Associate Manager - Instock
Job Description
ASSOCIATE MANAGER, IN-STOCK OPERATIONS
Role Summary
The Associate Manager, In-Stock Operations leads a team of In-Stock Specialists, translating individual execution into consistent team-wide performance. You own the team's output quality, capacity, and development - setting priorities, unblocking your team, and driving the projects that move inventory health metrics forward. You are accountable for your team's results, not just your own.
What You'll Do
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Manage a team of In-Stock Specialists (I, II, and Senior) - setting goals, assigning work, and monitoring performance against SLAs and inventory health metrics (DIO, in-stock rate).
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Own hiring, onboarding, performance reviews, coaching, and career development for direct reports.
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Run team rituals (1:1s, stand-ups, retros) and maintain a clear view of team capacity, workload distribution, and coverage.
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Lead cross-functional projects end-to-end (e.g., WBR, new brand onboarding, expiration-date programme) - defining scope, timelines, and success metrics, and coordinating across brand management, the US team, and leadership.
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Identify and prioritize automation and process-improvement opportunities across the team, and hold owners accountable for shipping them.
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Own and present WBR-level reporting and inventory health metrics to leadership, translating data into a clear narrative and action plan.
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Serve as the escalation point for complex vendor, catalogue, or marketplace issues that require cross-team coordination or leadership visibility.
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Partner with brand management and marketplace leads to align on inventory strategy and proactively manage risk.
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Build and maintain team documentation, training materials, and onboarding processes so the team scales without you as a bottleneck.
What Success Looks Like
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Team consistently meets or exceeds SLAs
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Your team's capacity and skills grow over time - specialists are promoted, and the team absorbs more scope without proportional headcount growth.
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Cross-functional projects you own land on time and deliver measurable results.
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You spend meaningfully more time on planning, coaching, and problem-solving than on individual task execution.
Qualifications
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2+ years of experience in inventory operations, supply chain, or e-commerce operations, including direct ownership of core inventory processes.
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Prior experience managing or leading a team - formally or informally - including hiring, coaching, and performance management.
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Strong project management skills - able to scope, sequence, and drive cross-functional projects to completion.
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Deep fluency in inventory health metrics (DIO, in-stock rate) and the forecasting/ordering mechanics that drive them.
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Comfortable pulling and synthesizing data from multiple systems (e.g., Snowflake, brand selling accounts) to build a narrative for leadership.
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Track record of identifying and shipping process or automation improvements using AI tools, scripts, or workflow automation.
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Experience with e-commerce marketplaces (Amazon, Chewy, Australia marketplace, or equivalent) strongly preferred.
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Excellent written and verbal communication; able to build trust with stakeholders across functions and time zones.