COMPANY:

Southeastern-headquartered, privately held, food retail and wholesale distribution company.

REPORTS/RELATIONSHIPS:

This position will serve as a member of the IT senior leadership team and primary strategic partner to the Chief Information Officer on retail technology. This position reports to the CIO and will manage a team of 14 direct reports.

BASIC FUNCTIONS:

The individual who occupies this position will be responsible for leading the teams responsible for the architecture, design, development, deployment, and ongoing support of highly performant and resilient retail store systems, commerce/payment technologies, and retail hardware/software platforms across Alex Lee Retail. The role ensures that in-store technology enables differentiated guest and host experiences, supports operational excellence, and delivers consistent, secure, and scalable capabilities across all retail formats.  

This leader drives the roadmap for retail systems and integrated payments, partners closely with business stakeholders, and ensures alignment between technology solutions and retail business outcomes. Success requires strong business acumen, deep understanding of retail and payment technologies, and the ability to lead high-performing engineering and product teams. A high level of collaboration and interaction with other IT departments and resources is a requirement for success in this role. Specific duties will include but not necessarily be limited to:

• Lead development of long-term retail and commerce technology strategies aligned to business objective.
• Maintain expertise in emerging retail technology strategies aligned to business objectives.
• Establish and maintain effective working relationships with critical vendors/providers/ partners.
• Lead the assessment, selection, design, and implementation of store system solutions (POS, mobile POS, SCO, peripherals, scale/scanner tech, and back-office retail systems).  
• Ensure seamless integration of new store technologies into the broader systems framework.
• Collaborate with retail operations, merchandising, and other stakeholders to define and maintain a unified in-store technology roadmap.
• As requested, consult with Wholesale Retail Services leadership on retail technology strategies.  
• Define, maintain, and govern the IT Retail Technology Plan and three- to five-year enterprise and store technology roadmaps that optimize investments and coordinate architecture efforts across major domains including application, data, integration, infrastructure, cloud, and security.  
• Recommend and participate in the analysis, evaluation, and development of initiatives that will provide a level of differentiation for the in-store experience for both employees (hosts) and customers (guests).
• Lead payment solution strategy, implementation, and vendor management (e.g., Mastercard, Visa, processors).
• Oversee payment security, compliance, risk identification, and mitigation.
• Ensure payment experiences are consistent, secure, and aligned with omnichannel commerce needs.
• Stay current on payment trends such as BNPL, OTC Healthcare Payments, etc., and recommend implementation strategies to key business stakeholders in a timely manner.
• Oversee solution delivery with disciplined project planning, execution, and budget adherence.
• Ensure compliance with IT policies, standards, documentation, communication, and quality controls.
• Negotiate contracts, pricing, and hardware/software procurement across retail technology domains.
• Provide coaching, mentorship, and leadership for managers, engineers, analysts, and technical specialists.
• Foster a culture of innovation, performance excellence, and continuous learning.
• Maintain 24/7 operational readiness through appropriate staffing, rotations, and leadership oversight.
  
  

REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum of 12 years of progressive experience in retail systems, store operations technology, or commerce/payments technology.
• Deep expertise in retail store systems (POS, mobile POS, SCO, scale/scanner technologies, peripheral integration).
• Strong understanding of payment processing, payment security, and vendor ecosystems.
• Working knowledge of data flows and system integrations relevant to retail systems.
• Proven ability to translate technical concepts into business language for diverse audiences.
• Strong interpersonal, negotiation, and vendor-management skills.
• Demonstrated success leading multi-disciplinary technical teams of 15-25 FTEs.
• Regularly able to operate under deadlines and may be subject to elevated workloads.
• Demonstrated record of high degree of accuracy in work; errors in work (of self or of work of directed others) may result in business delays, unnecessary expense, or operational disruption.
• Capable of managing multiple initiatives and competing priorities while simultaneously providing leadership, guidance, and consulting value.
• A bachelor’s degree in information technology, computer science, or a related field is required; a master’s degree is preferred.
  
  

COMPENSATION:

Compensation will be commensurate with experience including a competitive base salary, bonus opportunity, and competitive benefits package.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Joy Abbott, Search Consultant
jabbott@CLCBsearch.com
704.377.0362