Team Manager - Food - Lower Earley Simply Food in Reading

Join to apply for the Team Manager - Food - Lower Earley Simply Food role at Marks and Spencer. As a Team Manager in Food, you’ll be responsible for leading a team on the shop floor to deliver exceptional availability, 5‑star service, and commercial results. This is a frontline leadership position in one of the most competitive retailers in the UK. You’ll need to be commercially sharp, operationally resilient and relentless in your standards. Whether you’re managing stock, coaching your team or solving problems, you’ll move with purpose and lead by example.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and coach a team to deliver consistently under pressure, setting the pace, building capability and holding the line on standards.
• Work across departments to deliver a seamless customer experience, collaborating fast and fixing problems early.
• Drive commercial performance by understanding the numbers, translating them into action and keeping the team laser‑focused on key metrics.

Purpose

• Support the growth and profitability of the store through the implementation of the retail plan and delivery of KPI measures for their area of accountability.
• Role model great customer service and ensure a customer‑focused service proposition that delights customers.
• Recruit, develop and support talent within the customer assistant team to meet succession requirements.
• Motivate colleagues to deliver their part and enable them to trade safely and legally.
• Deliver an inspiring, improved and consistent visual customer journey in store.

Key Accountabilities

• Drive profitability and sales for the area through supporting the retail plan and store KPI delivery.
• Support the delivery and embedding of the business transformation plan and change initiatives.
• Deliver great standards and service by setting clear expectations with store colleagues.
• Create the right culture and role‑model new digital ways of working and leadership behaviours.
• Develop a multi‑skilled team, coaching and training them to use all tools effectively.
• Use data and insight to improve the in‑store experience, operation and performance.
• Recruit for the team and ensure new starters have a brilliant onboarding experience.
• Maintain a safe and legal store environment and support the delivery of visual merchandising updates.

Technical Skills / Experience

• Lead a team to deliver excellent customer service and KPI’s across the store.
• Possess a strong understanding of commercial, visual, operational and people processes and systems.
• Use data and MI to identify commercial, visual, cost‑saving and customer opportunities.
• Good working knowledge of VM principles and digital capability.
• Understand legal requirements and people policies, managing performance within a team.
• Lead difficult conversations with effective resolutions and inspire others.
• Plan and review work across the week and month, delivering under pressure.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders across the store and region.

Key Leadership Capabilities

• Embed change for lasting commercial impact and results.
• Support colleagues in adapting and addressing resistance to change.
• Own and take accountability for team success, coaching to accelerate performance and personal growth.
• Recognise high performance and support poor performers to improve.
• Use customer feedback and market trends to guide team work.
• Communicate clearly and proactively across the business.
• Collaborate with stakeholders to bring the best solutions for M&S.

Key Relationships and Stakeholders

• Customers
• Colleagues
• Store Leadership
• Regional Leadership
• BIG (business initiatives group)

Everyone’s welcome. We are ambitious about the future of retail and are committed to building diverse and representative teams where everyone can bring their whole selves to work. Marks & Spencer strives to be an inclusive organisation, trusted and admired by our colleagues, customers and suppliers. If you would benefit from any support or reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, let us know. We’ll put steps in place to help you perform at your best.