Assistant Director of Retail Operations

Purpose: The Assistant Director of Operations I at LaGuardia International Airport, serves as the second-in-command for medium-to-large airport retail operations up to $100m, partnering with the Senior Director to drive commercial success and operational excellence. This leadership role takes ownership of day-to-day operations management, team development, and performance optimization while ensuring superior customer service delivery and maintaining key stakeholder relationships across the retail portfolio.  

Essential Functions:  

• Partners with Senior Director of Operations to establish and execute fiscal revenue, expense, and profit goals; monitors KPIs and performance metrics across all retail locations to ensure achievement of budgeted targets and operational standards  

• Leads daily retail operations across all locations with full accountability for operational excellence, compliance with company policies, and achievement of performance metrics while serving as primary operational decision-maker in Senior Director's absence  

• Implements Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) across airport retail operations by conducting regular operational reviews, ensuring management and staff execute opening/closing procedures with full accountability for operational standards, and supporting ACDBE partner collaboration on reporting and certification processes; ensures subordinate management teams maintain consistent adherence to operational protocols while monitoring SOP effectiveness and recommending operational improvements to Director of Operations based on performance data and field observations  

• Develops and implements comprehensive action plans to optimize sales performance by store, category, and brand; conducts regular operational reviews and communicates strategic initiatives to management teams  

• Oversees implementation of daily timekeeping review processes by Multi-Unit Managers and Shift Managers; monitors overtime trends and labor cost performance across assigned areas to ensure compliance with company policies and labor regulations  

• Makes strategic hiring, termination, advancement, and promotion decisions for retail management and associates while promoting company brands as employer of choice and ensuring diversity and inclusion execution across operations  

• Ensures all company and brand standards, visual merchandising requirements, safety guidelines, and operational procedures are consistently executed across retail operations with full compliance accountability  

• Provides executive-level leadership development, performance coaching, and strategic guidance to retail management teams while fostering employee engagement and supporting comprehensive career advancement initiatives  

• Manages complex inventory control, merchandise receiving processes, vendor relationships, and supply chain coordination to ensure optimal stock levels, product availability, and cost-effective operations  

• Collaborates with brand partners, specialty managers, and corporate teams to maintain brand compliance, execute promotional initiatives, and implement marketing programs with measurable business impact  

• Resolves complex operational challenges and customer issues using sound business judgment while maintaining authority for significant operational decisions and escalating only strategic matters to Senior Director  

• Ensures display areas maintain superior visual appeal according to brand standards, optimizes equipment functionality, and maintains store presentation that exceeds customer expectations and drives revenue  

• Monitors market trends, competitive landscape, and consumer behavior to inform operational strategies while ensuring compliance with category management principles and retail space optimization  

• Leads cross-functional collaboration with Supply Chain, Commercial, and Marketing teams to optimize store assortments and marketing support while developing comprehensive training programs for operational procedures  

Reporting Relationship & Role Information:   

• The position reports to the Senior Director or Director of Retail Operations of their assigned location  

• The Assistant Director of Retail Operations I position is expected to work a varied and rotating schedule to be on site on various operating days and hours each week; some opening shifts, during some busy day parts, and during some closing shifts to monitor staff work activities during these different days and times  

Minimum Qualifications, Knowledge, and Skills:  

• Education and Experience: The combination of education and professional experience must exceed 8 years:  

• • In a leadership role: Requires 3 years of experience supervising a team of operations professionals engaged in executing retail operations programs  

• • In a technical role: Requires 8 years of experience engaged in developing and delivering retail operations programs  

• A bachelor’s degree in a program related to the functional area can count for 3 of the 8-year requirement  

• Specialized Training:  

• • Training that leads to knowledge of all applicable federal, state, and local safety and health standards, and all procedures and protocols to comply with retail compliance requirements   

• • Understanding of visual merchandising principles, inventory management systems, and brand standards  

• Specialized Skillset/Competencies/Traits:  

• • Knowledge of retail or consumer goods industry with understanding of travel retail concepts and multi-brand environments       

• • Demonstrates team management, delegation and issue resolution skills and the ability to manage multiple, conflicting, and concurrent priorities in a fast-paced retail environment   

• • Demonstrates knowledge of company policies and products, service, quality, equipment and retail operations standards, or able to demonstrate this knowledge within a reasonable time from hire or promotion   

• • Strong understanding of visual merchandising, inventory management, brand compliance, and customer service excellence   

• • Business acumen and the mindset required to understand the long-term implications of retail operational planning and to advance the organization's goals   

• • Demonstrated history of understanding the needs of the business, stakeholders, the employee population and individual circumstances in a retail environment   

• • Demonstrated history of creating and maintaining positive work environments through coaching, developing, and leading retail teams to achieve common goals