Senior Manager, Asset Protection Operations

Overview

Burlington is seeking a Sr. Manager, Asset Protection Operations to protect company assets and reduce inventory shortage by leading the Asset Protection (AP) Operations team to develop and implement policies, procedures, and initiatives to reduce theft and fraud in stores, in addition to creating training programs to improve processes and increase shortage awareness. The Senior Manager will lead efforts to identify operational vulnerabilities, recommend improvements, and utilize project management methodologies to develop roadmaps, manage meetings, and maintain project documentation.

 

Reporting into the Director, AP Operations & Communications, this role is a key member of the Asset Protection organization in supporting Burlington’s AP operational processes and programs designed to help reduce loss and improve company profitability, as well as all AP-related communications to store and field leaders. This position will have job accountability for reducing the annual shortage measured in basis points, in which each basis point is worth more than a half of a million dollars in gross profit. Beyond the total company level, this position will have similar goals to reduce shortage in target markets and areas by a specified amount, contributing to the overall company save. 

 

This role requires a collaborative change agent who can drive process improvements, achieve KPIs, and shape new strategies in a fast-paced environment. You will oversee the AP Operations team, develop communication strategies, and create workload capacity plans while ensuring alignment with business objectives. Building strong relationships across field and corporate teams, this individual will maintain professionalism and flexibility while prioritizing and implementing solutions that streamline execution and deliver results.

 

 

A Day in the Life:

• Spearhead and amplify AP operational processes and programs (35%)
• Identify AP best practices, competitor strategies, and technology to enhance efficiency, execution, and reduce labor costs.

• Govern all AP standard operating procedures, policies, etc. and influence other store SOPs to ensure there is no potential to create shortage.

• Lead Shortage Assessments to ensure compliance, identify gaps, and drive corrective actions with field leadership.

• Partner with AP Strategy and Analytics to ensure that AP practices are properly measured, assessed, and have an identifiable benefit. Deliver performance metrics to the organization that are structured to clearly identify performance trends coupled with mechanisms to address deficiencies via action planning.

• Work with cross-functional teams to optimize shortage reduction tools like SCA, Shortage Highway, Silent Partner, Hi-5, and B-Aware.

 

• Develop strategies and drive improvement in shortage results (35%)
• Build strong partnerships with Store Operations, Field Leadership, Procurement, Finance, Store Innovation, Merchants, PIC, Legal, etc. to secure support, implement recommendations in a fast-paced environment, and drive best-in-class operational execution consistently across all store locations.
• Generate and identify innovative ideas and solutions to protect our merchandise via emerging technologies and by staying ahead of industry trends through research, networking, professional retail organization memberships, etc.
• Define project success criteria (KPIs, qualitative feedback, cost/benefit analysis) and lead and manage cross-functional teams to deliver required results in accordance with corporate expectations and time schedules.

 

• Spearhead AP communications, training, and change management (20%)
• Utilize company communication tools (BPLANNER, Field Leadership News, FirstUp, eCourses, etc.) to introduce, reinforce, and provide recognition of Asset Protection programs and processes.
• Collaborate with corporate and field AP leaders to create and refine new hire onboarding processes that deliver relevant information, properly timed, to give new hires the best chance for success. Partner with Learning and Development partners to continually assess onboarding and ongoing training effectiveness.
• Develop and implement a change management strategy to support our transformation in both business processes and technology. Develop change management tools for communication, training and metrics for the organization.

 

• Develop and execute a cohesive merchandise protection strategy to drive improvement in shortage results (5%)
• Reduce inventory shortage by leading merchandise protection pilots and strategies.