Ellesmere Port Retail Manager

Role: Retail Manager

Location: Ellesmere Port

Reports to: Paul Tonge, Retail Area Manager

Hours of Work: 36.25 hours per week, worked over 5 days Monday to Saturday. Hours are required to be flexible to ensure that the shop is staffed appropriately. There may be a requirement to travel between shops. In exceptional circumstances you may be required to work 6 days per week. The role will require working over the Christmas period and potentially all bank holidays. Sunday working may be required in the future.

Salary: £24,710.71 per annum £13.11 per hour

Closing Date: Open

We are a local social enterprise and charity that is dedicated to later life. We co-produce excellent services, make opportunities, connect people meaningfully and influence positive change. Because of our work, people love later life in Cheshire. We value putting people at the heart of everything we do, being enterprising, challenging ourselves and others to be better and innovating to deliver what older people want and need.

Primary Purpose:

To manage an Age UK Cheshire Charity Shop located in the Cheshire area, ensuring efficient and effective management of colleagues, volunteers, premises, sales, and stock to provide a high-quality retail service in relation to agreed performance targets.

To achieve the maximum potential of funds for Age UK Cheshire by achieving charity retail standards and community engagement.

To ensure all appropriate standards of security and health and safety are met. To organise and manage the day-to-day operations of the store including effective communication with the Head of Retail and reporting of relevant data.

Main Duties:

To ensure that the Age UK Cheshire Charity Shop achieves required standards of performance and agreed sales targets:

· Maximisation of sales through stock rotation, correct pricing, brand awareness and merchandising, to use the full potential of the stock available to you.

· To gain Gift Aid on eligible donations to Age UK Cheshire to maximise funds for the charity in line with HMRC guidelines. This includes signing up new donors to the scheme and selling stock accordingly.

· Responsible for managing, training, and developing the Assistant Retail Manager to achieve pre-set objectives.

· Support, train, and coordinate the work of volunteers in the shop as required.

· Working with the Assistant Retail Manager to ensure that the shop complies with all the relevant legislation, trading standards and health and safety.

· Ensuring stock from donors is correctly received and stored within the shop. Working with the Area Retail Manager to make certain of timely collections and suitable deliveries to merchandise appropriately and safely.

· Administrative systems and working practices to include daily and weekly sales reports, charity log and financial information.

· Identify stock which can maximise income when sold via e-commerce, auctions, or other sales opportunities.

· To plan and prioritise special promotions, seasonal adjustments, and sale events.

· Ensuring professional signage throughout the shop; to be clear and on brand.

· Engage with the Retail Operations Manager regularly to create a cohesive working relationship with the wider retail team in order to gain support and advice

Maintain a high level of commercial awareness by staying informed of sales trends, stock position and local competition.

To work as a member of the wider retail team to ensure that all shops across the region are covered appropriately. Have a flexible approach to days worked and location, to provide support to other colleagues and providing holiday cover for the Assistant Retail Manager.

To participate in recruitment, induction, training and deployment of colleagues and volunteers. To work with other organisations when necessary to ensure compliance with all legislation and good practice.

To develop and manage “designated volunteers” through appropriate training and development, to ensure that they can take responsibility for the running of the shop in the absence of paid colleagues, including holiday cover if necessary.

Implement the highest standards of customer care and service.

To maximise income by participating in fundraising and trading opportunities.

To take responsibility for the shop to implement shop procedures, as follows: -

· To act as a key holder at an assigned location

· To prepare the shop for opening by the correct time

· To close the shop at the correct time and ensuring the shop is secure before leaving

· To assist in the acquisition of donations including furniture and to liaise with the Area Retail Manager on collection and delivery procedures

· To sort, prepare and price stock to in line with charity retail processes.

· To present stock in the sales area to the agreed standard

· To recruit, train, organise, supervise, and care for the welfare of colleagues and volunteer helpers

· To reconcile the cash register, banking and to work to Age UK Cheshire’s financial policies and procedures

· To complete paperwork as necessary, to include use of information technology on computerised systems

· To carry out Age UK Cheshire’s policy on Health and Safety of colleagues and customers, including all manual handling policies and procedures for goods and furniture, emergency and accident procedures, trading standard policy, refunds and exchange policy.

To use initiative to ensure any issues in the shop are resolved quickly and effectively. To follow the correct reporting procedure to inform the Health & Safety Manager of any problems or concerns.

To understand and achieve daily/weekly/monthly/annual targets which will be reviewed regularly with the job holder. To undertake performance related reviews with Assistant Retail Managers as required.

To be a role model for Age UK’s mission statement and values and to understand how the role of a Retail Manager complements this.

To undertake such duties as may from time to time be reasonably requested by management within the flexible definition of the post.

Essential Criteria

- Strong communicator with the ability to deliver team messages, deal with customer issues and resolve problems with firmness and fairness.

- Ability to understand and interpret financial information in order to manage shop performance outcomes.

- Good administrative and organisational skills with the ability to undertake banking tasks, keep basic records and organise resources in a busy environment.

- The ability to recognise stock potential in order to generate income and the importance of attractive presentation.

- Supervisory experience with the ability to motivate, inspire and lead a team.

- IT literate

- Ability to travel freely between shops (ideally full driving licence and use of a properly insured vehicle during work hours).

If you are passionate about driving success through effective management and teamwork, we encourage you to apply for this exciting opportunity as Retail Manager where you will enjoy the benefits of working for Age UK Cheshire.

To apply for this position, please send your CV to HR hr@ageukcheshire.org.uk

To view the full job descritption please click here

Closing Date for Applications: Open with regular reviews of applications