Senior Program Specialist

Team Summary:

The Merchandising & Program Management team is responsible for executing, measuring, and enhancing strategic in-store partnership programs across Staples stores. The team collaborates closely with Merchandising, Store Operations, Finance, Supply Chain, Marketing, and external partners to ensure programs are effectively launched, operationally successful, and deliver strong customer and financial results. Programs supported by the team include initiatives such as Amazon Returns, Verizon, Party City, BinWins, and Stanton Optical. 

Role Summary:

The Sr. Program Specialist supports the Director of Merchandising & Program Management in the execution, reporting, performance tracking, and continuous improvement of strategic in-store partnership programs. This role serves as a key partner in coordinating program activities, analyzing performance, supporting operational execution, and delivering actionable insights that help drive business results. The ideal candidate thrives in a fast-paced environment, enjoys working with data, and excels at collaborating across teams to drive successful outcomes. 

What You'll Be Doing:

• Support the end-to-end execution of strategic in-store partnership programs from pilot through enterprise rollout. 
• Coordinate timelines, milestones, deliverables, and dependencies across internal stakeholders and external partners. 
• Maintain operational playbooks, program documentation, and standard operating procedures. 
• Monitor store-level execution, identify risks, and recommend solutions to improve program performance. 
• Support onboarding activities and expansion efforts for new and existing programs. 
• Own recurring reporting, scorecards, dashboards, and KPI tracking across multiple programs. 
• Analyze sales, margin, traffic, productivity, financial, and operational performance metrics. 
• Develop business insights and recommendations that support leadership decision-making. 
• Partner with Finance and cross-functional teams to validate results and support business reviews. 
• Assist with testing, evaluation, and implementation of process improvements and program enhancements. 

What You Bring to the Table:

• Strong project and program management capabilities. 
• Analytical mindset with the ability to turn data into actionable business insights. 
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail. 
• Financial and business acumen with an understanding of performance drivers and KPIs. 
• Ability to manage multiple projects and competing priorities simultaneously. 
• Excellent communication and presentation skills. 
• Collaborative approach and ability to build strong relationships across functions and with external partners. 
• Problem-solving skills with a focus on continuous improvement and operational excellence. 

What's Needed – Basic Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Analytics, Operations, Merchandising, or a related field or equivalent work experience. 
• 4+ years of experience in program management, business operations, merchandising support, analytics, or related roles within retail or multi-unit environments. 
• Experience managing timelines, deliverables, and cross-functional initiatives.
• Strong proficiency with Excel and data analysis tools. 
• Experience creating reports, scorecards, dashboards, and performance tracking tools. 
• Strong written, verbal, and presentation skills. 
• Ability to analyze data and provide recommendations that support business decisions.  

What's Needed – Preferred Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree in Business, Analytics, Operations, Merchandising, or a related field. 
• Experience supporting partnership programs, pilots, or store-based initiatives. 
• Retail, merchandising, or multi-unit operational experience. 
• Experience with dashboarding and reporting platforms such as Power BI, Tableau, or similar tools. 
• Experience preparing executive-level presentations, business reviews, and leadership reporting. 
• Experience working with external business partners and vendors.

Get great perks. 

• Bonus plan and generous amount of paid time off, including one Floating Holiday each year 
• Flexible work arrangements, including flexible work hours  
• 401(k) plan with company match, medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance with many more optional benefits 
• Associate store discount and more perks (discounts on mobile plans, movie tickets, etc

The salary range represents the expected compensation for this role at the time of posting. The specific base pay may be influenced by a variety of factors to include the candidate's experience, skill set, education, geography, business considerations, and internal equity. In addition to base pay, this role may be eligible for bonuses, or other forms of variable compensation.  

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