Sr. Director, Corporate Strategy & Automation

About the Team

Our Finance team ensure we are accountable and on track to company strategies. Their responsibilities include forecasting, in-season management, and analysis across business units. From sales and margin to operations and expenses, our Finance team provides consistent, accurate information to cross-functional partners to support Pet Smart's growth initiatives.

Collaborative Work Environment:
At Pet Smart, teamwork and connection are core to how we thrive. This role is based at our Phoenix 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.

Role Overview

The Senior Director of Corporate Strategy & Automation is a senior enterprise leader responsible for governing, advancing, and enabling execution of Pet Smart’s long-range strategy. Reporting to the SVP of Finance & Strategy, this role ensures Pet Smart’s multi-year strategy and Long-Range Plan are translated into measurable outcomes, embedded in financial planning, and accelerated through automation.

This role leads Pet Smart’s Corporate Strategy function, including Test & Measure and Automation, and provides direct leadership to a director-level leader. The Senior Director partners closely with EPMO, FP&A, Finance leadership, Technology, and business leaders to drive strategic alignment, execution discipline, and enterprise efficiency.

Key Responsibilities

• Enterprise Strategy Governance and Execution
• Lead strategy governance processes, including executive reviews, progress tracking, risk identification, and course correction
• Partner with senior leaders to translate strategic priorities into clear initiatives, milestones, and success metrics
• Ensure alignment between enterprise strategy, annual operating plans, capital allocation, and financial forecasts

Leadership of Automation

• Provide senior leadership and strategic direction to the Director of Automation, ensuring automation, analytics, and AI-enabled initiatives align with enterprise strategy and FP&A priorities
• Set strategic guardrails, investment priorities, and success metrics for automation and advanced analytics initiatives
• Partner with Finance, Technology, and business leaders to identify and prioritize opportunities for efficiency, scalability, and improved decision-making
• Ensure automation and analytics investments deliver measurable improvements in productivity, cost, capacity, and insight generation

Team Leadership and Capability Building

• Lead a lean, high-impact organization spanning Corporate Strategy, Test and Measure, and Automation and Analytics
• Develop and mentor senior leaders and team members, fostering effective collaboration across strategy, finance, and execution enablement
• Advance enterprise strategy, analytics, and automation capabilities through disciplined operating models and best practices

Financial and Strategic Analysis

• Oversee strategic and financial analyses to evaluate initiatives, investments, and trade-offs across revenue, cost, EBITDA, ROI, and long-term value creation
• Ensure rigorous analytical standards and clear, compelling executive-level communication
• Leverage test-and-measure capabilities to assess initiative performance and inform decision-making

Executive Partnership and Influence

• Serve as a trusted strategic advisor to senior leaders across Finance, Strategy, and the broader enterprise
• Identify, evaluate, and enable execution of new value-creating initiatives across the organization
• Facilitate alignment and decision-making among leaders with diverse priorities and perspectives
• Drive clarity, accountability, and momentum across complex, cross-functional initiatives

Candidate Profile

The ideal candidate is a strategic, pragmatic, and execution-oriented leader who translates enterprise strategy into sustained business results. They are comfortable operating at the intersection of strategy, finance, analytics, and execution, and excel at influencing without reliance on large…