Product Manager - Workforce Mgmt

Product Manager - Workforce Management

Must Have's:

JD:

We are seeking a seasoned Product Management Consultant with a deep, firsthand understanding of retail operations to lead the strategy and execution of our store scheduling and workforce management (WFM) platforms. This is not a theoretical role. The ideal consultant has spent time on the retail floor, understands the operational realities of store associates, and possesses the strategic Product Sense required to build systems that balance corporate labor budgets with human‑centric scheduling.

You will act as the Informed Captain for our labor optimization initiatives, bridging the gap between complex engineering algorithms and the everyday reality of store managers.

• Product Strategy & Vision: Define the multi-year product roadmap for retail scheduling systems, ensuring alignment with overall enterprise business goals, compliance laws, and operational budgets.
• Empathy-Driven Discovery: Utilize deep Cognitive Empathy to conduct user research with store managers, regional leads, and associates. Translate their pain points (e.g., rigid shifts, last‑minute changes, compliance fatigue) into actionable product requirements.
• Labor Optimization & Compliance: Partner with Data Science and Operations teams to build predictive scheduling models that accurately forecast labor demands while adhering to local labor laws (predictive scheduling, rest breaks, minor rules).
• Cross‑Functional Leadership: Serve as the strategic bridge between IT Engineering, Data Science, Retail Operations, and Corporate Finance.
• Change Management & Adoption: Own the roll‑out strategy for system updates. Ensure store operations teams are equipped for high adoption rates, minimizing friction during product launches.

• Retail Floor
  
  Experience:
  
  You have worked inside retail stores (as an associate, team lead, or store manager). You know firsthand how a broken schedule impacts morale, turnover, and customer experience.
• Product Management Expertise: 5+ years of experience managing complex B2B or enterprise SaaS products, specifically in Workforce Management (WFM), Human Capital Management (HCM), or Retail Operations Tech.
• Strategic Frameworks: Proven ability to own a domain using models like the Informed Captain
  —making decisive, data‑driven product choices while empowering cross‑functional experts.
• Technical Fluency: Comfort working with complex algorithmic systems, demand forecasting models, and integrations with modern WFM systems.
• Analytical Polish: Strong capability to analyze labor metrics, operational KPIs, and financial impact models to prove product ROI to executive stakeholders.

The Intersection of Domain Expertise & Empathy
The ideal candidate doesn't just build software based on business requirements; they build with a vivid understanding of the store environment. They know that a scheduling system is only successful if it satisfies the business's bottom line and respects the associate's time.