Retail Shops Manager in Alderley Edge, Cheshire

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.

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.
• 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 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.

To maximise income by participating in fundraising and trading opportunities. To take responsibility for the shop to implement shop procedures, as follows:

• 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 in line with charity retail processes.
• To present stock in the sales area to the agreed standard.
• To reconcile the cash register, banking and to work to Age UK Cheshire’s financial policies and procedures.
• 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 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.

Person Specification:

• Ability to understand and interpret financial information in order to manage shop performance outcomes.
• Ability to travel freely between shops (ideally full driving licence and use of a properly insured vehicle during work hours).
• Basic knowledge of Health & Safety and Fire regulations and ability to identify potential risks to include items that sold under Health & Safety regulations.
• Proven retail experience.
• On occasions you may be required to work on your own within the shop.

Additional Information:

The organisation currently operates 9 charity shops and has ambitious plans to open more charity shops which all help to provide funds for the charity to deliver its services for older people in Cheshire, as well as being a location to promote Age UK Cheshire services. All Age UK Cheshire shops sell unwanted household and personal goods donated by the public and other commercial companies. Age UK Cheshire shops have established a reputation for selling good quality items, well presented and at reasonable prices.

The shop staffing structure is supported by volunteer helpers. They do not receive any payment other than the reimbursement of their exact travel costs from their home to the shop. Each shop is given a weekly sales target to achieve to produce a targeted net profit once rents and other costs have been deducted. Each shop has a mixture of staff and volunteers covering a 6- or 7-day working period. The Retail Manager will be supported by an Assistant Retail Manager working flexibly to provide cover at the shop. Volunteer support is key to the success of the operation and development of “designated volunteers” who can take responsibility for the shop during some periods of staff absence.

Location: Shop Base – Alderley Edge. You may be required to cover other shops on an ad hoc basis.

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

Salary: £25452.03 per annum (£13.50 per hour). Overtime payments can be paid for exceptional circumstances where additional days have been worked.

Pension: Age UK Cheshire has an automatic enrolment workplace pension scheme in place for eligible employees.

Leave: 25 days’ leave per annum (plus Bank Holidays) rising after 5 years’ continuous service by one day per year (pro rata) to a maximum of 30 days’ leave after 10 years.

Contract: All new staff are subject to a three-month probationary period.

Health Care: All staff will automatically join the Age UK Cheshire’s Health Care Cash Plan and will be entitled to receive healthcare benefits.

Basic DBS Check applicable for this post.