General Retail Manager

About the Role

Reporting to the Deputy Store Director, the role of the General Retail Manager is multidimensional. Equally responsible for the performance of a specific Division as having a global mind set to ensure the exceptional standards and wider performance of Retail as a whole. This includes concession partners. A highly skilled operational leader, you’ll set the vision and priorities for your area for the next 12 months. Always with an eye on the results of today, you’re also anticipating the trends of tomorrow and influencing key stakeholders as a result. Inclusivity is just what you do. You deliver results through inspiring others, your natural coaching ability and your presence on the floor. You know your team inside out and they know you too. You’re a natural role model for both your Own Bought team and Concession colleagues and you constantly strive to weave magic wherever you are in the business.

Responsibilities

1. This is your “business within a business” and you set the bar high. Your customers expect the best and that’s exactly what you’ll strive to deliver for them. If an ultra loyal customer or the CEO arrived on a visit at any time, you feel relaxed - you know your team and Division(s) are on point and ready to give them the best experience, regardless of the time of day or day of the week.
2. You know that because you’re an active leader. Visible on the floor and taking time to get to know everyone and create a truly high-performing team. You know that it’s the relationships you build that will accelerate service, sales and overall performance.
3. In order to be high performing, you have a relentless focus on making sure everyone understands the commercial goals of the Division and Retail and the part they play in achieving that. It’s “just what you do” to ensure that everyone is clear on weekly/monthly progress so they can strive for every additional sale or customer moment. They all add up.
4. A role model for coaching and nurturing your management team, you’re working with them on a daily basis to articulate the “how” and deliver the art of selling and ensure this flows down through the sales force too.
5. You’ll have a 12 month strategic plan for your business which you constantly review, tweak and shape - taking corrective course setting action as a matter of habit. Naturally this plan covers People, Customer & Commercial requirements (both own bought and concession product).
6. Alongside that plan, you make regular (at least monthly) time to develop new ideas and strategies to enhance customer experience and drive incremental trade.
7. Together with the Deputy Store Director and Finance Analyst for your area, a key part of your strategic plan is budget management. You’ll set and own the Divisional budget(s) including P&L performance. From Sales performance to Cost Base management and everything in between.
8. At your level, the success of your Division also relies on the effective relationships you have with key stakeholders and external partners. You’re continually and actively influencing all parts of the business on key decisions and strategies to ensure the best outcomes for our people, our customers or our trade. This includes celebrating success as well as constructively feeding back, challenging and escalating any risks where required.
9. Leadership isn’t just about leading teams but also about talent spotting and building the best teams to keep your business fit for future. You’ll identify, nurture and grow internal talent (either as world-class sales experts or future leaders) as well as working pro-actively with HR and in a timely way to source the best external resource too.
10. And you make brave and bold decisions to ensure you have the right people in the right place, at the right time. Your relationship-first approach enables you to gain buy-in from your team members whilst not tolerating sustained underperformance or risk.

About You

1. Emotionally intelligent and self-aware. You have a good understanding of your own personal style, skills, and preferences and what to dial up or dial down to suit.
2. Relationship-led leadership approach. You know your people like your family and you know you can’t deliver without them and brilliant teamwork.
3. Skilled at performance coaching. You get a kick out of helping others develop and succeed – either successfully in your Division or where needed, laterally into a role that’s a better fit.
4. Skilled influencer who can demonstrate using their skills to make improvements and work effectively in a matrix model to achieve results. You’re the kind of person who thrives and gets a buzz from managing stakeholders and winning together.
5. Linked to the above, an active contributor. You care about the success of the business as a whole and constructively challenge to make it better.
6. Resilient, tenacious and genuinely open to development feedback. Continually adapting your style to get the best outcomes for your people, customers and for the business.
7. Have an affinity for data-driven decisions. Your style is to embrace all data and insight as you have the ability and confidence to use this to inform relevant actions.
8. Agile in your thinking and comfortable with ambiguity and change – if you have experience of leading through change too, so much the better. We need you to help colleagues navigate the evolution of the business and shape their thinking.
9. Commercially astute. It\'s a business built on sales performance. This role is integral to delivering stretching and exciting sales growth.
10. Conscientious. Your sense of pride means from standards to performance to looking after your people, you always do the right thing.