Vice President Store Planning and Design

Sprouts Farmers Market•Phoenix, AZ

19d

About The Position

The Vice President, Store Planning & Design leads the production, governance, and delivery of Sprouts’ new-store prototypes, formats, layouts, fixture standards, and store-planning solutions. The role translates enterprise growth, merchandising, operating, and customer strategies into buildable, repeatable, cost-effective store packages that can be delivered consistently across the new-store pipeline and adapted to site-specific conditions. The position owns the operating system for taking a store from approved format and prototype intent through coordinated plans, fixture packages, design documentation, third-party production, quality control, and turnover to Construction and Portfolio Operations. It also directs remodel and sales-initiative planning for the existing fleet, while maintaining clear decision rights with Merchandising Space Planning. The leader develops and governs prototypes and standards; oversees site-specific plan production and adaptation; manages internal teams and external production partners; and coordinates with cross-functional stakeholders. The role also establishes workflows, quality controls, stage gates, performance measures, budgets, and capital plans to ensure store packages are operationally sound, cost-conscious, on schedule, and ready for execution. Travel may be required as business needs require.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Retail Management, Category Management, Architecture, Interior Design, Industrial Design, Engineering, Construction Management, or a related field.
15 or more years of progressive leadership experience in retail store planning, prototype development, store design production, architecture, fixture planning, construction documentation, remodels, or related functions.
Executive experience leading high-volume, multi-unit new-store design and planning programs from prototype standards through site-specific production and execution handoff.
Demonstrated experience managing internal production teams and third-party architects, designers, planners, engineers, and vendors against quality, schedule, cost, and capacity expectations.
Experience establishing governance, stage gates, document standards, change control, and repeatable production processes across a growing pipeline.
Deep expertise in new-store prototypes, macro planning, customer flow, adjacencies, floor plans, fixture plans, equipment and refrigeration coordination, design documentation, and site adaptation.
Strong understanding of the handoffs among merchandising space planning, store planning, architecture and engineering, construction, and portfolio execution.
Ability to balance customer experience, merchandising intent, operational productivity, code and building constraints, capital, schedule, and constructability.
Strong commercial, analytical, and financial acumen, including budgeting, resource planning, KPI development, space productivity, vendor management, and return measurement.
Executive presence and ability to drive decisions, resolve cross-functional conflict, communicate tradeoffs, and hold internal and external partners accountable.
Ability to travel as business needs require.

Nice To Haves

Experience in grocery, specialty retail, health and wellness, or other high-volume multi-unit retail is strongly preferred.

Responsibilities

Own the vision, development, documentation, testing, and continuous improvement of new-store prototypes and alternate formats.
Lead development of customer flow, departmental adjacencies, macro layouts, fixture and refrigeration plans, equipment standards, décor, signage, and other customer-facing design elements.
Create buildable, repeatable standards balancing customer experience, operational productivity, sales potential, speed to market, capital efficiency, and lifecycle cost.
Establish format rules, flex parameters, minimum standards, and exception criteria for adapting prototypes to individual sites.
Maintain prototype design criteria, plan libraries, standard details, fixture specifications, equipment schedules, finish standards, and change-control documentation.
Lead prototype reviews and stage gates from concept through design development, construction documentation, bid readiness, and turnover to execution teams.
Lead production, coordination, quality review, and timely delivery of site-specific floor plans, fixture and equipment plans, refrigeration layouts, décor and signage direction, and related design packages.
Partner with Real Estate, landlords, architects, engineers, Construction, and Operations to adapt approved sites to prototype standards and resolve building constraints, code requirements, operational needs, schedule risks, and cost impacts.
Establish production workflows, deliverable standards, calendars, review protocols, version control, and approval requirements for internal teams and third-party partners.
Ensure coordinated design documents reflect approved layouts, standards, equipment, fixtures, and operational requirements before release.
Manage design changes and exceptions through impact assessment, decision rights, documentation, and communication.
Partner with Merchandising Space Planning, which owns category-level space allocation, assortment-driven space requirements, planograms, and shelf-level merchandising decisions; translate approved requirements into the physical store environment.
Establish handoff and approval processes between Merchandising Space Planning and Store Planning & Design, including inputs, outputs, timelines, escalation paths, and final decision rights.
Engage Merchandising and Operations early to validate business objectives, labor and replenishment needs, service models, capacity, productivity, and field execution.
Lead planning and design for remodels, refreshes, department reinventions, and sales initiatives across existing stores.
Translate approved merchant and operating strategies into store-specific layouts, fixture and equipment packages, design standards, schedules, and execution-ready documentation.
Establish prioritization criteria, stage gates, readiness standards, capital parameters, and post-implementation reviews for fleet initiatives.
Coordinate with Construction, Facilities, Merchandising, and Operations to minimize disruption and improve execution consistency.
Lead development, testing, standardization, documentation, and lifecycle management of fixtures, finishes, refrigeration, equipment, signage, and décor.
Oversee MIRC testing of layouts, fixtures, resets, merchandising concepts, signage, operating methods, and execution standards before rollout.
Drive value engineering, specification discipline, competitive sourcing support, and lifecycle-cost analysis to reduce costs without compromising performance.
Maintain governance for standard specifications, approved alternates, substitutions, and prototype changes.
Use space-to-sales, customer, operational, construction, schedule, and financial analysis to inform format, layout, fixture, and investment decisions.
Establish KPIs for plan quality, design cycle time, prototype compliance, change orders, third-party performance, capital outcomes, operational productivity, sales impact, and post-opening results.
Partner with Finance, Construction, Merchandising, and Operations to establish business cases, return thresholds, baselines, and post-implementation measurement.
Lead departmental budgets, design and prototype investments, external professional services, and related capital planning.
Build and lead a high-performing Store Planning & Design organization with clear roles, priorities, capacity, accountability, urgency, and succession plans.
Serve as the primary Store Development partner to Merchandising for physical store planning and partner with Real Estate, Construction, Portfolio Operations, Facilities, Finance, Marketing, IT, Customer Insights, Legal, Procurement, architects, consultants, and vendors.
Present format recommendations, prototype changes, capital requirements, delivery performance, risks, and results to executive leadership.

Benefits

Competitive pay.
Sick time plan to support the employee or immediate family members.
Vacation accrual plan.
Opportunities for career growth.
15% discount for the employee and one other household family member on purchases at Sprouts.
Flexible schedules.
Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
401(k) retirement savings plan with a company match.
Company-paid life insurance.
Contests and appreciation events throughout the year.
Performance-based bonus, subject to eligibility requirements.
Affordable medical, dental, and vision coverage, subject to eligibility requirements.
Health Savings Account with company match, subject to eligibility requirements.
Pre-tax Flexible Spending Accounts for healthcare and dependent care, subject to eligibility requirements.
Company-paid short-term disability coverage, subject to eligibility requirements.
Paid parental leave for mothers and fathers, subject to eligibility requirements.
Paid holidays, subject to eligibility requirements.
DailyPay access for eligible employees, allowing earned wages to be transferred before payday at no extra cost.