Cafe - Store Manager

WHSmith Careers; Birmingham; Hybrid; GBP 28,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Pension scheme

33 days holiday (incl. bank holidays)

Employee discounts

Employee Assistance Programme

Job summary

WHSmith/Costa is seeking a Single Site Store Manager for the Costa Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. You will lead the newly opening Costa Cafe, driving sales and ensuring an excellent customer experience in a hospital setting.

You will coach and develop the store team, manage day-to-day operations, and ensure compliance with HR, health and safety, and brand standards. A strong focus on KPIs and customer service will be essential.

Qualifications

• Leadership and people management experience.
• Experience in retail operations and customer service.
• Ability to analyse data and drive sales opportunities.

Responsibilities

• Lead store performance and growth with a customer-first mindset.
• Coach and develop store team, ensuring onboarding and ongoing training.
• Ensure HR processes and policies are followed with guidance from HR.
• Maintain health and safety and legal compliance in daily operations.
• Manage cash, shrink, stock availability and waste to minimise loss.
• Deliver KPIs and resolve performance issues with SMART actions.
• Provide excellent customer service and upsell to maximise sales.

Job description

Single Site Store Manager – Costa Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

An Exciting opportunity to run our newly opening Costa Cafe.

At WHSmith/Costa, our mission is clear: to make every journey better, with our people, customers, and partners at the heart of everything we do. As a Single Site Store Manager, you will lead your store’s performance, driving growth and success through effective leadership, operational excellence, and a customer-first mindset.

What being a Single Site Store Manager is all about:

People:

• Collaborating with other stores within your group to achieve business objectives, sharing insights, successes, and strategies.

• Coaching and developing your store team, identifying and nurturing talent for key roles.

• Advocating for the colleague voice, ensuring open communication and sharing ideas with your team and manager.

• Supporting and embedding the Group Engagement Plan, keeping your team engaged and aligned with business goals.

• Ensuring compliance with HR processes and policies with guidance from Employee Advisors and your manager.

• Overseeing mandatory training completion and providing new starters with an effective and welcoming induction experience.

• Fostering a culture of Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, ensuring everyone feels valued and able to be themselves at work.

Plan:

• Identifying sales-driving opportunities using data insights and collaborating with your manager to implement proactive solutions.

• Ensuring store activities are executed on time and in line with brand guidelines and supplier compliance through effective planning and communication.

• Maintaining a safe and legally compliant work environment by adhering to all Health & Safety and legal requirements.

• Managing cash and shrink processes, ensuring adequate food supply and minimising waste while addressing areas of loss.

• Overseeing day-to-day store operations, ensuring operational excellence through consistent best practices.

• Supporting your manager in delivering key performance indicators (KPIs), resolving any performance issues with SMART actions.

Customer:

• Role modelling exceptional customer service and creating a customer-first culture, ensuring a welcoming and efficient environment.

• Managing queues, upselling products, and making your store the go-to choice for food and beverages.

• Maintaining consistently high standards across your store, using the operational booklet (or equivalent) effectively.

• Taking full accountability for colleague productivity, stock availability, and overall store performance to enhance the customer experience.

• Coaching and training your team to grow sales by focusing on key metrics like spend per passenger, average transaction value (ATV), and transaction volumes.

How we reward our teams:

• Competitive salary, pension scheme, and 33 days holiday (including bank holidays).

• Employee discounts (up to 50%) and deals from retail partners for savings on dining, entertainment, and more.

• Employee Assistance Programme to support physical, mental, and financial wellbeing.

About WHSmith:

With a rich heritage, WHSmith continues to grow, particularly in airports, hospitals, rail stations, and motorway services. Our InMotion brand is leading the way in digital accessories, offering an exceptional customer experience. We have established strong partnerships with brands like M&S and Costa Coffee to broaden our customer offerings across the UK. As we grow, our mission remains simple: to make every journey better.

We are proud to be an inclusive employer, where our colleagues are welcome and free to be themselves.