferred.

Responsibilities

Serve as the independent, third-party verification layer for the SCO Best Practices program, conducting on-site assessments that give SCO leadership a grounded, network-wide view of how sites are executing against the established standard.
Travel to sites across the network to conduct structured, evaluating execution across each SCO Best Practices category and identifying where observed performance aligns with, or diverges from, the network standard.
Conduct hands on assessments including floor observation of Gemba walks, 5S audits, A3 problem-solving discipline, Glass Wall/Gemba board accuracy, and Leader Standard Work compliance; sample WMS and operational data to validate reported figures.
Produce clear, evidence-based assessment reports that identify where sites are executing well and where gaps exist, giving SCO leadership a reliable, consistent view of operational health across the network.
Engage site GMs, AGMs, and category owners (Safety Leaders, CI Champions, Training Managers, Production Controllers) as a strategic partner while communicating findings with executive clarity and co-developing corrective action plans that are practical and durable.
Track open items between assessment cycles and validate progress at each subsequent site visit, building a continuous improvement cadence that compounds in value over time.
Identify and synthesize network-wide patterns where execution is strong, where gaps are systemic, and where the Best Practices standard itself may need to evolve. Then bring those insights to QO and SCO leadership with strategic recommendations.
Develop and deliver semi-annual network insight summaries for QO and SCO leadership that translate site-level findings into clear, actionable intelligence on network health, investment priorities, and program refinement.
Escalate high-priority findings or systemic risks to the Sr. Director, Quality Operations and relevant SCO leadership with the context and framing needed to drive rapid, informed decisions.
Be a trusted, energizing presence at each site.
Distinguish between a local fix and a network fix, resolving single-site issues directly while escalating and scaling those that reveal a systemic, network-wide gap.