Commercial Activity and Retail Officer

Southampton City Council; Southampton; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 32,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension (15.2%)

Death in service (3x)

Holiday entitlement

Flexible working

Training & mentoring

Wellbeing support

Armed Forces Covenant

Retail discounts

Gym discounts

Sustainable travel

Volunteer days

Job summary

Southampton City Council’s Museums, Art Gallery and Heritage Service seeks a Commercial Activity and Retail Officer to own the retail offer across its galleries and venues. You will source stock, set pricing, manage deliveries, lead merchandising and support procurement to create commercially successful shops.

You will drive income by responding to market trends, developing product ranges with local creatives, and supporting venue hire, events and customer activity when required.

Qualifications

• Retail experience with strong customer service focus.
• Strong presentation skills and a commitment to excellent customer service.
• Ability to balance practical retail operations with initiative and sustainability.

Responsibilities

• Own the Museums and Gallery retail offer and develop attractive, inclusive, commercially effective spaces.
• Source stock, manage pricing, organise deliveries and lead merchandising.
• Support procurement and stock control and help turn shops into destinations.
• Contribute to income generation by responding to market trends and developing product ranges.
• Collaborate with local creative industries and collections colleagues on bespoke merchandise.
• Support the commercial team with venue hire, events and customer activity as required.

Skills

Retail experience

Customer service

Organised

Creativity

Commercial awareness

Job description

Commercial Activity and Retail Officer

The Museums, Art Gallery and Heritage Service sits within Southampton City Council’s Culture and Tourism Division and plays a vital role in sharing, celebrating and caring for Southampton’s rich art, history and heritage. Through Southampton City Art Gallery, SeaCity Museum, Tudor House & Garden and the city’s collections, we create opportunities for people to explore stories, ideas and experiences that connect communities, visitors and future generations.

We are a public-facing, people-centred service that brings together collections, exhibitions, learning, engagement, volunteering, commercial activity and venue operations. Our teams work collaboratively to provide welcoming, inclusive, safe and inspiring experiences for residents, schools, families, partners, communities and visitors to the city.

Joining the service means being part of a creative, supportive and ambitious team that is committed to excellent visitor experience, meaningful community connection and responsible care of the city’s heritage assets.

The Role

As Commercial Activity and Retail Officer, you will take ownership of the Museums and Gallery retail offer, helping to develop attractive, inclusive and commercially effective retail spaces. You will source stock, manage pricing, organise deliveries, lead merchandising, support procurement and stock control and help turn our shops into destinations.

You will support income generation by responding to market trends, developing product ranges, working with local creative industries, collaborating with collections colleagues on bespoke merchandise and supporting the commercial team with venue hire, events and customer activity when required.

We are looking for someone creative, organised and commercially minded, with retail experience, strong presentation skills and a commitment to excellent customer service. You will need to balance practical retail operations with innovation, sustainability, inclusion and the visitor experience.

What we can offer you:

Salary: The salary band for this role is £29,742 - £32,046 per annum. The starting salary is £29,742 with annual progression through the salary bands.

Here at SCC we have a range of different benefits, a few examples can be found below.

• Excellent local government pension with 15.2% employer contribution
• Death in service benefit of x3 salary, and optional salary sacrifice shared cost AVC (additional voluntary contribution)
• Generous holiday 25–31 days, based on role and service
• Flexible working options (role-dependent)
• Family-friendly policies - Maternity, Paternity, Adoption, Shared/Unpaid Parental Leave, Time off for Dependents
• Training and development, including coaching and mentoring
• Health and wellbeing support - Employee Assistance Programme, Menopause Pledge, Mental Health First Aiders and access to a variety of staff networks
• Veteran-friendly employer with the Armed Forces Covenant
• Retail discounts and savings through the Southampton City Council benefits platform
• Discounted memberships at local sports and fitness centres
• Sustainable travel benefits - low emission car scheme, cycle to work, season ticket loans
• Employee volunteering scheme with 2 paid days leave to volunteer

For further information on our benefits package please visit: Employee benefits (southampton.gov.uk)

Contact details for informal discussion:

For further information and details regarding the role, please contact [e-mail]

Recruitment contact details:

Email: [e-mail]
Tel: [phone]

For more information about SCC please visit Southampton City Council.