General Merchandise Manager

Sainsbury’s Group; Southampton; On-site; GBP 29,000 - 36,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Discount card

Annual bonus

Free food and drinks

Generous holiday entitlement

Pension contributions match

Share scheme

Wellbeing support

Cycle to Work

Gym membership offers

Job summary

Sainsbury’s Group in Southampton is seeking a General Merchandise Manager to lead non-food categories and ensure outstanding shop-floor and warehouse presentation. You will oversee people, performance and scheduling, and may take overall responsibility for running the store to deliver for customers.

You will coach a team in a fast-paced retail environment, drive KPIs across sales, stock availability, and customer satisfaction, and manage disciplinary matters with fairness while supporting

Qualifications

• Track record of delivering exceptional customer experiences.
• Experience leading teams in a dynamic, customer-facing environment.
• Proven success delivering KPIs across sales, stock and satisfaction.
• Experience managing performance and employee relations matters.

Responsibilities

• Lead non-food product presentation to delight customers.
• Ensure area runs smoothly from shop floor to warehouse.
• Manage performance, capability, disciplinaries and scheduling.
• Provide direction and support to colleagues to deliver for customers.

Skills

Customer service

Team leadership

Operational management

KPI delivery

People management

Job description

Job-ID: 400095622

Category: Retail management

Location: Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom

Schedule: Full time

Posted: 2026-11-05

Closes: 2026-11-12

Contract Type: Permanent

Advertised Salary: 32,700

What you'll be doing:

Taking responsibility for the management of all our non - food products ensuring they are presented fantastically to delight our customers. Ensure your area runs smoothly every day from the shop floor to the warehouse. People management is a big part of the role, managing performance and capability, conducting disciplinaries and ensuring scheduling and pay are accurate. At times you may assume overall responsibility for running the store, making sure that all colleagues are given direction and support to deliver for the customer.

What makes a great general merchandise manager:

Previous line management responsibilities in a fast-paced, operational environment. Someone who is truly obsessed with customers and service, and coaches a team to do the same. Delivers KPI's or other performance indicators. Can manage disciplinaries, performance issues or other similar employee relations issues. Leads operations and comfortable doing this alone in the absence of more senior management.

Essential Criteria:

• A track record of delivering exceptional customer experiences, with evidence of coaching others to consistently raise the bar.
• Experience leading teams in a dynamic, customer-facing environment - you've inspired others, driven high performance, and created a culture where colleagues thrive.
• Leadership experience in a high-volume, fast-paced operational setting - whether in retail, food service, or hospitality - where you've overseen daily operations, solved business problems, and kept teams focused on what matters most: delivering for customers.
• Proven success in delivering against a wide range of KPIs - from sales and stock availability to customer satisfaction and colleague engagement, you've made a measurable difference.
• Experience managing complex people matters, including performance, absence, and formal employee relations cases, with confidence and fairness.

Qualifications

Working for us has great rewards

Salary will be dependent upon your experience as well as the store size, complexity and location. Alongside this, we also offer a great range of benefits for our managers, including:

• Discount card - 10% discount off on your shopping at Sainsbury's, Argos, Tu and Habitat after four weeks.
• This increases to 15% discount off at Sainsbury's every Friday and Saturday.
• An annual bonus scheme based on our, and your, performance.
• Free food and hot drinks provided for Colleagues in all our stores.
• Generous holiday entitlement, maternity and paternity leave.
• Pension - we'll match 4-7.5% of your pension contributions.
• Sainsbury's share scheme - build up an investment at discounted rates.
• Wellbeing support - access to emotional support, counselling, legal and financial advice.
• Colleague networks - link with like-minded people to help fulfil your potential.
• Our Cycle to Work scheme gives you the opportunity to hire a new bike and cycling equipment, whilst saving on tax and NI
• Special offers on gym memberships, restaurants, holidays, retail vouchers and more.

We are proud to offer a range of development opportunities, including mentorship, training, and career progression pathways, to help our colleagues grow and succeed.

We also celebrate diversity through various initiatives and events, fostering a culture of inclusion and respect.

Should you require any reasonable adjustments during the application or interview stages, please let us know, and we will endeavour to support you.

Responsibilities

Leading in our stores: Our management teams don't just run stores - they're the driving force behind our business. With bold leadership, a passion for service and an eye for opportunity, they empower teams to raise the bar every single day for our customers. Whether it's product availability, safety standards, or delivering seamless daily operations, they're hands-on, sleeves-rolled-up changemakers. And the impact? Work becomes more rewarding for our colleagues, and shopping becomes a next-level experience for every customer who walks through our doors. This is how we bring our purpose to life, one powerful action at a time.