Director, Outbound Warehouse Operations

Something BIG is coming to Brownsburg!

HarperCollins Publishers is opening a state-of-the-art, 1.6 million-square-foot distribution center in Brownsburg, Indiana, an exciting new hub that will help bring books to readers, customers, and communities across the country. We are currently seeking a Director, Outbound Warehouse Operations, to help build this world-class operation.  This is a great opportunity for an experienced and driven distribution leader who enjoys managing multi-shift operations in a fast paced environment, building and managing cutting-edge systems and processes, developing leaders, and contributing to a site leadership team committed to creating a positive and engaging workplace culture.

During the initial 2-3 months, this role will assist with testing of the Warehouse Management System (Manhattan Active), which will support the warehouse operation. You will help with testing activities, driving readiness across people, process, and systems.  After the testing period, the role transitions to Director, directly training and leading Managers, Supervisors and employees and leveraging your system and process knowledge to drive daily performance.  Following go-live, the role transitions to leading Outbound Operations. You will provide high-level business direction and mentorship to our Distribution Center leaders, taking full ownership of expense management and service performance for your assigned area, focusing on building a consistent, high-quality experience for our customers. This is a vital leadership position overseeing a team of 100+ employees, where you will balance operational excellence with a commitment to corporate, regulatory compliance and performance goals.

• Drive department physical readiness, including layout, equipment and supplies.
• Develop and formalize SOPs and training materials aligned to actual system behavior
• Design department level reporting to support daily execution and leadership visibility
• Assist with the development of a detailed staffing plan by department, role, and shift
• Participate in the hiring and onboarding of warehouse leadership roles.
• Support Labor Management (LM) standards, reporting, and supervisor enablement. 
• Assists in the development of the financial and operational plans for assigned teams, including the expense plans and targets per department including but not limited to operational performance, improvement plans, targeted expenses and labor management.
• Drive daily performance accountability across all areas while reinforcing a team-oriented, customer-focused approach.
• Own standardization and leads disciplined process for identifying, testing, and verifying improvement opportunities. 
• Responsible for talent development, providing direction for and leading performance management and development amongst management teams.
• Oversee employee relations across the Outbound team, including key areas such as hiring, performance management, employee development, and training.
• Establish and maintain a positive and engaging work environment.
• Coach and mentor leadership within assigned team, as well as other employees. 
• Monitor performance and productivity measures for the purpose of maximizing earnings and reducing expenses in the facility.
• Review and monitor standard operating procedures; make observations and recommend improvements to promote efficiency in Distribution Center related to, accuracy, improved service and lower costs.
• Support compliance with policies, procedures, safety rules, and government regulations; maintain and coordinate all areas of security within the Distribution Center.

• Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management, Business, Operations, or equivalent work experience preferred.
• 8 to 10 years of progressive leadership experience in large-scale, multi-shift  warehouse, distribution, or fulfillment operation, with 3 to 5 years at management level.
• Strong expertise in warehouse management systems, workforce management systems, and labor planning.
• Extensive knowledge of warehousing, and distribution best practices.
• Strong financial acumen and budgeting skills, including analytical/problem solving skills to solve complex problems, generate ideas, and develop creative solutions
• Proven ability to leverage technology and automation to drive efficiency and improve supply chain performance.
• Exceptional leadership skills with the ability to select, coach, develop, engage, and retain a team of employees across Outbound operations.

HarperCollins Publishers is a company full of people who are passionate about books.  When you apply for a position, we want to know why you want to work here, and why you are interested in the job. That’s why cover letters are strongly preferred.

The salary range for this position is $130,000 - $160,000. We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process. 

In addition to cash compensation, the company provides a comprehensive and generous benefits package, with a variety of physical health, retirement and savings, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, transportation, and other benefits, including "elective" benefits employees may select to best fit the needs and personal situations of our diverse workforce. Visit our careers webpage for more information.     

 Please Note: The Brownsburg IN location is a smoke-free campus.