Operations Manager Intern

About Target

As a Fortune 50 company with more than 400,000 team members worldwide, Target is an iconic brand and one of America's leading retailers. Working at Target means the opportunity to help all families discover the joy of everyday life. We care for our communities, invest in the places we live, work, and play, and succeed as one Target team.

About the Supply Chain Operations Internship

Experience firsthand what it's like to lead a team within a Target Supply Chain Facility. This paid, 40-hour-per-week, hands-on training program prepares you for operations leadership. As an Operations Intern, you'll gain a realistic job preview into life as an Operations Manager over a defined period. You'll work closely with managers and team members to understand how Target's supply chain works and what it takes to excel in a management role. You'll lead and support daily operations by working beside your team, learning to lead, motivate, and influence a team, including the opportunity to lead a department.

This program is designed to teach you how to lead within a supply chain facility. You'll work closely with a Mentor as you dive deeper into how they effectively lead their department while gaining insight into different business areas and functions. You'll spend your days learning to problem solve, lead and motivate a team, conduct real-time observations, and drive results, all while ensuring safety is a top priority and maximizing productivity to get products to guests as fast as possible. During your internship, you'll have the opportunity to step into leading your Mentor's work center. Your development is a top priority, and you can expect ongoing developmental conversations with your Mentor and Manager. Extensive training will support you as you grow as a strong operations intern.

What You'll Gain

• Experience building and managing a team culture across the building
• Problem-solving and change management skills
• Knowledge of retail business fundamentals
• Experience setting and planning department(s) daily/weekly workload to support business priorities and managing a team to deliver goals
• Experience managing a team of hourly team members and creating business strategies and goals
• Knowledge of distribution center departments including Inbound, Outbound, and Warehousing

Responsibilities

• Spend time on the facility floor helping to lead amongst team members and aligning the team in daily business priorities.
• Work alongside team members to lead through daily priorities.
• Maintain a high standard of quality and inventory accuracy through standardized processes (standard works, job breakdowns, quality risk analysis) while ensuring employee accountability.
• Track KPIs such as safety, teamwork, quality, and productivity to identify gaps and drive actions for consistent performance.
• Carry out process improvement initiatives by leveraging CI methodologies such as Gemba, Fish Bone Analysis, and 5 Whys to create a lean, defect-free operation.
• Administer communication between IT and Operations to address system issues and conduct testing in the WMS.
• Recruit and mentor team members to adopt a continuous improvement mindset and guide them toward leadership roles through engaging, inclusive leadership.
• Address team member concerns and remove operational hurdles to ensure smooth operations and goal attainment.
• Lead daily meetings for the operational team, sharing pertinent company and site-specific information.
• Lead or present at daily planning meetings with peer and leadership teams.
• Plan daily goals and organize shift plans to achieve targets at the start of shift.
• Provide summaries of results around plan attainment, share hurdles, successes, and key learnings to apply moving forward at the end of shift.
• Conduct audits around standard adherence with safety, quality, and productivity. Share feedback and coach team members on audit observations.
• Conduct safety walks in the building to identify, resolve, and report findings.
• Conduct follow-ups on team member attendance and any necessary coaching.
• Partner with leaders regarding team member performance by teaching, coaching, training, and delivering timely feedback.
• Provide new ideas and recommend solutions for business or team opportunities.
• Take the initiative to learn how to be a Target leader by seeking growth and development opportunities; continuously learn throughout the internship.
• Commit to learning Target's expectations of leaders and use them to personally develop by asking questions and seeking feedback.
• Actively participate in internship program training activities, developmental opportunities, and events.
• Demonstrate a willingness to take risks; step out of your comfort zone and take on new assignments.
• Demonstrate a culture of ethical conduct, safety, and compliance; lead the team to work in the same way and hold others accountable.
• Foster an inclusive, safe, and secure culture.
• Carry out principle duties and responsibilities by the department through internship rotations as trained.
• Understand business reporting and guest insights to understand, troubleshoot, and follow up on opportunity areas.
• Gain an understanding of all business areas to develop business acumen.
• Work with building leaders each day to set goals and expectations.

About You

We might be a great match if:

• Working in a fun and energetic environment makes you excited... We work efficiently and as a team to deliver for our guests.
• You enjoy the idea of leading teams who are working to get products to our stores and guests... That's the core of what we do.
• You aren't looking for a Monday through Friday job where you are at a computer all day... We are busy, often working different shifts in a 24-hour building getting merchandise to our teams and guests.

The good news is that we have some amazing training that will help teach you how to be an effective leader within our facilities. But there are a few skills you should have from the get-go:

• Participation in school or extracurricular activities and experience in leadership roles
• Strong interest in working in retail, specifically within our supply chain facilities
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively
• Problem-solving skills and strong initiative
• Team-oriented thinking with enthusiasm for continuous learning
• Ability to access all levels and areas of the facility to respond to team member issues.
• Understand instructions, reports, and information
• Climb up and down ladders
• Scan, handle, and move merchandise efficiently and safely, including frequently lifting or moving merchandise up to 15 pounds and occasionally up to 40 pounds
• Flexible work schedule (e.g., nights, weekends, and holidays) and regular work attendance are necessary