Chapter Area Lead – Operations and Checkout Tech

Lead the Chapter Area – Operations and Checkout Tech

• Be accountable for the continuous development and functional mastery of all four Chapters within your Chapter Area: Operations Engineering, Checkout Engineering, Operations & Checkout Engineering, and Operations & Checkout Solution Management
• Ensure the Chapter Area adheres to METRO-wide standards in tooling, methodology, and governance, aligned with ABR/QBR processes
• Translate functional priorities – including those specific to POS systems, checkout flows, and operations platform architecture – into enablement initiatives for Skill Chapter Leads
• Align Chapter Area contribution to METRO’s Grand Slam objectives and support strategic initiatives across the Operations and Customer Invoice & Payment platforms
• Act as the main point of contact for technical expertise in operations and checkout domains, supporting Platform Leads and Squad Leads
• Foster a strong culture of learning, innovation, and transparency across central and local IT functions, particularly bridging the large Romania-based engineering community (101 FTE) with Germany-based and METRO global teams

Drive People & Capability Development

• Act as the disciplinary line manager for the four Skill Chapter Leads: Operations Engineering, Checkout Engineering, Operations & Checkout Engineering, and Operations & Checkout Solution Management
• Ensure skilled resources are available for staffing into squads across the Operations and Customer Invoice & Payment platforms, including management of the significant external workforce (~81 EXT FTE)
• Lead Skill Chapter Leads by example, coaching them to build capabilities in checkout engineering, POS technologies, operational tooling, and payment processing aligned with METRO’s harmonization and standardization goals
• Identify skill gaps – especially in emerging areas such as self-checkout, real-time inventory, and B2B payment innovation – and support recruiting, upskilling, and internal mobility in collaboration with People & Culture
• Oversee the stabilization and filling of the open Chapter Lead position in Operations & Checkout Engineering as a near-term priority

Promote Functional Alignment & Communication

• Represent the Chapter Area in TOM governance and other METRO forums (e.g., Grand Slam, Platform Syncs, ABR/QBR)
• Serve as a functional bridge between METRO Digital, MAG, and country teams, ensuring clarity on ownership in checkout and operations technology decisions
• Actively resolve delivery risks and blockers related to resources and capabilities, including the management of 4 temporary positions within Operations & Checkout Solution Management
• Promote agile ways of working and drive mindset shift across Skill Chapter Leads and teams, with particular focus on the multicultural, multi-location setup across Germany, Romania, and METRO global

Stakeholder Management

• Collaborate with other Chapter Area Leads and Platform Leads (Operations Platform and Customer Invoice & Payment Platform) to align on strategic initiatives and drive business goals
• Act as the technical counterpart to Business Platform Leads, providing expert advice on checkout and operations engineering topics, tooling decisions, and build-vs-buy trade-offs
• Ensure Solution Management Chapter Leads coordinate effectively with external partners for outsourced end-to-end solutions, with support from dedicated Skill Chapter Leads

• Minimum 4 years of leadership experience in IT or software environments, ideally with exposure to retail technology, POS systems, or operations platforms
• Proven background in a scaled agile setup with technology and business focus
• Experience in setting and maintaining functional standards in engineering or solution management disciplines
• Exposure to defining training programs and enablement roadmaps for technical teams
• Hands-on involvement in aligning methodologies across distributed, multi-location teams
• Demonstrated ability to operate in global, matrixed organizations, including managing a significant share of external contractors
• Strong strategic leadership and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to align engineering capabilities in checkout, operations, and payment solutions to business and platform objectives.
• Proven ability to lead and coach distributed, multicultural teams through collaboration, mentoring, and non-hierarchical leadership approaches.
• Solid technical and business acumen across retail operations technology, checkout engineering, and B2B payment ecosystems, balancing technical excellence with customer and business value.
• Results-oriented mindset focused on continuous improvement, delivery quality, operational reliability, and capability growth within large-scale engineering organizations.

Functional Skills

• Expertise in agile frameworks and methodologies applied to checkout, operations, or retail tech contexts
• Strong capability in functional training and enablement, particularly for engineering and solution management communities
• Technical fluency in one or more of: POS and checkout systems, in-store operations technology, B2B invoicing and payment platforms, or retail ERP/WMS integrations
• Ability to define and enforce functional standards across engineering and solution management chapters
• Knowledge of industry trends in retail tech: self-checkout, RFID-based stock management, real-time payment processing, and omnichannel operations
• High-level understanding of tooling, governance, and quality assurance in multi-team engineering environments
• Capacity planning and workforce management including external FTE oversight (~80 EXT across the Chapter Area)
• Cross-functional alignment and stakeholder management across tech, business, and country functions
• Ability to lead large expert communities (~140 professionals) across multiple locations (Germany, Romania, global METRO)
• Experience in translating strategy into functional execution within platform-oriented organizations
• Strong coaching and mentoring skills, particularly in developing Chapter Leads from senior engineers into people leaders

Additional information

This resonates with you? Apply now!

What we offer at METRO.digital? 

• Hybrid and agile work: thrive in a flexible, multicultural environment.

At METRO.digital, we promote work-life balance through a hybrid working model. You’ll be part of self-organizing, multicultural teams that collaborate in an agile setup.

• People development: when you grow so do we!

We want you to become the best version of yourself with individual and company-wide programs and trainings for people development. Focused among other on development, leadership, appreciation ... it´s time to upskill your career.

• Support with individual solutions: we are people-caring!

We offer support whenever you need it - at every stage of your professional journey.

Want to know more about all our benefits? Discover more here. 

Let´s connect soon. Apply for the role now!

Position grade within our career framework: Chapter Area Lead Md10