Director, Retail

Why Oak+Fort?

OAK + FORT is a fashion and lifestyle brand that provides attainable luxuries consisting of modern essentials in full collections of womenswear, menswear, accessories, jewelry, beauty, and homeware. We are a female-founded and led business that is brought together by a passionate group of people with a natural bond over an aesthetic vision that radiates throughout our collections. From our first studio that opened in 2010 in Vancouver, BC, we now have 30+ locations across North America with a global e-commerce presence.

At the heart and core of it all, it’s our people that matter most. We offer a work ethos that is driven by endless passion, intellectual curiosity, and perennial creativity. Here you get the opportunity to influence our global strategy and growth, while working alongside incredibly talented people.

POSITION SUMMARY

The Director, Retail is a key driver of growth, performance, and brand excellence across the region. Responsible for accelerating omni-channel sales, strengthening market presence, and delivering exceptional in-store execution, this leader turns strategy into action with speed and impact. This position identifies market opportunities and competitive shifts while holding teams accountable to sales, operational, and customer experience KPIs. With a strong focus on talent development and operational excellence, the role builds high-performing teams, elevates store productivity, and partners cross-functionally to scale the business and support continued expansion.

WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING:

SALES GENERATION

• Achieve minimum sales requirements based on country’s corporate goals
• Ensure region is driving sales in all channels of OAK+FORT brand alongside our omni channel selling approach
• Fully aware of current state, future goals and plans to get there - providing proactive action plans to push sales
• Identify and assess country opportunities and threats, i.e., existing and potential competitors, economic drivers, consumption trends and technological changes to define and recommend the country overall strategy
• Set up, manage and monitor annual strategic action plan to reach established goals
• Support with planning, delegation, consultation of all internal and external special events
• Ensure district management teams are managing customer relationships to increase customer satisfaction and customer retention
• Quick to make an impact when needed to improve sales
• Be the “eyes on the ground” in the region to report on any changes in demographic, market, competitors and special events that we should be planning for
• Provide feedback to the correct department regarding opportunities for products being placed at the right time and right place to maximize sales
• Provide recommendations on potential real estate and locations by state / region.
• Holding team accountable to corporate KPIs including sales and operational KPI’s

STAFF DEVELOPMENT

• Strategize with Store-level Managers and District-level Managers to ensure teams are brand ambassadors through, proper hiring, education and knowledge of the brand
• Recognize and decipher where we are at with talent now, where we want to be and planning for long term growth
• Gather feedback on district staffing opportunities and consult clear objectives to rectify
• Support with sourcing, securing and retaining top performing senior staff within districts
• Drive performance management by holding staff accountable to their responsibilities. Ensuring to reward, train or exit in a timely manner
• Manage and execute quarterly and annual reviews and development plan(s) for the district management team
• Welcoming new employees and support the onboarding of new managers when needed
• Train and develop high performing Store-level Managers and District-level Managers to maximize productivity through relevant KPIs and metrics
• Act as internal consulting resource for Store-level Managers and District-level Managers to assess and evaluate the effectiveness of formal training program and make modifications as needed
• Initiate and communicate corporate retail objectives and updates within the country to ensure effective execution and follow up
• Empower Store-level Managers and District-level Managers’ business skills to further develop business acumen
• Host and participate in monthly manager’s meetings within various districts as needed
• Create a pipeline of talent for HQ to pull from as needed
• Manage relationships with districts/store teams and relevant cross functional partners (Marketing, Product/Merchant, Visual, E-commerce etc)

STORE FUNCTIONALITY

• Provide leadership and oversight of the Retail Operations function, championing continuous productivity, process improvement, and operational excellence across all stores
• Ensure Operational KPIs are met within districts/stores
• Lead the development and implementation of operational processes, standards, and frameworks that improve store organization, efficiency, and scalability
• Partner with Store-level Managers and District-level Managers, and Retail Operations and Loss Manager to ensure teams are upholding stock management standards resulting in proper presentation of back of house and the right quantity of stock is in the right place at the right time
• Identify opportunities and provide resolutions for safety, cleanliness and maintenance opportunities of physical stores (front and back of house)
• Ensure loss prevention measures are upheld and adhered to in order to mitigate company loss
• Strategize with Store-level Managers and District-level Managers to ensure stores are effectively managing labour consumption and to meet all scheduling objectives of maximizing sales, eliminating wastage, and ensuring the right quantity and caliber of staff are working
• Support with planning and execution new store openings and closures as needed
• Uphold customer experience through ensuring the store environment is up to standards

LEADERSHIP

• Manage and develop team to their best ability along with hiring and expanding teams as needed for future growth
• Set clear departmental goals and communicate to the teams
• Monitor team performance and manage reporting metrics
• Recognize high performance and reward accomplishments
• Coach underperforming areas and team members in order to achieve results required
• Develop, improve and maintain departmental process Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to drive process consistency in the department as well as provide training documents for new hires
• Own department Corporate Objectives by planning and delegating each step to completion.
• Build relationship with various cross-function partners to continue expansion of the US market

TRAVEL & OTHERS

• Travel locally, nationality and internationally based on business needs, with vary duration and frequency.

OTHER DUTIES

• Execute additional responsibilities and special projects as assigned to meet evolving business needs.
• Adapt to changes in responsibilities over time as the organization grows and transforms.

WHO YOU ARE

• Results-driven, hands-on leader with strong executive presence
• Strategic thinker with a pragmatic, execution-focused mindset
• Excellent people leader with a proven ability to coach and develop talent
• Confident, clear communicator able to influence at all organizational levels
• Highly organized, adaptable, and effective in managing change
• Strong sense of accountability with a customer-first mindset

WHAT YOU BRING:

• Progressive experience in fashion or specialty retail
• Senior retail leadership experience overseeing multi-store operations
• Proven experience leading Regional/District Managers and store leadership teams
• Demonstrated ownership of retail performance and regional or national P&L
• Deep understanding of fashion retail operations, store execution, and customer experience
• Strong commercial acumen with ability to analyze sales, labor, margin, and productivity metrics
• Expertise in driving KPIs including sales, conversion, AOV, UPT, labor efficiency, and shrink
• Strong knowledge of visual merchandising standards and brand consistency
• Experience partnering cross-functionally with Merchandising, Finance, HR, and Supply Chain
• Proficiency with retail systems and tools (POS, workforce management, reporting dashboards)
• Exceptional communication, relationship-building, and coaching skills, with the confidence to support leaders across all areas of the business.
• Experience guiding teams through periods of change, including growth and organizational transformation.
• Analytical strength and critical-thinking skills, with the ability to interpret data and insights to support effective decision-making.
• Confidence working in dynamic environments, with the ability to prioritize, stay organized, and adapt to evolving business needs.

WHY YOU'LL LOVE IT HERE:

• Extremely generous employee discount starting from day one
• Health and dental benefits
• Paid vacation time off (for eligible full-time positions only)
• An opportunity be a part of our growth journey
• Access to training and development programs
• Work amongst an exceptionally talented team

OUR VALUES:

ABOVE + BEYOND

We strive for something greater than ourselves.

SELF STARTER

Entrepreneurship is the mindset that leads to endless curiosity and continuous improvement.

UNIQUELY YOU

We practice acceptance through open-mindedness and personal responsibility.

CHANGE DRIVER

We embrace change and never fear what’s next.

PEOPLE POWERED

At the core of our brand we are powered by each other.

OUR COMMITMENT TO A HUMAN HIRING PROCESS

At OAK+FORT, we believe every application deserves thoughtful consideration. While we embrace technology in many parts of our business, we do not use AI or automated systems to screen resumes or make hiring decisions. Every application is reviewed by a member (human) of our team to ensure a fair and personalized process.

We are committed to hiring practices that are transparent, inclusive, and human-centered, because we know our people are at the heart of our success.

We strive to provide an outstanding experience to every individual who shows interest in our organization. Our goal is to ensure that you receive clear communication, regular updates and have a dedicated recruiter to support your hiring journey with us. We believe that every candidate journey should be unique, and that honesty, integrity and transparency are carried throughout.

Once you’ve submitted your application, here is what you can expect:

• A response confirming that we have received your application.
• Your application will be reviewed by our recruitment team.
• Only candidates that are selected for an interview will be contacted directly by a recruiter or hiring manager.
• Your first connection is a 15-30 minute phone interview.
• You can expect potentially two additional interviews with the hiring team.
• We may request references before moving to a final offer.

OAK + FORT is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer. We are committed to providing a respectful, diverse, and unique approach to hiring individuals in the communities in which we operate – allowing each person to be their authentic selves. Our hiring commitment applies to all candidates and employees regardless of race, ethnicity, citizenship, creed, place of origin, religion, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, family status, marital status, disability, age, and any other protected characteristic.

Requests for accommodation due to any disability or any other protected characteristic can be made at any stage of the recruitment process and during employment by contacting our People & Culture team. Employee pay will vary based on factors such as qualifications, experience, skill level, competencies and work location.