The posting
The Director, Labor Strategy defines and leads the enterprise labor strategy for Guitar Center’s store fleet, ensuring labor investment aligns with customer demand, service expectations, productivity goals, and profitable growth. Reporting to the Vice President, Retail Operations, this role owns the labor operating model, workforce planning frameworks, labor governance, commission governance, scheduling standards, and labor performance analytics across retail.
This leader partners cross-functionally to ensure store labor plans support business priorities, maintain compensation accuracy, and deliver a consistent, productive, and customer-centered store experience while evolving labor models, tools, and analytics to support changing traffic patterns, omni-channel demand, and future store formats.
WHAT YOU’LL DO
Labor Strategy & Operating Model
- Own the enterprise store labor strategy, including labor models, staffing frameworks, scheduling principles, role deployment, productivity standards, and labor guardrails across the store fleet
- Develop labor strategies that flex with traffic, peak seasons, and omni-channel demand
- Establish service-level targets and productivity benchmarks across sales, service, and support roles in partnership with Retail Operations
Commission Governance & Compensation Accuracy
- Own governance of monthly sales associate commission methodology, controls, and validation processes to ensure accurate, timely, and transparent compensation outcomes
- Partner with Finance, Payroll, and IT to ensure commissions are calculated, validated, and paid accurately and on time
- Identify and resolve commission discrepancies and implement controls that ensure transparency and audit readiness
Retail Analytics & Performance Insights
- Own labor-related performance analytics, dashboards, scorecards, and executive reporting across productivity, payroll, staffing effectiveness, service throughput
- Translate complex data into actionable insights that help field leadership and senior executives identifying risks, trends, and opportunities to improve labor productivity, service, store execution, and customer outcomes.
- Partner cross-functionally with Finance, Merchandising, and Retail Operations to ensure consistent metrics, definitions, and performance reporting
- Ad hoc analyses as required
Systems Testing & Change Management
- Lead downstream labor and commission testing when POS, sales attribution logic, or compensation-impacting system changes occur
- Partner with IT and Retail Operations to ensure testing scenarios validate commission accuracy, sales crediting, and payroll impact prior to release
- Establish regression testing standards, issue resolution protocols, and post-launch monitoring processes for labor- and compensation-related system changes
Financial Planning & Labor Governance
- Own labor budgeting frameworks, forecasting methodologies, and performance tracking to ensure alignment with financial targets while preserving service effectiveness and associate experience.
- Monitor labor performance against plan and deploy corrective strategies to improve productivity and labor
Workforce Management, Systems & Change Management
- Partner with IT and HR to optimize workforce management, scheduling, timekeeping systems, and POS systems that impact labor planning and commission accuracy
- Lead testing and validation for system changes affecting sales, labor planning, or compensation Establish monitoring and governance processes to ensure system integrity and payroll accuracy.
Performance Optimization
- Analyze labor productivity, conversion, service throughput, and cost metrics to identify opportunities to improve staffing effectiveness and store execution
- Develop labor playbooks, field guidance, and best practices to drive consistent execution of labor standards.
- Lead pilots and strategic initiatives tied to new labor models, service expansion, workload changes, and productivity improvement opportunities.
Leadership & Cross-Functional Partnership
- Build and lead a high-performing labor strategy and analytics team while fostering a disciplined, data-driven culture
- Partner with Finance, HR, Retail Operations, Repairs & Rentals, Merchandising, and IT to ensure labor and commission strategy supports enterprise objectives
- Provide tools, communication, and guidance to field leadership that clarify labor expectations and compensation mechanics
REQUIREMENTS:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience; Business, Finance, Economics, or related field preferred
- 7+ years of experience in multi-unit retail operations, labor strategy, workforce planning, compensation analytics, financial planning, or related analytical roles supporting retail organizations
- Experience developing labor models, staffing frameworks, and productivity standards in multi-unit retail environments, including oversight of commission-based compensation programs
- Strong financial and analytical acumen, including forecasting, productivity modeling, and payroll impact analysis
- Experience partnering cross-functionally with Finance, HR, IT, and Retail Operations to implement operational or systems-related initiatives
- Advanced analytical, communication, and project management skills, with the ability to translate complex data into actionable insights for senior leaders
- Proficiency with retail POS systems and Microsoft Office (Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Outlook); experience with Omni Analytics or similar platforms preferred
- Ability to operate effectively in a fast-paced, high-change environment
About Guitar Center
The Guitar Center Company embodies the world of creativity and music by encouraging our teammates to find their own individual sound. Our mission is to develop and nurture lifelong musicians and make a difference in the world by enabling musicians and non-musicians alike to experience the joy that comes from creating music. We believe in putting our customers first, engaging with respect and integrity and fulfilling our mission with passion.
The Guitar Center Company operates through several business divisions. Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards, recording, live sound, DJ, and lighting equipment, with more than 290 stores across the United States. 2014 marked the milestone 50th anniversary of the Guitar Center Company as the organization continues to help people make music from coast to coast.
E-Commerce brands Guitar Center, Musician's Friend and WWBW offer online sales of a broad selection of music products. The Music & Arts division operates more than 220 stores specializing in band & orchestral instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors, and students since 1952. AVDG and GCPro headline the enterprise audio-visual integration business, delivering a best-in-class commercial and residential customer experience.
Why Guitar Center? Here’s just some of the rewards:
For our employees who are musicians we offer the unique opportunity of gig leave—take time off to share your music with the world and return to your job after your tour! Guitar Center offers robust benefits and perks, including Medical, Dental, Vision, 401K plus company match, mental health support, paid sick/holiday/vacation time, employee discount program, and tuition reimbursement options.
Pay Rate: $164,457- $200,000 depending on background and experience.
This position is eligible to participate in the Guitar Center Company bonus program based on Company performance. The job posting is not necessarily reflective of actual compensation that may be earned, nor a promise of any specific pay for any specific employee, which is always dependent on actual experience, education, and other factors. The pay range(s) listed are provided in compliance with state specific laws. Pay ranges may be different in other locations.
Guitar Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides fair and equal employment opportunity to all employees and applicants regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, age, disability, veteran status or any other protected status prohibited under Federal, State, or local laws. All employment decisions are based on valid job‐related requirements.
If you are a qualified individual with a disability or a disabled veteran and are unable or limited in your ability to use or access our website, you may request a reasonable accommodation to express interest in a specific opening. You can request reasonable accommodation by calling 1‐818-735-8800 ext. 2862 or by sending an email to [email protected].
Why join us?
With a career at Guitar Center, you become part of the world's largest multichannel musical instrument retailer. Whether at our Stores, Contact Centers, Distribution Centers, or Support Center, Guitar Center employees have a common goal: to help people find their sound and fill the world with more music.
Love this gig and want to apply?
Send your resume and cover letter today along with salary expectations!
