Director, Merch Ops & Retail

Position: Director, Merch Ops & Retail Experience
About the Team
Pet Smart’s Canada Home Office (CHO) is home to approximately 50+ associates who work in departments such as Merchandising, Marketing, Demand Planning, Pricing, Space Planning, Digital/e-Commerce, Human Resources, Legal, IT and more. The small but mighty team at the CHO supports the operations of 160+ Pet Smart stores in Canada and works closely with counterparts at Pet Smart’s global corporate headquarters located in Phoenix, Arizona.

We also share the Canada Home Office with our colleagues at Pet Smart Charities of Canada—an independent, registered charity. Pet Smart Charities of Canada is committed to making the world a better place for pets and all who love them by connecting pets with loving homes through adoption, improving access to veterinary care and supporting families in times of crisis with access to pet food, shelter, and emergency relief.

About the Location
At Pet Smart, teamwork and connection are core to how we thrive. This role is based at our Canada Home Office, with an expectation of working a minimum of four days in the office each week. In a standard work week, associates may work up to one remote “flex day” (with leader approval). Our hybrid approach is designed to foster strong collaboration while also supporting flexibility and individual success.

About the Job
The Director of Merchandise Operations & Retail Experience is responsible for leading high-quality execution and cross functional support for merchandising strategy and initiatives that drive operational actions to enhance customer-first experience. This role applies a store process and operational lens to all merchandise-related initiatives to ensure flawless execution across the enterprise that delivers financial targets.

As a key cross-functional leader, the Director partners with teams across Merchandising, MP&A, Pricing, Labour Management, Marketing, Legal, Loss Prevention & Safety, and Field Leadership to ensure that initiatives are executable, scalable, and aligned to business strategies. This position will play a pivotal role in bridging strategy and execution, translating business priorities into focused, actionable, store-ready programs that set both office and store teams up for success.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities
Strategic Leadership & Execution

Lead the strategic planning, design, and implementation of merchandising initiatives, ensuring seamless execution in stores.

Serve as the central liaison between PHO, CHO, and field teams to align merchandising strategies with operational realities.

Provide strategic input on project timing, store labour impact, and adoption, balancing short-term execution with long-term operational scalability.

Influence new and ongoing projects to ensure they are operationally feasible and support the customer-first experience.

Operational Planning & Project Management

Oversee all aspects of merchandise operations, including:

Process and planogram execution

Weekly field communications (District Leaders, Canada Stores)

In-store marketing and merchandising activity support

Additional in-store initiatives and special projects

Partner with the Labour & Capacity team to evaluate store workload, align labor allocation, and ensure successful rollout of initiatives.

Translate complex business strategies into executable operational plans with clear milestones and ownership.

Enterprise Collaboration & Communication

Build and sustain strong partnerships across Merchandising, Store Operations, and corporate departments to ensure alignment and visibility.

Maintain consistent communication between CHO and Canadian Field Leaders, ensuring enterprise priorities are clearly understood and supported.

Serve as a liaison between subject matter experts in the field and the CHO team to drive collaboration and strategic consistency.

Develop and deliver effective communications and feedback loops to ensure continuous improvement and operational clarity.

Analytics, Insights & Continuous Improvement

Design and maintain performance analytics to evaluate program effectiveness and inform prioritization of future initiatives.

Utilize data to identify trends, uncover opportunities, and drive process…