Operations Manager Intern

All 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. Caring for our communities is woven into who we are, and we invest in the places we collectively live, work, and play. We prioritize relationships, fuel and develop talent by creating growth opportunities, and succeed as one Target team.

All About Our Supply Chain Operations Internship

Experience firsthand what it's like to lead a team within a Target Supply Chain Facility. This internship is a paid 40 hr./week, hands-on training program to develop and prepare for your operations leadership. As an Operations Intern, you'll gain a realistic job preview into life as an Operations Manager over a defined period of time. You will work closely with other managers and team members in the building to develop an understanding of how Target's supply chain business works and what it takes to excel in a management role. You'll lead and support the execution of daily operations by working beside your team members and learn to lead, motivate and influence a team, including the opportunity to lead a department.

This program is designed to teach individuals how to lead within a supply chain facility. You will work closely with a Mentor as you take a deeper dive into how they effectively lead their department while gaining a line of sight into different business areas and functions within the building. You will spend your days learning how to problem solve, lead and motivate a team, conduct real-time observations, and drive results, all while ensuring safety is a top priority and that we are maximizing productivity to get products to the guest as fast as possible. During your internship, you will have the opportunity to step into leading your Mentor's work center. Your development will be a top priority, and to ensure you're feeling supported, you can expect ongoing developmental conversations with your Mentor and Manager. We'll be supporting you with extensive training to help you grow as a strong operations intern.

What the Role Can Provide You

• Experience in 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 departments within the distribution center, including Inbound, Outbound, and Warehousing

A Typical Day Includes

• Spending time on the facilities floor helping to lead amongst team members and aligning the team in daily business priorities.
• Working alongside team members to lead through daily priorities.
• Maintaining a high standard of quality and inventory accuracy through standardization of processes (standard works, job breakdowns, and quality risk analysis) while also ensuring employee accountability.
• Tracking various KPIs such as safety, teamwork, quality, and productivity to identify gaps and drive actions to maintain consistent performance.
• Carrying out process improvement initiatives by leveraging CI methodologies such as Gemba, Fish Bone Analysis, and 5 Whys to create a lean, defect-free operation.
• Administering communication between the IT and the Operations team to address system issues and conduct testing in the WMS.
• Recruiting and mentoring team members to adapt a continuous improvement mindset and guide them to take up leadership roles through engaging and inclusive leadership.
• Addressing team member concerns and removing operational hurdles to ensure smooth operations and goal attainment.
• Leading daily meetings for the operational team and sharing pertinent company and site-specific information.
• Leading and presenting at daily planning meetings with peer and leadership teams.
• Planning daily goals and organizing shift plans to achieve targets at the start of shift.
• Providing summaries of results around plan attainment, sharing hurdles, successes, and key learnings to apply moving forward at the end of shift.
• Conducting audits around standard adherence with safety, quality, and productivity, and sharing feedback and coaching team members on audit observations.
• Conducting safety walks in the building to identify, resolve, and report findings.
• Conducting follow-ups on team member attendance and any necessary coaching.
• Partnering with leaders regarding team member performance by teaching, coaching, training, and delivering timely performance feedback.
• Providing new ideas and recommending solutions for business or team opportunities.
• Taking the initiative to learn how to be a Target leader by seeking out opportunities for growth and development; continuously learning throughout the internship experience.
• Committing to learning Target's expectations of leaders and using them to personally develop by asking questions and seeking feedback.
• Actively participating in internship program training activities, developmental opportunities, and events.
• Demonstrating a willingness to take risks, step out of your comfort zone, and take on new assignments.
• Demonstrating a culture of ethical conduct, safety, and compliance; leading the team to work in the same way and holding others accountable to this commitment.
• Fostering an inclusive, safe, and secure culture.
• Carrying out principal duties and responsibilities by the department through internship rotations as trained.
• Understanding business reporting and guest insights to understand, troubleshoot, and follow up on opportunity areas.
• Gaining an understanding of all business areas to develop business acumen.
• Working 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
• Ability to understand instructions, reports, and information
• Ability to climb up and down ladders
• Ability to scan, handle, and move merchandise efficiently and safely, including frequently lifting or moving merchandise up to 15 pounds and occasionally moving merchandise up to 40 pounds
• Flexible work schedule (e.g., nights, weekends, and holidays) and regular work attendance are necessary