Cover Shop Manager in Southend-on-Sea

At the heart of our mission is something much bigger than just great clothes and bargains — we’re here to generate vital income for our hospice, supporting exceptional care for local people and their families.

What We’re Looking For

• Retail management experience (charity sector a plus, but not essential)
• A people-person with excellent communication and leadership skills
• Passion for sustainability, fashion, and giving back to the community
• A proactive, hands‑on approach to hitting targets and solving problems

• Flexibility and a great sense of humour!

Why Join Us?

• Be part of a growing movement in ethical, sustainable retail
• Make a genuine difference to people’s lives through hospice care funding
• Work in a positive, values‑driven environment
• Ongoing training, support, and opportunities for progression.

Ready to lead change on the high street and support life‑changing care?

We’d love to hear from you!

Main duties of the job

What You’ll Be Doing

• Leading by example to create an inspiring and welcoming shopping experience
• Motivating and managing a fantastic team of staff and volunteers
• Driving sales, donations, and community engagement
• Championing visual merchandising and sustainable fashion trends
• Managing stock, budgets, and day‑to‑day operations with energy and efficiency
• Working for our organisation

Havens Hospices provides specialist care and support for people of all ages who are living with incurable conditions and their families.

Our specialist team offers a wide range of care and support options for patients and their loved ones, based on their needs and wishes.

This can be in the comfort of their own home, in the hospices – Fair Havens for adults or Little Havens for children - or a combination.

Working at Havens Hospices allows you to give the gift of time to families, creating memories.

Although you may not be giving direct care to our patients, your contribution will have an immediate effect on our care services.

In return for your expertise and passion, you will receive a competitive salary package, and most of all, by making the most of every day you work at Havens Hospices you’ll be helping us continue ‘Making every day count’ for those who need us most.

At Havens Hospices we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our employees and patients and expect all colleagues to share this commitment.

We value diversity and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

• Detailed job description and main responsibilities
• To effectively manage the day to day running of the shop staff and volunteers
• To manage stock, optimise profit and maximise sales, retaining oversight for all transactions taken.
• To be aware of, and help the store to hit all sales targets, providing effective leadership to encourage the team to maximise potential.
• To take responsibility for managing your shop and brief the Area Manager at regular agreed intervals (and immediately if urgent) on progress in your allocated shop. proposing action to the Area Manager for improvements in operations.
• To maintain an awareness of developments in local shops, especially in the Charity sector, updating the Area Manager as required.
• To maintain an awareness of the work of Havens Hospices and relevant local or national issues through press, media, and local views.
• To actively promote Gift Aid, sign up donors and achieve performance targets.
• To decide, without reference, but with procedural guidelines, what prices to charge for individual items to maximise both turnover and income.
• Hold shop keys, opening and closing the premises for trading hours, ensuring that the hours are strictly adhered to, and responding to emergency call out if, and when necessary.
• Ensuring the shop is kept clean and tidy and goods are displayed in an attractive and presentable manner.
• Ensure that all statutory responsibilities are met, including Fire and Health & Safety regulations.

Person specification

Skills & Experience

• Demonstrable experience working as a manager, or comparable work experience.
• Demonstrable experience in people development and management, including performance
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Intermediate standard of IT skills, including using Microsoft Office suite (Teams, Outlook, excel, word).
• Knowledge of EPOS software
• Front of house experience
• Ability to update and maintain records, databases, and other systems accurately and efficiently.
• Ability to prioritise and plan own workload to meet deadlines
• Ability to be proactive, use initiative, and resolve problems to ensure service delivery

Education

• GCSE or equivalent in Maths & English, or equivalent
• Full UK driving licence and access to own vehicle with business insurance
• Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.

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