Area Retail Manager (Charity / Fashion Retail)

Area Retail Manager (Charity / Fashion Retail)

Children`s Hospice South West is a registered charity dedicated to the provision of hospice care for life-limited children and their families in the South West.

Position: Area Retail Manager
Location: Devon – Regional
Hours: 37 hours per week (unsociable hours working some evenings and weekends, as necessary)
Salary: £32,325.6 – £37,561.2 per annum, lease van, pension

ROLE: 
They are now entering an exciting new expansion phase on their retail function with an aim to becoming one of the most successful charity shop networks in the UK, providing a first class shopping experience for all their customers. Children`s Hospice South West currently has 24 shops across the South West and aim to have in excess of 50 by 2017. 

The team is growing and they now need a new Area Retail Manager who will be responsible for the efficient management and development of 10 – 15 allocated shops within the Devon area and you will need to be passionate about fashion and retail, have proven success of multi-site management, working to budgets and operational targets. 

This role will effectively manage, motivate and develop a team of shop staff and volunteers and ensure the shops are successfully run and developed. Your role will be to review, report and enhance the profitability of your shops, maintain and improve shop standards, maximise income and ensure targets are met and control stock levels. 

Children`s Hospice South West value their staff and offer an excellent working environment with an enthusiastic and ambitious team who are driven to making CHSW Retail Shops one of the most successful in the South West, if this sounds like the job for you please and start raising a smile every day!

RESPONSIBILITIES: 
a) Provide regular and timely reports on a weekly basis to the Head of Retail on the performance of all shops in the allocated area combined with explanation and corrective action being considered.
b) Issue an effective, informative and motivational communication bulletin to all shops on a weekly basis detailing the performance of each shop.
c) Review and analyse each shop`s monthly management account performance and to seek explanations and confirmations of significant variances to budget.
d) Ensure income from the shops in the allocated area is maximized, whilst costs are kept to a reasonable minimum.
e) Participate in the setting and agreeing the annual budget for each individual shop in conjunction with the Head of Retail. 
f) Responsibility for achieving budgets for all shops, managing and motivating the shop teams to achieve agreed shop and area targets. 
g) Responsibility for achieving agreed financial and non-financial targets and objectives, as set by the Head of Retail, within CHSW’s overall retail strategy.
h) Raise awareness, train and motivate shop staff to ensure the maximisation of gift aid receipts in all allocated shops
i) Actively identify and develop opportunities to maximise profitability and area sales performance.
j) Supporting shop teams to ensure retail standards are met, this will include carrying out regular (bi-monthly) monitoring visits and completing the required performance reports (SSR).
k) Ensure the highest standard of window and shop floor displays are achieved and assisting and supporting managers to develop high merchandising standards.
l) Responsibility for ensuring stock levels at each shop are sufficient and at a level to meet the sales opportunity of the shop. To oversee stock movement and generation within shops providing storage facilities and to take responsibility for line managing the area van driver in their duties relating to collections and deliveries.
m) Assisting in the acquisition of shops by prospecting and evaluation alongside the Retail Development Manager, and assisting in the opening of new shops and refurbishment of existing shops.

ESSENTIAL SKILLS / EXPERIENCE: 
a) Enthusiasm for retail, including a flair for fashion. This includes having an interest in fashion, a knowledge of different designs and labels and how this relates to pricing, and a knowledge and understanding of seasonal and other changes in fashion trends. Must be able to deliver good creative visual displays and enjoy window dressing.
b) Multi site management experience within the retail sector; with a demonstrable track record of achieving. 
c) A good working knowledge of retail orientated Health and Safety.
d) Current driving licence with a willingness to travel to CHSW premises and throughout the South West Region, with occasional travel throughout the UK (this may require overnight stays).
e) IT literate (MS Office suite) with effective organisational, time management, project management and administrative skills, experience of working to budgets and operating targets.

DESIRABLE SKILLS / EXPERIENCE:
a) Design or retail qualification.
b) A working knowledge of the South West, in terms of travel and retail.
c) An understanding of Microsoft Office and of using IT for retail procedures such as Gift Aid.
d) Training and knowledge of key aspects of people management.
e) Educated to A-level standard and above

You may have experience of the following: Area Manager, Fashion Retail, Senior Store Manager, Voluntary Sector, Charity Retail, Fundraising, Regional Retail Manager, Fashion, Third Sector, Area Store Manager etc.

This vacancy is being advertised by Easy Web Recruitment, the UK`s leading Online Recruitment Agency. The services advertised by Easy Web Recruitment are those of an employment agency. No terminology in this advert is intended to discriminate on the grounds of age, and we confirm that we will gladly accept applications from persons of any age for this role.