Senior Manager - Stores Technology Ops

We are Woolworths Group

We are Woolworths Group. 200,000+ bright minds, passionate hearts and unique perspectives connected by a shared Purpose – ‘to create better experiences together for a better tomorrow.’ It’s that Purpose that fuels our ambition to explore new ideas, make brave commitments and innovate better ways to meet the food and everyday needs of more than 24 million customers every week. 

If you’re excited to turn today’s blue sky thinking into a better tomorrow for future generations, you’ll find yourself supported and enriched in a dynamic, inclusive and empowering workplace that reflects the diverse communities we serve. With a culture of genuine care, a flexible approach to work and opportunities across the group to grow your career and make a meaningful impact, the possibilities for what we can achieve together are endless.

What you’ll do:

• Major Incident & Operational Escalation Management

  • Act as the single primary escalation point for all major operational issues across Front of Store, Back Office,360, and Store Digital applications.

  • Lead high-severity incident triage (P1/P2), coordinating cross-functional engineering teams, platform owners, and vendor support to restore store operations rapidly.

  • Manage major incident communications, providing clear status updates, business impact assessments, and resolution timelines to IT Directors and store management.

  • Orchestrate technical investigation and root-cause isolation across operation leads and product managers to expedite complex operational resolution.

• Proactive Operational Excellence

  • Lead a proactive operational excellence roadmap, focusing on major incident prevention.

  • Champion proactive telemetry initiatives, holding product streams accountable for building robust monitoring.

  • Drive cross-functional commitment to operational automation (e.g. self-healing capability, automated health checks, AI monitoring and Agentic resolution).

• Vendor & Partner Governance

  • Oversee performance and service delivery of Managed Services (MS) and Partner Supported (PS) vendors handling store software applications.

  • Monitor vendor compliance with Incident, Problem, and Change Management SLAs.

  • Conduct regular operational reviews with partners to track open issues, defect backlogs, software packaging, and distribution quality (working with design, packaging, distribution Leads).

• Management Conduit & Stakeholder Engagement

  • Function as the primary operational conduit to IT Stores Leadership 

  • Provide structured reporting on operational health, application trend analysis, recurring problem areas, and support readiness.

  • Lead post-incident reviews (PIRs) and drive systemic problem management to prevent issue recurrence.

  • Support state operations and store support queries as they relate to IT store applications.

• Operational Readiness & Project Handover

  • Partner with Architecture and Project Delivery to ensure seamless operational handover of new applications, features, and platform updates.

  • Ensure support documentation, runbooks, and monitoring alerts are fully defined before new releases go live in store.

  • Manage cross-functional peak trade readiness preparation and continuous improvement.

What you’ll bring:

• 10+ years extensive IT Service Delivery experience, with a specific strong focus on delivering operational excellence.

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with strong stakeholder management experience across multiple domains and levels of an organisation.

• Deep familiarity with ITIL, including evidenced competency across business continuity, service management, change control, and Issue & problem management.

• Demonstrated vendor/supplier management, specifically holding third-party operational providers accountable to strict performance targets.

• Advanced problem solving and analytical ability, enabling the quick resolution of complex issues.

• Risk management capability: ability to proactively identify, evaluate, monitor, and drive risk management.

• Values Alignment: A collaborative, enthusiastic approach that embodies caring deeply, listening and learning, always doing the right thing, and striving for operational excellence.

What you’ll experience

• A commitment to flexibility through a hybrid working model which combines time spent at a support office and time working from home, supporting both in-person connection and balancing the flexibility that remote working provides for our teams

• High-impact role supporting our teams who enrich our communities. 

• A leading business with endless career possibilities around every corner and across every discipline – with valuable exposure to a vast and exciting business network.

• A range of programs to help you prioritise and manage your wellbeing, including 24/7 access to the Sonder app.

• A progressive and competitive leave policy that gives you more space for what matters to you.  

• Team discounts across our range of Woolworths Group brands you know and love and a robust rewards program that celebrates and incentivises purpose-driven work.

Everyone belongs at Woolworths Group

Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are key to realising our purpose of better together for a better tomorrow. We recognise the value our team’s diversity brings to our business, customers, and communities and that teams with diverse experiences and backgrounds enrich our group and are better able to innovate and solve problems. As one of the largest employers in Australia and New Zealand, we aim to create a truly inclusive workplace where everyone feels that they belong, can be their best selves, and reach their full potential.

We encourage all candidates to apply; please let us know in your application if we can support you with any adjustments in the hiring process.