Free People Store Manager - Guildford, UK

This position is located at 159 High St, Guildford GU13AJ United Kingdom.

The Store Manager will lead and inspire by taking a forward-thinking and Omnichannel approach to the retail experience. The goal is to deliver a unique and entrepreneurial store experience by taking a forward-thinking approach to in‑store creative merchandising, customer experience and leadership to ultimately drive sales and customer engagement.

What You'll Be Doing

• Leadership and Team Management
  • Recruit, Hire and Promote: continuously talent plan to build a strong internal bench, maintain a network of great candidates, hire exceptional people, and create personalized development paths.
  • Develop & Train: use creative strategies to develop training plans that build skills and expertise and teach team members by providing timely and specific feedback to create a culture of problem solvers.
  • Inspire & Motivate: inspire teams through shared fate, creativity, empathy, and empowerment, tailoring motivation to the individual and leveraging the strengths of the team.
• Brand Experience
  • Customer Engagement: highly focused on delivering exceptional customer experiences that are engaging, efficient and personalized, with merchandising and display that creates a compelling atmosphere for the customer.
  • Retail Experience: elevate every aspect of the brick and mortar experience as the brand experience and Omnichannel capabilities expand; translate good ideas into testable, actionable concepts that can be shared.
  • Digital Experience: leverage localized digital marketing efforts to engage the customer in new ways that are intended to drive brick and mortar brand awareness like Local Social Media accounts, in‑store pickup, and digital‑first merchandising opportunities as the retail environment evolves.
  • Community & Culture: find ways to connect with the local community through in‑store events to drive brand awareness, community culture, and customer engagement with the retail space and products.
• Visual and Business Operations
  • Analyze the Business: analyze sales and product to identify and interpret business opportunities for the store, customer and market.
  • Inspire Independent Thinking: effectively delegate and guide teams while at the same time allowing others the creativity to succeed by making strategic, business‑impacting decisions.
  • Change & Innovation: take a forward-thinking approach to in‑store creative marketing, merchandising, activations, customer experience, and team leadership support that drives sales and engages the customer.
  • Manage Operational & Visual Execution: collaborate with store teams and key partners to lead timely and effective execution in all areas of store operations and visuals while assuming accountability for the store's performance and profitability.
• Communication and Relationships
  • Communicate & Build Relationships: foster a culture of strong communication and teamwork in order to ensure a seamless balance of operational and visual priorities and facilitate problem solving.
  • Leadership & Feedback: inspire independence and brand ownership to drive sales by integrating observations and key performance metrics to guide teams in making business‑impacting decisions.
  • Knowledge and Information Dissemination: develop thinkers not followers through dissemination of knowledge, a culture of peers teaching peers, and by enabling easy access to information in order to teach how to analyze and innovate.

What You'll Need

• Strong people management and leadership skills.
• Strong business acumen and ability to achieve visual and operational excellence.
• Inspires entrepreneurial thinking and can lead teams to achieve extraordinary results.
• Exceptional critical thinking skills and a passion for continually evolving and innovating.
• Strong merchant skills and a history of delivering financial results.
• Well‑rounded leader with a proven record of hiring and developing creative and operational talent.
• Experienced in coaching, counseling & conflict resolution.

Special Requirements

• Ability to regularly work nights and weekends.
• Occasional travel.

The Perks

• Work Life Balance: Life Leave - one day a year to take time off for those big events in life, in addition to your annual leave entitlement.
• Wellbeing: Employee Assistance program to support with mental, physical and financial health; Discount off external gym memberships; Private Medical Insurance for eligible employees.
• Employee Discounts: Up to 40% employee discount at all URBN Brands.
• Travel: Season ticket loan for eligible employees; Cycle to work scheme for eligible employees.
• Continued Development: We offer structured support within the business alongside continued learning and development.

Equal Opportunity Statement: URBN is an Equal Opportunities Employer committed to diversity and inclusion. We provide equal employment opportunities regardless of age, sexual orientation, sex, gender reassignment, pregnancy, marital status, religion, race, or disability. We base all our employment decisions on merit, job requirements and business needs.