Area Manager - North UKI in Manchester

Hourglass Cosmetics is seeking an Area Manager to oversee and elevate the performance of regional stores across the North of England, Scotland and Ireland. This role requires a passionate leader with a proven track record in people management and hands-on sales leadership. You will coach teams to ensure our premium customer experience is delivered in regional stores and help exceed commercial targets.

Key Responsibilities

• Own and drive retail performance across the North England, Scotland and Ireland regional stores, ensuring sales targets and KPIs are achieved.
• Analyze business performance and identify opportunities to maximize sell-through, ranking and brand positioning.
• Develop and implement sales strategies that align with overall brand objectives and retail partner goals.
• Collaborate with internal teams (marketing, merchandising, operations) to ensure seamless execution of brand initiatives and new product launches.
• Work closely with Managers and store leadership to drive engagement and results.
• Manage time effectively between regular store visits and spending quality time with the sales team on the shop floor.
• Set and manage regional stores’ sales targets and KPIs to maximise sales and rankings in all doors.
• Lead by example in planning and organising the business for success.
• Understand retail context and category performance in the region to assess risk and identify opportunities and devise by-door retail strategy.
• Coach and inspire the Managers to be sales and customer focused with Hourglass.
• Oversee VM operations related to stores and teams, coordinating with VM and Store Design for new openings and launches.
• Review stock holding levels and work with the Operations Director to resolve issues and ensure processes are followed.
• Support and drive additional events and activity plans to build brand awareness and grow the business.

Education and Training

• Work closely with the Education team to ensure your team is set up for success by attending regular training sessions.
• Collaborate with Education to drive artistry, product knowledge, and service excellence through tailored training sessions and in-store coaching.
• Ensure Hourglass values are reflected in all customer interactions across regional stores.

Team Leadership & Brand Advocacy

• Lead and manage the Retail team, recognizing successes and addressing opportunities in a fair and consistent manner.
• Inspire through leaders, ensuring teams feel empowered and engaged with the brand.
• Recruit and manage area vacancies to ensure the right people are in the right roles.
• Act as the key liaison between the brand and retail partners to drive advocacy and long-term success.
• Represent the brand at key retail and industry events.
• Set clear and consistent targets to continuously build the business, while staying within budget and using resources wisely.
• Maintain payroll documents for the area, ensuring commission and overtime are accurately logged.
• Approve team rotas and review time and attendance sheets.
• Support HR matters, including investigations, disciplinaries, and performance management processes.
• Uphold the Unilever Code of Conduct.

Qualifications

• 6+ years of beauty management experience working with luxury specialty retailers.
• Positive energy and passion for makeup, skincare and service.
• Superior training and motivational abilities.
• Highly organized and structured management approach.
• Strong analytical skills to review sales results and promotional impact.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Advanced makeup artistry skills.
• Strong eye for merchandising and luxury environment detail.
• Ability to travel and manage remotely.
• Experience with MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel.