Apparel Operations Manager Full Time NEW

Chelsea Piers is seeking an experienced Apparel Operations Manager to lead and modernize our apparel and merchandise function. This is a contract-to-hire engagement — we want someone who will hit the ground running, keep day-to-day operations intact, and in parallel, conduct a serious operational assessment of how we work, what is broken, and what we should do differently.

This role owns everything from employee uniforms and competitive team outfitting to retail, new member gifts, and spirit-wear across all Chelsea Piers locations. You will also be a central player in the onboarding of a new enterprise apparel partnership — a major transition that requires experienced hands.

Marketing owns design support. You own operations, vendor relationships, and execution.

90-Day Priorities

• Stabilize
• Take full ownership of active vendor relationships (Soccer Post, BSN, 3PL ShipDudes, and incoming partner)
• Ensure no gaps in uniform delivery, inventory replenishment, or new member gift fulfillment
• Get up to speed on all open orders, pending deadlines, and in-flight projects
• Assess
• Conduct a structured operational review across Fitness, Competitive Teams, and Sports Venues
• Identify gaps in process, inventory management, vendor performance, and reporting
• Evaluate the current time and resource allocation across business units
• Deliver a written assessment with specific, prioritized recommendations by day 60
• Execute on the Partnership Transition
• Lead the onboarding of Chelsea Piers’ new enterprise apparel partner
• Manage transition timelines, contract alignment, and rollout across all business units
• Ensure continuity — no disruption to programming, employee outfitting, or competitive uniforms during the transition

Ongoing Responsibilities

• Vendor & Partner Management
• Own all vendor relationships across apparel, uniform, retail, and fulfillment (3PL)
• Ensure Chelsea Piers is maximizing partnership terms, promotional allocations, and service levels
• Manage the day-to-day operational relationship with the incoming enterprise apparel partner
• Hold vendors accountable to timelines, quality standards, and contractual commitments
• Employee & Program Uniforms
• Manage the full employee outfitting cycle (ordering, inventory, replenishment, and style consistency across locations)
• Coordinate competitive team ordering with sport directors
• Maintain uniform stock levels across venues and ensure on-time delivery for all programming windows
• Work with marketing on design direction for new uniform items (marketing executes; you direct)
• Chelsea Piers Fitness — Retail & New Member Gifts
• Manage new member gift inventory and 3PL fulfillment relationship
• Provide monthly inventory and replenishment reports to leadership
• Support the development of a retail program in partnership with the CPF Marketing Director
• Establish and maintain policies for in-club retail sales and tracking
• Spirit-Wear
• Manage the Chelsea Piers spirit-wear store through Soccer Post
• Rotate offerings seasonally and ensure product mix stays relevant
• Coordinate with marketing and IT on traffic-driving and promotion
• Operations & Reporting
• Build and maintain inventory tracking systems across all merchandise categories
• Provide monthly reporting on retail sales, uniform inventory, and gift item levels
• Develop and document standard operating procedures for the function
• Proactively surface issues, flag risks, and recommend solutions

Qualifications

• 3+ years in apparel or operations
• Demonstrated experience managing multi-vendor relationships and complex ordering cycles
• Strong project management skills
• Experienced with inventory management and reporting
• Excellent communicator (written + verbal)
• Proficient in Microsoft Office, and Claude AI
• Comfortable operating independently with limited oversight
• Preferred experience in sports
• Bachelor’s degree

What We’re Looking For

Chelsea Piers operates at significant scale across our sports and fitness businesses. Our apparel function touches every business unit.

We are looking for someone with operational experience who can run the function from day one and also push us to do better. The right person is equal parts executor and analyst — they keep things moving while building toward something more scalable.

This position begins as a 90-day contract engagement with the explicit goal of transitioning to a full-time role for the right candidate. Compensation for the full-time role will be commensurate with experience.