Senior Manager - Business Operations, Retail Channel Management

SENIOR MANAGER, BUSINESS OPERATIONS - RETAIL CHANNEL MANAGEMENT 

As Senior Manager, Business Operations - Retail Channel Management, known internally as Sr. Manager, Starlink Business Operations, you will run the global retail distribution function for Starlink Consumer. Regional business development leads and retail account managers win the retailers and open the doors. You make that channel healthy, and you give those teams what they need to grow it. You know how many stores we are in, how each retailer and store is performing, and what we sell in each one. 

You sit in the central Consumer Growth organization and support every region. You own the system the regional teams sell through: you help construct the demand forecast with regional leaders, the plan with S&OP and supply chain, help to set our global MSRP, how a new product is cut into a retailer, and how product is contracted and set up to sell in stores. You lead the global retail channel team, including senior managers and the retail operations leads who sit with the regions, on one set of processes and one view of the business.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Run the global retail distribution function for Starlink Consumer. Regional business development leads and retail account managers win retailers and open doors. You run the system they sell through, and you are accountable for keeping that channel healthy and able to grow.
• Lead the global retail channel team, including the central retail operations leads. Set roles, coverage, and one operating cadence for demand planning and forecasting, order processing, invoicing and payments, and overall channel performance reporting.
• Own one view of the channel: how many stores we are in, how each retailer and store is performing, and what we sell in each. Report sell-in, sell-through, inventory, fill rate, on-time delivery, and activation, with an owner and a date on every gap.
• Own the global retail demand forecast. Build it from what each retailer and product is actually selling, reconcile sell-in, sell-through, and inventory; and carry retail demand into S&OP, production, and supply planning.
• Plan the channel with S&OP and supply chain. Balance retail and online inventory, set priorities when supply is tight, and keep weeks of supply, backorders, and aged orders to plan with logistics and the regional distribution centers.
• Set and maintain global MSRP and the retail price architecture by product and market, with finance and the regional teams, so every retailer sells from one price file.
• Own how a new product is cut into retail: assortment, the materials for a retailer line review, item setup, forecast, first order, and the date it is available to sell.
• Own how product is contracted and set up to sell in a store, in support of the regional owner: vendor setup, item setup, and execution of the distribution or retailer agreement. You do not own the retailer relationship. You make the listing real and repeatable.
• Make a new door ready to sell on day one, in support of the regional team that opened it: launch checklist, initial load-in, inventory position, merchandising and fixtures, and in-store activation.
• Hold the retail-ready standard on every product shipped to a retailer: correct part numbers, UPC and barcode quality, certification marks, packaging, and pallet integrity, caught before product leaves the factory or a distribution center.
• Clear the issues that take product off a shelf, including production, inventory, and logistics problems, relabeling, returns, and replacements, and align what the retailer is told. Partner with product and platform teams on in-store activation, ordering integrations, and kit tracking.

BASIC QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor's degree in business, supply chain, operations, engineering, or a related analytical field
• 8+ years running retail distribution, retail operations, or supply for a global consumer brand or a retailer, including demand forecasting and planning with S&OP or supply chain
• 5+ years of experience leading teams, including managing managers

PREFERRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Experience leading retail distribution for a consumer brand or retailer across multiple countries, at a scale of thousands of stores, with accountability for whether product is in the right stores and selling
• Experience leading distributed teams across multiple regions and time zones, including teams embedded in other organizations
• Experience running retailer and distributor order flow: PO processing, EDI, vendor compliance, retail-ready packaging and labeling standards, returns, and chargebacks
• Experience owning a channel forecast inside an S&OP process and reconciling it to sell-in, sell-through, and on-hand inventory
• Experience cutting new products into national or international retailers, including line reviews, assortment, item setup, and the first order, and opening or expanding a large number of doors
• Experience setting or governing MSRP, or a retail price architecture, across market
• Working knowledge of international logistics: import and customs, distribution center operations, and distributor warehousing
• Familiarity with product compliance, certification, and labeling requirements across international markets
• You use data to run the channel, not only to report it (Excel required; SQL, Power BI, or a similar tool strongly preferred). You have built the view that shows stores, sales by retailer, and forecast accuracy.
• Track record of building processes and tools from the ground up and holding the line on operational commitments
• Familiarity with consumer hardware plus subscription service models, including in-store activation
• Leadership experience in fast-paced, startup-like cultures with a focus on cross-functional coordination and high standards

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Ability to travel 50%+ of the time, domestically and internationally, as needed
• Must be able to work extended hours and weekends as needed, including coverage across global time zones