Senior Program Manager - Best Practices - Supply Chain Network

Nordstrom•Seattle, WA

12d•Onsite

About The Position

Nordstrom Supply Chain is undergoing a significant transformation, investing in new fulfillment capabilities, advancing technology platforms, and evolving its 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 meet this challenge. Situated 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. 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 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 significant 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 manner.
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.
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 to provide SCO leadership with a grounded, network-wide view of site execution against the established standard.
Travel to sites across the network to conduct structured assessments evaluating execution across each SCO Best Practices category and identifying areas of alignment or divergence from the network standard.
Conduct hands-on assessments including floor observation, Gemba walks, 5S audits, A3 problem-solving discipline, Glass Wall/Gemba board accuracy checks, and Leader Standard Work compliance; sample WMS and operational data to validate reported figures.
Produce clear, evidence-based assessment reports identifying areas of strong execution and existing gaps, providing SCO leadership with a reliable and 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, communicating findings with executive clarity and collaborating on practical and durable corrective action plans.
Track open items between assessment cycles and validate progress during subsequent site visits, fostering a continuous improvement cadence that increases in value over time.
Identify and synthesize network-wide patterns of strong execution, systemic gaps, and potential areas for Best Practices standard evolution. Present these insights with strategic recommendations to QO and SCO leadership.
Develop and deliver semi-annual network insight summaries for QO and SCO leadership, translating 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 necessary context and framing for rapid, informed decision-making.
Act as a trusted and energizing presence at each site, distinguishing between local fixes and network-wide solutions, resolving single-site issues directly while escalating and scaling those that reveal systemic gaps.
Ability to travel to sites as part of structured, twice-yearly assessment cycles.