Manager, Community and Store Experience

About the Team

There are a lot of activities that happen in our stores so we have a strong cross-functional team focused on doing Anything for Pets by supporting the store teams through effective communications, processes and initiatives. The Store Strategy & Operations department leads the way to support all store activities and define business-driving strategies. The Workforce, Insights & Planning team owns labor optimization and reporting needs. The Operations & Innovation team owns merchandise execution, process improvement, compliance, store technology and innovation. And the Strategy team leads all the business-driving efforts for Salon, PetsHotel, Pet Training and In-store customer experience. These teams work diligently to ensure our associates, pets and pet parents are supported, while operating efficiently to drive the business.

About the Location

Collaborative Work Environment:At PetSmart, teamwork and connection are core to how we thrive. This role is based at our Phoenix Home Office, with an expectation of working a minimum of four days in the office each week. In a standard work week, associates may work up to one remote “flex day” (with leader approval). Our hybrid approach is designed to foster strong collaboration while also supporting flexibility and individual success.

About the Job

The Manager, Community and Store Experience is responsible for integrating Customer Experience across the business and enabling successful execution of in-store events, adoption programs, and community initiatives. This role oversees and owns the in-store Voice of the Customer program and customer experience vendor partnerships, applies customer and associate insights to improve experiences, and partners across Operations, Charities, Marketing, Loyalty, the Field, and other cross-functional teams. The position identifies operational obstacles, reduces store friction, and enables programs that improve customer experience, conversion, attachment, loyalty, and long-term sales growth.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities

• Champions the integration of Customer Experience into cross-functional initiatives, ensuring the customer and associate experience is considered in program design and store execution.
• Oversee the CX program vendor relationships, platform, and in-store Voice of the Customer program, including program enhancements, stakeholder alignment, and ongoing business support.
• Own the customer service model and in-store loyalty focus, translating customer experience strategies into clear, practical, and executable store behaviors and processes.
• Direct in-store events and community initiatives, including national, local, sampling, adoption, and donation programs, with an emphasis on consistent execution and driving sales.
• Drive alignment between Operations and Strategy through the commercial calendar for customer experience, event, adoption, and community activities.
• Partner with PetSmart Charities and other cross-functional teams to align adoption and community strategies with operational execution and store readiness.
• Identify operational obstacles and sources of store noise across customer experience, adoption, and event programs and develop recommendations and drive solutions that simplify execution and support future enhancements.
• Foster partnerships between Field and Store Operations to gather feedback, validate execution requirements, and ensure programs are designed in the best interest of stores, customers, associates, and brand.
• Oversee the collection and analysis of customer, associate, event, and adoption data, including field outlier follow-up, to identify opportunities and improve program performance and business results.
• Support additional store experience, community, event, and customer experience programs and activities as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• Develops and oversees a team responsible for customer and associate experience, in-store events, adoption programs, and community initiatives, including prioritization of work, quality of deliverables, and cross-functional partnership.
• Responsible for coaching, prioritization, organizational capability development, succession planning, and performance management across supported teams.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university in business administration, retail management, customer experience, marketing, community relations, or a related field is preferred.
• 5-7 years of retail operations, customer experience, event management, community programs, program management, or related experience is required.
• Previous leadership experience preferred.
• Equivalent combination of education and experience is required.

Knowledge, Skills & Abilities