Sr. Director, Branch Operations (Southeast Region)

Worldpac•Tallahassee, FL

About The Position

This role is based in the Southeast USA Region; FL, GA, NC, SC, VA - and requires travel throughout the region. Reporting directly to the VP, Branch Operations, the Sr. Director of Branch Operations/Fulfillment is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of a geographic area of roughly 50-60 branches within Worldpac's network of more than 300 branch warehouse locations across North America and Puerto Rico. The Sr. Director will regularly set direction and review performance with branch teams, drive execution and track progress and resolve escalated operational and people issues. Successful candidates will be hands-on communicators and innovative problem solvers.

Requirements

At least 10 years of demonstrated track record in leading large, comparably-sized, “final-mile” regional wholesale/retail distribution, branch-related and/or customer fulfillment operation
Functional expertise and knowledge of inventory management techniques (e.g., cycle counting, put-away of inbound product, management of old/obsolete), routing solutions and optimization techniques (fixed routes and dynamic routing solutions), and demonstrated success managing and improving dated/manual picking operations (i.e., process and/or technical automation upgrades); experience in supply chain management, i.e., materials planning, logistics, is a plus.
Well-developed financial and business acumen, including proven and astute annual operational budget and expense management experience of comparable size (~$10M to $40M).
Proven ability to build and engage a high-performing team of geographically dispersed branch managers, including experience in establishing KPIs in safety, quality, delivery, cost, and customer service. Must also possess a track record in successfully engaging and consistently motivating the entire workforce in achieving KPIs and stretch goals.
Domain knowledge in lean/CI principles with a track record of deploying standard work, standardized problem solving and continuous improvement techniques (i.e., experience implementing lean problem-solving techniques such as 8D, 5-Why, root-cause, countermeasure thinking) to affect positive, long-term operational changes; must possess a continuous improvement mindset.
Prior/current success defining and implementing a system of standard work (across a distributed network of locations) for defining activities, training team members, and certifying competencies.
Must reside in the Southeast region and be able to travel regularly throughout the designated territory.
Must possess a four-year undergraduate degree, preferably in a technical, operational, or engineering field (i.e., supply chain, logistics, math/statistics, economics).

Nice To Haves

Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions. For example, uses customer feedback and data to drive continuous improvement; creates an environment in which team members feel a strong sense of ownership and accountability toward creating the best possible customer experience.
Knows the most effective and efficient processes to get things done, with a focus on continuous improvement. For example, emphasizes continuous improvement and quality outcomes across the organization and with external partners. Facilitates organization-wide adoption of best practices and lessons learned.
Lead change initiatives and projects; act as business lead and manage a portfolio of small projects designed to drive improvements in the operations.
Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with others to meet shared objectives. For example, encourages coworkers and external partners to work together as a team, and makes sure they get credit for doing so.
Must be analytical and data-driven with proven ability to synthesize large amounts of data into actionable insights, define critical paths, remediation plans, key milestones, KPIs, etc. to effectively address performance shortfalls and deliver targeted results.
Strong technical proficiency and accustomed to utilizing routing/logistics software tools in a large distribution/warehouse network.
Must be a hands-on, execution-focused operator who is highly-motivated, exceptionally hard-working, reliable, and resourceful; an executive who is truly capable of “rolling up the sleeves”, but is also effective at collaborating, delegating, and empowering others.
Must be an organized, detail- and process-oriented, results-driven individual with proven change management experience; personal desire to make things happen and to achieve levels of performance not previously achieved by the Company; able to multi-task effectively and complete projects/tasks efficiently, on-time, within budget, and with absolute accuracy.
Highly comfortable operating in a fast-paced, and operationally rigorous environment with demonstrated ability to accept and embrace disruption and change; able to continuously adopt and problem solve individually and collectively as well as have difficult conversations to positively challenge thinking and behavior.
Excellent verbal and written communicator; must possess well-developed professional presentation skills to diverse stakeholders, including C-suite executives, colleagues, suppliers, and vendors.

Responsibilities

Team leadership
Provide leadership across all branch operations, including inventory, fulfillment, returns, transportation, safety and compliance, and personnel while standardizing processes and procedures, as well as monitoring performance across all departments.
Motivate, mentor, and coach team members to achieve high performance in safety, quality, efficiency, and engagement; equip branch operators with the tools and decision-making capabilities necessary for success.
Promote a culture of excellence and continuous improvement by identifying and nurturing strong talent, providing leadership and coaching, and addressing performance gaps; must lead by example, provide real-time feedback, and encourage team participation in continuous improvement initiatives.
Customer experience; understand the selling model, work with a customer-first approach, resolve customer relationship issues in partnership with sales organization and spend time in field visiting customers to understand their needs and how to improve service.
Provide team direction and leadership around managing company assets, including facilities and repair decisions, maintaining tools/equipment and vehicles, and controlling inventory.
Understand how to lead a workforce mix of company and contract resources, working with agency partners to staff operations.
Operational expertise
Lead a fast-paced final mile delivery network of passenger vehicles making customer deliveries to a wide-spectrum of customer types; from retail shops, to independent repair, to car dealerships.
Establish, monitor, and report operational KPIs (e.g., on-time delivery, order error rate, pick order rate, safety, etc.) to assess daily performance and initiatives. Create and track branch and team goals in collaboration with executive leadership team.
Collaborate with the IT team and support rollout of other IT solutions that enhance warehouse systems (i.e. pick/pack), improve customer satisfaction, and streamline operations.
Identify and lead process optimization initiatives; define and execute Lean/CI strategies to improve efficiency, on-time delivery, and productivity; must foster a culture of continuous improvement, tracking and reporting, and deliver results/efficiency gains through data-driven decisions as well as analytical problem-solving.
Deploy standards and best practices/training to minimize returns and implement policies to inspect and reduce fraudulent transactions. Create standard work to track execution not only against results but also process compliance.
Plan, manage, and review capital and operating budgets that achieve functional improvements, enable sustained results, while meeting EBITDA/profitability objectives.
Participate in real estate decisions and have experience opening, closing and relocating locations in a branch environment.