The Director, Retail Operations is the senior leader responsible for the physical execution of AMBSE retail across all in-venue locations, event activations, and future brick-and-mortar expansion. This role owns the full operational infrastructure — store management, warehouse and inventory control, event retail execution, visual standards, and the staffing model that keeps it all running on game days, event nights, and every moment in between.
Reporting to the VP of Retail & Merchandising, the Director of Retail Ops translates buying and merchandising strategy into operational reality. They lead and develop a team of store managers, retail experience managers, while maintaining dotted-line accountability for POS technology and retail finance. This is a role for a proven operator who has managed complexity at scale — someone equally comfortable in a pre-game walk-through and a post-season inventory reconciliation.
AMBSE retail is building something new. This Director will help write the operational playbook for an in-house retail function that is raising the bar on what fan-facing retail looks and performs like across one of the most active sports and entertainment venues in the country.
Store Operations & Multi-Location Management
- Own day-to-day operations across all AMBSE retail locations — permanent in-venue stores, pop-up activations, and future retail expansion — ensuring each environment meets brand, safety, and service standards
- Lead and develop a team of store managers, holding each accountable to sales performance, operational compliance, and fan experience standards
- Establish and enforce store operating procedures, opening and closing protocols, and loss prevention standards across all locations
- Partner with the VP of Retail & Merchandising to translate assortment and merchandising strategy into floor-ready execution
- Manage scheduling, labor planning, and staffing models across locations to optimize coverage against game day and event calendars
Seasonal Hiring & Workforce Management
- Lead seasonal and event-based hiring cycles, including workforce planning, onboarding, and training for contract retail staff and game day teams
- Partner with HR on recruiting pipelines, compensation benchmarking, and retention strategies for both full-time and part-time retail staff
- Build and maintain training programs that ensure all retail staff — permanent and seasonal — represent AMBSE brands with consistency and pride
- Manage the relationship with contract retail staffing partners, including performance oversight and event-day deployment
Warehouse & Inventory Operations
- Oversee warehouse operations including receiving, storage, replenishment, and inventory accuracy across all retail locations
- Own cycle count cadence and annual physical inventory process, ensuring shrink is tracked, reported, and addressed
- Partner with the merchandising & buying team to align inbound shipment calendars with floor needs and storage capacity
- Maintain inventory management systems and ensure all teams are operating within established receiving and transfer protocols
Event Retail Operations
- Lead event retail planning and execution for all major stadium activations — Falcons games, Atlanta United matches, concerts, and third-party events (ie. college football).
- Serve as the main retail point of contact with venue management, stadium operations, security, touring talent, and third-party merchandise teams
- Own pre-event preparation checklists, staff deployment plans, and post-event wrap reporting
- Ensure all event retail locations are set, approved, and operational before gates open; monitor performance and fan experience in real time during events
Technology Implementation & Systems Oversight
- Lead the enterprise-wide implementation of AMBSE's new POS system and RFID technology across all retail locations — owning deployment timelines, staff training, performance validation, and ongoing system integrity
- Own implementation and enterprise adoption of YellowDog inventory management — developing the SOPs, workflows, and training programs required for the system to perform as designed across stores and warehouse
- Maintain dotted-line oversight of the POS/Tech Analyst, ensuring systems are operational, issues are escalated and resolved quickly, and technology continuously meets business needs
- Partner with the Senior Accountant (dotted line) on retail store financial reporting, reconciliation, and budget management across all locations
- Track and report key operational KPIs — sales by location, shrink, and event performance — on a regular cadence to the VP of Retail
- Identify cost and process improvement opportunities across the retail ops infrastructure
Qualifications & Education
- Bachelor's degree in Business, Retail Management, Operations, or related field
- 10+ years of experience in retail operations, with meaningful tenure in an in-venue, stadium, or high-volume event retail environment
- Proven track record managing multi-location retail teams including store managers, seasonal staff, and third-party operators
- Experience owning warehouse operations, inventory management, and seasonal hiring cycles
- Hands-on experience implementing or managing retail technology systems — POS, RFID, or inventory management platforms strongly preferred
- Familiarity with sports retail, licensed product environments, or large-scale venue operations strongly preferred
- Must be available to work select nights, weekends, game days, and major events as required by the AMBSE calendar
- Operationally rigorous — builds systems, holds teams accountable, and follows through without being managed
- Strong people leader with experience developing both full-time managers and large seasonal workforces
- Calm and decisive in high-pressure, event-driven environments where the stakes are real and the timeline is fixed
- Financially literate — comfortable with retail KPIs, budget management, and performance reporting
- Tech-forward — comfortable owning system implementations and driving organization-wide adoption of new tools and SOPs
- Collaborative across functions — works effectively with buying, marketing, venue ops, and senior leadership
- Proficient in Microsoft Office; experience with POS systems, YellowDog or similar inventory platforms, and Monday.com a plus
- Strong communicator — clear, direct, and effective whether running a pre-game brief or presenting to the VP
