Director, Product Transformation & Operations

About the job

Serving the needs of all families with young children, Carter’s Inc. is the largest North American apparel retailer exclusively for babies and young children, encompassing Carter’s, OshKosh B’gosh, Skip*Hop and Little Planet brands. Meaningful work, constant learning, genuine people, and a community guided by core values that promote inclusion and innovation is in everything we do. There are many reasons to build your career at Carter's.

How you’ll make an impact:

The Director Product Transformation & Operations will play a critical leadership role in advancing the effectiveness, efficiency, and capabilities of the Product Creation organization. Working closely with the Chief Product Officer and Product Creation leadership team, this role will lead initiatives across technology enablement, process improvement, and day-to-day operating effectiveness spanning Design, Art, Merchandising, Technical Design, Product Development, and related functions.
The Director will serve as a strategic connector across go-to-market, Product Creation and the broader organization, partnering with Technology, Marketing, Channels, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, and other functions to ensure teams, processes, and technology are aligned to business priorities. This role combines strategy, transformation, product management, program leadership, and operational execution.

• 40% - Product Creation Technology & Digital Enablement:
• Own and advance the Product Creation technology roadmap, identifying and prioritizing capabilities that improve speed, productivity, collaboration, decision-making, and the end-to-end product creation experience.
• Serve as the business-side product owner for Product Creation technologies, translating business opportunities and user needs into requirements, use cases, priorities, and implementation roadmaps.
• Lead business execution of major technology implementations from business case and requirements development through testing, deployment, adoption, and value realization, in close partnership with Technology teams.
• Establish governance and prioritization for Product Creation technology initiatives, balancing business value, investment, organizational capacity, dependencies, and implementation complexity.
• Partner with Product Creation leaders to identify opportunities to leverage AI, automation, digital product creation, analytics, workflow tools, and emerging technologies.
• Drive adoption and change management so new capabilities become embedded in how teams work and deliver measurable business value.
• 40% - Process Improvement & Operational Excellence:
• Identify and lead opportunities to simplify, standardize, and improve Product Creation processes, reducing cycle time, unnecessary complexity, rework, and non-value-added activity, spanning Design, Art, Merchandising, Technical Design, Product Development, and adjacent functions.
• Assess current-state processes, identify root causes and pain points, and design future-state workflows that enable faster and better decision-making.
• Establish clear processes, roles, decision rights, handoffs, and governance to improve accountability and execution.
• Coordinate major cross-functional initiatives and provide visibility on organizational priorities, progress, risks, dependencies, and decisions required.
• Facilitate key leadership forums and cross-functional working sessions, ensuring discussions result in clear decisions, ownership, and follow-through.
• Ensure process and technology transformation are connected, using technology to enable better processes rather than simply digitizing existing ways of working.
• 20% - Cross-Functional Transformation & Change Leadership:
• Serve as a key connector between Product Creation and Channels, Marketing, Technology, Supply Chain, Operations, Finance, and other enterprise functions.
• Lead complex initiatives that cross traditional functional boundaries and require alignment among multiple senior stakeholders.
• Support annual and long-range planning, translating strategic priorities into actionable initiatives, roadmaps, and resource requirements.
• Develop compelling business cases and executive recommendations that translate complex problems into clear choices and actions.
• Drive organizational change through effective stakeholder engagement, communications, training, and adoption strategies.

• WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU IF:
• Must have:
• 10+ years of progressive experience in strategy, operations, transformation, product management, program management, process improvement, or related disciplines, preferably within retail, apparel, consumer products, or another product-driven organization.
• Demonstrated experience leading large-scale cross-functional transformation initiatives involving process, technology, and organizational change.
• Experience developing and managing technology or digital capability roadmaps from a business/product perspective.
• Proven ability to translate business needs into technology requirements and partner effectively with Technology teams through implementation.
• Strong process improvement capabilities, with experience designing and implementing new operating processes and ways of working.
• Experience working directly with senior executives and influencing leaders across multiple functions.
• Familiarity with apparel or consumer product development processes, including Design, Merchandising, Product Development, Technical Design, Sourcing, or related functions, strongly preferred.
• Experience with PLM, digital product creation, workflow platforms, AI/automation, or other Product Creation technologies is beneficial; deep technical expertise is not required.
• Strong strategic thinking, executive communication, stakeholder management, and financial acumen.
• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Ability to travel as needed.

NOTE: This job description is not intended to be all-inclusive. The duties described may be changed or reassigned at the discretion of management, and the employee may be required to perform duties that are not listed in the job description.

Carters is committed to creating a diverse environment and is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, veteran status, or any other status protected by federal, state, or local law.