Vice President - Retail Construction & Field Execution

Neverland Worldwide is conducting a confidential executive search on behalf of a large national retail services organization seeking a Vice President of Strategic Services with deep experience leading retail construction, store remodel, new store, rollout, fixture installation, and multi-site field execution programs. This is a senior leadership role for an executive who understands how complex retail construction and field programs actually get executed at scale. The right candidate has led large distributed teams, managed multiple retail construction or remodel programs at once, worked directly with national retailers, and knows how to drive consistency, quality, schedule discipline, labor performance, and client confidence across hundreds or thousands of locations. This is not a merchandising-only role. Candidates should bring substantial experience in retail construction, store development, remodels, refreshes, rollouts, fixture programs, or construction-adjacent retail services.

About the Role

The Vice President of Strategic Services will oversee large-scale retail programs that may include new store openings, store remodels, refreshes, fixture installations, resets, store mapping, surveys, site readiness, punch lists, closeout processes, and other complex field initiatives. This leader will operate at both the executive and field level—partnering with clients, internal operations, project leadership, field teams, labor partners, and executive leadership to ensure programs are executed profitably, consistently, and with a high degree of accountability. The ideal candidate is a hands-on retail construction and field operations executive who can build scalable operating systems, strengthen client relationships, improve field performance, and lead a national organization through complex, fast-moving retail programs. What You’ll Lead Lead a large, nationwide field and project organization supporting complex retail construction, remodel, rollout, and store execution programs. Oversee execution of programs such as new store sets, store remodels, retail refreshes, fixture installations, resets, site surveys, store mapping, punch lists, closeouts, and other multi-location initiatives. Provide leadership to project executives, directors, project managers, field managers, supervisors, coordinators, and hourly field teams. Build and improve operating systems for project planning, labor deployment, field communication, quality assurance, issue escalation, documentation, and client reporting. Partner closely with national retail clients, including construction, store development, operations, merchandising, procurement, and executive stakeholders. Ensure programs are delivered on time, within scope, and with strong quality, safety, productivity, and profitability controls. Lead client meetings, business reviews, implementation planning, onsite visits, field training, and project performance reviews. Strengthen accountability across the organization by establishing clear KPIs, project dashboards, reporting cadences, and field performance standards. Support strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, margin improvement, labor modeling, and long-term growth initiatives. Evaluate field processes, labor partners, vendor performance, market conditions, project costs, and operational risks to identify opportunities for improvement. Partner with Human Resources on field leadership practices, employee relations, performance management, compliance, and training. Help the organization expand its capabilities, win larger client programs, and become a stronger execution partner for national retailers. What We’re Looking For 10+ years of senior leadership experience in retail construction, retail remodels, store development, multi-site rollouts, fixture installation, construction services, or closely related retail field execution. Prior experience in a senior leadership role such as Vice President, Senior Director, Head of Operations, Head of Construction Services, Head of Field Operations, or similar. Proven experience leading large, distributed field teams across multiple states or national retail programs. Strong understanding of retail construction workflows, remodel sequencing, site readiness, fixture installation, labor planning, field supervision, issue resolution, punch lists, and closeout processes. Experience working with national or regional retailers on high-volume, multi-location programs. Ability to lead both strategic client conversations and practical field execution discussions. Strong financial and operational acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, labor productivity, margin management, and project profitability. Demonstrated success improving execution standards, field accountability, quality, productivity, and client satisfaction. Experience working with third-party labor partners, subcontractors, vendors, or distributed workforce models. Strong presentation, negotiation, communication, and executive relationship-management skills. Entrepreneurial mindset with the ability to operate independently, make decisions, and build structure in a fast-moving environment. Bachelor’s degree in construction management, business, operations, engineering, or a related field preferred. Preferred Background Ideal candidates may come from organizations involved in: Retail construction services Store remodels and refresh programs New store openings and buildouts Fixture installation and rollout services Retail project management Construction-adjacent retail services National field execution companies Retail facilities or store development organizations Large-scale retail merchandising organizations with meaningful construction or remodel scope Experience in merchandising, resets, or retail services is valuable, but candidates must also have direct exposure to complex retail construction, remodel, rollout, or store execution programs. Position Details Location: Remote-based Travel: Approximately 50%, including regular visits to client sites, project locations, field teams, and internal meetings Employment: Full-time, salaried, benefits eligible Search Type: Confidential executive search Confidential Search Neverland Worldwide is managing this search on behalf of its client. The company name will not be disclosed publicly in the job posting. Qualified candidates will receive additional information about the organization during the initial conversation with Neverland. All inquiries and applications will be handled confidentially.