Director of Operations

Job Description

We are hiring a Director of Operations for our client in footwear to own how their product moves — from overseas factory to US warehouse. To a customer's doorstep, a wholesale account, or an Amazon fulfillment center.

Global Supply Chain — Demand-informed buy planning, factory purchase orders and capacity, ocean freight and routing, US customs clearance, tariff strategy and refund recovery, international export/import compliance, and the contracts underneath all of it.

Commercial Operations — At-once and futures order fulfillment, 3PL and WMS management, DTC and Amazon order flow, product data across systems, returns and damages, and the customer service partnership.

These are outcomes, not activities. We care about results you can point to.

• A buy plan that keeps us in stock without drowning us in inventory. Build the seasonal essentials buy off blended DTC, Amazon and wholesale demand signal, in alignment with Sales and Product. Work with cross-functional partners to manage months-on-hand, in-stock levels, minimizing excess and obsolete inventory. Bring foresight on inventory concerns and flag the styles and sizes that deserve attention.
• Landed cost and duty exposure managed as a lever, not an afterthought. Own freight routing, container utilization, customs clearance, and tariff strategy. Risk‑mitigation for potential customs holds or penalties, bond and registrations always current, and an active refund‑tracking discipline. (
  
  Note:
  
  FOB and material cost sit with Product; this outcome covers everything downstream of it.)
• Orders that ship on time and correct, in every channel. Manage outbound across DTC, Amazon, and wholesale. Full routing compliance with key accounts and zero chargebacks.
• Product data that's right the first time. Every SKU correctly built and connected across Shopify, WMS, and Amazon  oversells at launch moments, no orphaned listings, no sync drift.
• Partners held to their agreements. Factory, freight forwarders, 3PLs, customs broker, CS agency, Loop, Treet. Audit their invoices, hold their SLAs, and renegotiate when the terms stop making sense. We've moved outbound shipping to a materially better rate — do that again somewhere else.

Hold the CS partnership to agreed response, resolution, and satisfaction targets across DTC and Amazon. Close the loop with the factory on quality issues rather than absorbing them ticket by ticket.

• Operational continuity that doesn't depend on you being reachable. Within 90 days, a documented operating calendar and SOP set covering every recurring and event-triggered process — so a two-week absence isn't a business risk.

• Build the essentials buy plan from blended DTC, Amazon, and wholesale demand forecasts
• Place PO packages to factory spec — quantities, packing instructions, GTINs, barcodes, UPC and UCC labels
• Manage factory open capacity and ex‑factory dates; adjust for launches and wholesale demand
• Optimize container loads for ocean freight utilization

• Manage logistics contracts and select ocean carriers and routes on capacity and rate
• Own export documentation and commercial‑document compliance between factory and carrier
• Coordinate inbound trucking on customs release, and outbound trucking for wholesale orders

• Oversee US customs clearance and commercial documentation
• Maintain the customs bond, product registrations, and country‑specific footwear labeling compliance
• Manage tariff classification, exposure, and the refund application process

• Manage inbound containers, product and inventory data in the WMS, and warehouses
• Create compliant carton labels for 3PL and Amazon inbounding
• Oversee returns, damaged product, and damaged packaging workflows
• Review shipping rates and methods; keep DTC and B2B pack‑out efficient
• Optimize inventory positions across multiple warehouses
• Optimize cost efficiencies with 3PL partner

• Ensure timely outbound from both warehouses across Shopify and Amazon
• Manage fraud orders,…