In your role as
Store Operations Inventory Specialist at The North West Company (TNWC), you will be responsible for driving inventory accuracy, compliance, and process consistency across our stores for both Food and General Merchandise, supporting sales growth and profitability by achieving targeted On‑Shelf Availability (OSA). Acting as the key operational point of contact, this role partners with cross‑functional teams to ensure best‑practice execution, identify gaps, drive process improvements, and enable effective operational decision‑making.
Joining the Operations Team at NWC gives you the opportunity for growth and development throughout the company, a competitive salary, and benefits package, and to be part of a dynamic and diverse culture.
TNWC is a leading retailer to under-served rural communities and urban neighborhood markets in the following regions: Northern Canada, Western Canada, rural Alaska, the South Pacific islands, and the Caribbean. Our stores offer a broad range of products and services with an emphasis on food. Our value offer is to be the best local shopping choice for everyday household and local lifestyle needs. Check out northwest.ca for more information.
Your Role:
- Ensure accurate store inventory records across Food and General Merchandise by monitoring on-hand balances and addressing discrepancies, including negative inventory and other anomalies.
- Support the identification of items, categories, or locations that are at higher risk for shrink, poor availability, or poor inventory inaccuracy.
- Monitor store compliance with inventory‑related operating procedures across Food and General Merchandise, including but not limited to receiving, inventory counts, ordering, transfers, POS scanning and compliance, shrink management, and inventory reporting.
- Identify gaps in store and corporate execution that negatively impact product availability or contribute to avoidable shrink, and work with partners to drive corrective actions and process improvements.
- Analyze inventory and operational data to identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities and translating findings into actionable insights.
- Monitor KPIs using dashboards and other reporting , investigating exceptions to identify root causes and support effective resolution.
- Work with IT and data management partners to m aintain and enhance operational reporting related to on‑shelf availability, process compliance, and impact to sales and profitability.
- Lead and support improvements to inventory management processes and controls, acting as the liaison between Store Operations and cross‑functional partners to address systemic issues, process gaps, or technology constraints.
- Provide inventory and an auto-replenishment/OSA expertise during higher‑risk situations, ensuring inventory‑related priorities, issues, and actions are clearly communicated and managed through resolution
- Provide stores with on-going support, training, and communication by partnering with Learning and Development team to create and maintain store‑facing inventory training and documentation, while providing coaching, guidance, and follow‑up to support consistent execution of inventory best practices.
- Provide multi-market oversight and support through operational issue resolution, including responding to support tickets and conducting regular store visits to validate execution, identify improvement opportunities, and reinforce accountability.
Desired Skills & Experience:
- 5+ years’ experience in retail operations, including at least 2 years in a store or direct store‑support role, with strong knowledge of inventory accuracy, in‑stock performance, and inventory controls.
- Diploma in Business, Supply Chain, Operations, Business Analysis, Data Science, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
- Strong communication and relationship‑building skills, with the ability to coach store teams, work cross‑functionally, and influence change.
- Strong analytical and problem‑solving skills.
- Intermediate to advanced Excel skills.
- Ability to work independently and manage competing priorities.
- Experience with automated or computer‑assisted replenishment, forecasting, or ordering systems.
- Understanding of supply chain and logistics, including experience supporting multi‑store or remote, high‑complexity retail environments.
- Ability to travel to remote northern locations for up to 12 weeks annually.
- Ability to lift up to 30 lbs.
Location: Gibraltar House - 77 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB
Reports to: General Manager, Canadian Store Operations
We create a collaborative and constructive culture by:
Being Enterprising • Committing to our Customer • Working with Passion • Leading and Developing Others • Demonstrating Respect and Inclusivity • Building Trust
The North West Company is committed to inclusion and diversity and encourages applications from all candidates including but not limited to: all religions and ethnicities, LGBTQ2s+, BIPOC, and persons with disabilities.
A competitive salary is being offered along with opportunities to learn, develop and advance throughout the organization. We thank all applicants for their interest; however, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.
This is an active job opening for a position that is currently available and we are actively seeking to fill.
This position adheres to the Corporate Application Process Guidelines.
