ABOUT THE POSITION
As a Process Excellence Sr Manager, you will play a critical leadership role on Columbia Sportswear Company's Retail Operations team, driving operational excellence across our North America Direct-to-Consumer business. This role combines strategic thinking, retail expertise, and process improvement leadership to enhance store performance, improve operational efficiency, and drive profitability.
You will partner closely with senior leaders across Retail, Planning, Merchandising, Finance, Human Resources, and other cross-functional teams to develop and execute operational strategies, remove barriers to success, and ensure consistent adoption of processes, programs, and best practices across stores and corporate functions. Leading a team of managers and analysts, you'll drive operational consistency, champion process excellence, and help translate business strategy into scalable solutions that improve store performance and drive profitable growth.
HOW YOU’LL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
- Lead and develop a high-performing team focused on delivering operational improvements and business results.
- Drive the retail process excellence strategy by identifying opportunities to improve productivity, efficiency, and profitability across the store fleet.
- Partner with executive and cross-functional leaders to gain alignment, influence priorities, and advance strategic initiatives.
- Use data and operational insights to identify opportunities, solve complex business challenges, and drive informed decision-making.
- Champion consistent execution of retail processes, policies, and operational standards across stores and corporate teams.
- Influence technology roadmaps and partner with technology teams to prioritize tools and capabilities that support business growth.
- Lead the design, implementation, and measurement of retail programs, processes, and operational improvements.
- Develop and maintain retail process documentation, best practices, and training programs that support adoption and accountability.
- Drive collaboration between field and corporate teams to improve execution, remove roadblocks, and enhance operational performance.
- Establish performance metrics and reporting that enable continuous improvement and support achievement of business objectives.
YOU ARE
- A strategic and analytical leader who can connect operational improvements to business results.
- An influential communicator who builds strong partnerships across functions and levels of the organization.
- A collaborative problem-solver who thrives in complex, fast-paced environments.
- Passionate about developing people, building high-performing teams, and creating a culture of continuous improvement.
- Results-oriented, adaptable, and motivated to drive meaningful change across the retail organization.
YOU HAVE
- Bachelor's degree, master's degree, applicable certification, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
- 5-8 years of experience in retail operations, process management, business operations, or a related field, including experience leading people leaders and individual contributors.
- Proven experience leading business process improvement initiatives and driving cross-functional change management efforts.
- Strong understanding of retail operations, systems, and store processes, with the ability to leverage data to influence decisions and deliver results.
- Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills; process improvement certifications (Six Sigma, Prosci, CBPL, or similar) are preferred.
#LI-CS1
#Hybrid
This job description is not meant to be an all-inclusive list of duties and responsibilities, but constitutes a general definition of the position's scope and function in the company.
Columbia Sportswear Company is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, color, religion, national origin, disability, protected Veteran status, age, or any other characteristic protected by law. Columbia Sportswear is committed to working with and providing reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities. https://www.eeoc.gov/sites/default/files/2023-06/22-088_EEOC_KnowYourRights6.12.pdf. If you need reasonable accommodation because of a disability for any part of the employment process, please notify your recruiter.At Columbia Sportswear Company, we’re proud to offer regular full-time employees a benefits package that includes a variety of services and products to help make your life and work more rewarding. Our benefit programs contribute to overall employee well-being by aligning those programs with the fundamental elements of well-being: physical, social/emotional, financial, career and community. Benefits that can protect your family’s financial future and help you save money through our 401k plan plus a generous company match. Columbia offers medical, dental, vision, life Insurance, disability, flexible spending accounts, health savings account, and an assortment of voluntary benefit offerings (accident, critical illness, hospital indemnity, and legal services). In addition, Columbia offers EAP + which is free and confidential 24/7/365 counseling services. We have extensive wellness benefits, employee discounts and a generous time off program available.If you need an accommodation/adjustment to successfully complete and submit your application, please reach out to [email protected] with the Subject: Applicant Assistance Requested.Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree, master's degree, applicable certification, or equivalent combination of education and experience
- 5-8 years of experience in retail operations, process management, business operations, or a related field
- Experience leading people leaders and individual contributors
- Proven experience leading business process improvement initiatives
- Experience driving cross-functional change management efforts
- Strong understanding of retail operations, systems, and store processes
- Ability to leverage data to influence decisions and deliver results
- Excellent communication, presentation, facilitation, and stakeholder management skills
- Process improvement certification such as Six Sigma, Prosci, CBPL, or similar
Columbia Sportswear Company Compensation & Benefits Highlights
The following summarizes recurring compensation and benefits themes identified from responses generated by popular LLMs to common candidate questions about Columbia Sportswear Company and has not been reviewed or approved by Columbia Sportswear Company.
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Healthcare Strength — Healthcare coverage is described as comprehensive, spanning medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, and mental-health support. The overall package is often framed as a strong pillar of the total rewards offering.
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Retirement Support — Retirement benefits are positioned as a meaningful component of the package, including a 401(k) with company matching and references to profit-sharing or related retirement programs. This retirement support is repeatedly presented as a core benefit that adds stability to total compensation.
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Wellbeing & Lifestyle Benefits — Lifestyle-oriented perks stand out, including a strong product discount, fitness/wellness support, commuter benefits, and paid volunteer time. These perks are frequently treated as material offsets to base-pay perceptions in certain roles.
Columbia Sportswear Company Insights
What We Do
Based in Portland, Oregon, Columbia Sportswear Company (NASDAQ: COLM) is a global outdoor brand that crafts active lifestyle gear fortified with industry-leading technologies and tested in our backyard. Our apparel, footwear, and accessories reflect our Pacific Northwest heritage and indomitable spirit.




